Love means never having to say you're sorry

Last updated
"Love means never having to say you're sorry"
Actor Ali MacGraw
First used in Love Story
Voted #13 in AFI's 100 Movie Quotes poll

"Love means never having to say you're sorry" is a catchphrase based on a line from the Erich Segal novel Love Story and was popularized by its 1970 film adaptation starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal. The line is spoken twice in the film: once in the middle of the film, by Jennifer Cavalleri (MacGraw's character), when Oliver Barrett (O'Neal) apologizes to her for his anger; and as the last line of the film, by Oliver, when his father says "I'm sorry" after learning of Jennifer's death. In the script, the line is phrased slightly differently: "Love means not ever having to say you're sorry."

Contents

The line proved memorable, and has been repeated in various contexts since. In 2005, it was voted #13 in the American Film Institute's list AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes. [1] [2] The band Sounds of Sunshine had a Top 40 hit in the United States with a song titled "Love Means You Never Have to Say You're Sorry" in 1971. "Love means never having to say you're..." is the opening sentence in the popular song "Can't Help but Love You" by The Whispers, from their album named after the movie, issued in 1972.

The line has also been criticized and mocked for suggesting that apologies are unnecessary in a loving relationship. Another character played by O'Neal disparages it in the 1972 screwball comedy What's Up, Doc? : in that film's final scene, Barbra Streisand's character says "Love means never having to say you're sorry," and bats her eyelashes, and O'Neal's character responds in a flat deadpan voice, "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."

MacGraw disagrees with the line, calling it a "crock". [3]

The line has also been parodied countless times, usually substituting another word or phrase for "love" and/or "you're sorry", especially the latter.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<i>A Night at the Opera</i> (film) 1935 Marx Brothers film directed by Sam Wood

A Night at the Opera is a 1935 American comedy film starring the Marx Brothers, and featuring Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones, Margaret Dumont, Sig Ruman, and Walter Woolf King. It was the first of five films the Marx Brothers made under contract for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer after their departure from Paramount Pictures, and the first after Zeppo left the act. The film was written by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind from a story by James Kevin McGuinness, with additional uncredited dialogue by Al Boasberg. The film was directed by Sam Wood.

<i>Love Story</i> (1970 film) 1970 romantic drama film written by Erich Segal

Love Story is a 1970 American romantic drama film written by Erich Segal, who was also the author of the best-selling 1970 novel of the same name. It was produced by Howard G. Minsky, and directed by Arthur Hiller, starring Ali MacGraw, Ryan O'Neal, John Marley, Ray Milland and Tommy Lee Jones in his film debut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stinking badges</span> Phrase popularized in literature and cinema

"Stinkin' badges" is a paraphrase of a line of dialogue from the 1948 film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. That line was in turn derived from dialogue in the 1927 novel of the same name, which was the basis for the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan O'Neal</span> American actor (1941–2023)

Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal was an American actor. Born in Los Angeles, he trained as an amateur boxer before beginning a career in acting in 1960.

<i>Harvey</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by Henry Koster

Harvey is a 1950 American comedy-drama film based on Mary Chase's 1944 play of the same name, directed by Henry Koster, and starring James Stewart and Josephine Hull. The story centers on a man whose best friend is a púca named Harvey, a 6 ft 3+12 in (1.92 m) tall white invisible rabbit, and the ensuing debacle when the man's sister tries to have him committed to a sanatorium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali MacGraw</span> American actress and activist

Elizabeth Alice MacGraw is an American actress. She first gained attention with her role in Goodbye, Columbus (1969), for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She then starred in Love Story (1970), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. In 1972, MacGraw was voted the top female box office star in the world and was honored with a hands and footprints ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre after having made just three films. She went on to star in The Getaway (1972), Convoy (1978), Players (1979), Just Tell Me What You Want (1980), and The Winds of War (1983). In 1991, she published an autobiography, Moving Pictures.

<i>The Bodyguard</i> (1992 film) 1992 film by Mick Jackson

The Bodyguard is a 1992 American romantic thriller drama film directed by Mick Jackson, written by Lawrence Kasdan, and starring Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston, Gary Kemp, Bill Cobbs, and Ralph Waite. The film follows a former United States Secret Service agent turned bodyguard who is hired to protect a famous actress and singer from an unknown stalker. Kasdan wrote the film in the mid-1970s, originally as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross.

