Where was Harold and Maude filmed?

One of the first scenes in the comedy Harold and Maude shows Harold meeting the old woman for the first time. This happens when he decides to go to the funeral Mass being held for a stranger. Harold goes to funerals for fun, especially if he does not know the person being buried, and when he runs into Maude, he finds out she likes to do the same. Not only does she like to go to funerals, but she also enjoys stealing cars for fun.

When Harold learns about this other hobby of hers, he asks, “You hop in any car you want and just drive off?”

Maude tells him she doesn’t just pick any random car but is actually careful in the vehicle she chooses to steal. She tells Harold she likes to have variety in that sense.

When Harold tells Maude this is upsetting people, her response is, “Well, if some people get upset because they feel they have a hold on some things, I'm merely acting as a gentle reminder: here today, gone tomorrow, so don't get attached to things. Now, with that in mind, I'm not against collecting things.”

The first meeting of Harold and Maude was filmed at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, near San Francisco, California.

One of the early scenes before this shows Harold explaining to his psychiatrist that he goes to funerals for fun.

After asking what makes him fulfilled and satisfied, Harold’s response is, “I go to funerals.”

San Francisco Filming Locations Guide

There is a chase scene in Harold and Maude that shows the duo fleeing from a motorcycle officer across a bridge. The bridge that was used for shooting this scene was Dumbarton Bridge. Before the chase, Maude tells the officer, “Don’t get officious. You're not yourself when you're officious - That is the curse of a government job.”

Harold and Maude make a quick escape from the officer in what fans consider one of the best scenes in the dark comedy movie. The bridge found in the scene, Dumbarton Bridge, does not look the same as it did during the filming of the movie. In 1982, a new bridge was established and built to be wider than the old one. It is found between Union City and Palo Alto in California.

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In the movie Harold and Maude, there are several scenes where Harold pretends to kill himself. He does this in new ways each time, hoping to get some kind of reaction out of his mother. There is one scene where he pretends to drown in the pool, face down in the water. However, his mother is so used to her son’s antics at this point that she just swims right by him as if she doesn’t even notice him.

When Harold is sent to a psychoanalyst and had to talk about his pretend suicides, the therapist wants to know how many times he has pretended to kill himself.

Harold tells the psychiatrist, “An accurate number would be difficult to gauge.”

When asked for a rough estimate Harold finally offers a number; fifteen.

The psychiatrist asks him, “Were they all done for your mother's benefit?”

Harold’s answer is, “No. No, I would not say ‘benefit.’”

The pool Harold pretends to drown in is at his own home. The location used for Harold and his mother’s home was Rose Court Mansion in Hillsborough, California.

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It is during this scene that Maude reveals she would like to be a sunflower if she was a flower. Maude says, “I should like to change into a sunflower most of all. They’re so tall and simple. What flower would you like to be?”

Harold responds by saying he would like to be one of the smaller white flowers in the field where they sit.

When Maude asks why he chose that flower he says, “Because they’re all alike.”

The old woman responds by telling Harold, “Oooh, but they’re not. Look. See, some are smaller, some are fatter, some grow to the left, some to the right, and some even have lost some petals. All kinds of observable differences.”

San Francisco Video Shoot Locations Guide

During the movie Harold and Maude, Harold’s mother spends a lot of time trying to get her son to find a girlfriend considered suitable. Of course, Harold scares all of them off in a new way each time. There is a scene where Harold’s mother sits at a desk, reading off the questions on a dating questionnaire.

She fills out the answers for her son while he sits in a chair in front of the desk. As she talks, he pulls out a gun and pretends to shoot himself in the head. Harold’s mother is used to these stunts by now and does not even flinch as she continues with the dating questions.

When his mother walks in with the questionnaire she tells him, “I have here, Harold, the forms sent out by the National Computer Dating Service. It seems to me that as you do not get along with the daughters of my friends this is the best way for you to find a prospective wife.”

Her only response when her son pretends to kill himself is, “Harold! Please!” She then continues with the form.

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During Maude’s 80th birthday party, Harold finds out that Maude has taken enough sleeping pills to kill herself. While Harold didn’t know this, Maude was always planning to go out when she turned 80, and that did not change when she started a relationship with Harold.

During the party, she tells him, “What a fuss this is -- so unnecessary.”

Harold doesn’t want her to die and says, “Don't die, Maude, for Christ’s sake.”

He goes on to say that he loves her, but it does not change that Maude wants to die.

She tells Harold, “Oh, Harold... That's wonderful. Go and love some more.”

The party is held at his house, Rose Court Mansion. However, the party cuts to shots in the back of the ambulance where Harold is upset and asks Maude not to leave him.

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