In entertainment, a tagline is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, social group, or product. As a variant of a branding slogan, taglines can be used in marketing materials and advertising.

<i>Horse Feathers</i> 1932 film starring the Marx Brothers

Horse Feathers is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film starring the Marx Brothers. It stars the Four Marx Brothers, Thelma Todd and David Landau. It was written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, S. J. Perelman, and Will B. Johnstone. Kalmar and Ruby also wrote the original songs for the film. Several of the film's gags were taken from the Marx Brothers' stage comedy from the 1900s, Fun in Hi Skule. The term horse feathers is U.S. slang for "nonsense, rubbish, balderdash," attributed originally to Billy DeBeck. As a work published in 1932 and renewed within 28 years, it will enter the public domain on January 1, 2028.

<i>Olivers Story</i> 1978 romantic drama film directed by John Korty

Oliver's Story is a 1978 American romantic drama film and a sequel to Love Story (1970) based on a novel by Erich Segal published a year earlier. It was directed by John Korty and again starred Ryan O'Neal, this time opposite Candice Bergen. The original music score was composed by Lee Holdridge and Francis Lai. It was released by Paramount Pictures on December 15, 1978.

<i>Whats Up, Doc?</i> (1972 film) 1972 film by Peter Bogdanovich

What's Up, Doc? is a 1972 American screwball comedy film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal. It was intended to pay homage to comedy films of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, especially Bringing Up Baby and Warner Bros. Bugs Bunny cartoons. The film was loosely based on the 1971 novel A Glimpse of Tiger by Herman Raucher.

Part of the American Film Institute's 100 Years... series, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes is a list of the top 100 quotations in American cinema. The American Film Institute revealed the list on June 21, 2005, in a three-hour television program on CBS. The program was hosted by Pierce Brosnan and had commentary from many Hollywood actors and filmmakers. A jury consisting of 1,500 film artists, critics, and historians selected "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn", spoken by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in the 1939 American Civil War epic Gone with the Wind, as the most memorable American movie quotation of all time.

<i>Nickelodeon</i> (film) 1976 film by Peter Bogdanovich

Nickelodeon is a 1976 American comedy film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and stars Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds and Tatum O'Neal. According to Bogdanovich, the film was based on true stories told to him by silent film directors Allan Dwan and Raoul Walsh. It was entered into the 27th Berlin International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'll be back</span> Signature catchphrase by Arnold Schwarzenegger

"I'll be back" is a catchphrase associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was made famous in the 1984 science fiction film The Terminator. On June 21, 2005, it was placed at No. 37 on the American Film Institute list AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes. Schwarzenegger uses the same line, or some variant of it, in many of his later films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Go ahead, make my day</span> Film catchphrase in 1983s Sudden Impact

"Go ahead, make my day" is a catchphrase from the 1983 film Sudden Impact, spoken by the character Harry Callahan, played by Clint Eastwood. The iconic line was written by John Milius, whose writing contributions to the film were uncredited, but has also been attributed to Charles B. Pierce, who wrote the film's story, and to Joseph Stinson, who wrote the screenplay. In 2005, it was chosen as No. 6 on the American Film Institute list AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.

<i>Love Story</i> (novel) 1970 romance novel by Erich Segal

Love Story is a 1970 novel by American writer Erich Segal. Segal wrote a screenplay that was subsequently approved for production by Paramount Pictures. Paramount requested that Segal adapt the story into a novel as part of the film's marketing campaign. The novel was released on February 14, 1970, along with segments of the story which appeared in The Ladies' Home Journal. Love Story became the top-selling work of fiction for the duration of 1970 in the United States and was translated into more than 33 languages. The novel stayed on The New York Times Best Seller list for 41 weeks, and peaked at number one. The film was released on December 16, 1970.

<i>Funny Girl</i> (film) 1968 film by William Wyler

Funny Girl is a 1968 American biographical-musical film directed by William Wyler and written by Isobel Lennart, adapted from her book for the stage musical of the same title. It is loosely based on the life and career of comedienne Fanny Brice and her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein.

Kim Casali was a New Zealand cartoonist who created the syndicated cartoon feature Love Is..., originally as love notes to her future husband, in the late 1960s.

<i>Players</i> (1979 film) 1979 American film

Players is a 1979 American romance drama film directed by Anthony Harvey and starring Ali MacGraw and Dean Paul Martin about a young tennis player who has an affair with an older woman.

The 1978 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards were released by the Hastings Bad Cinema Society in 1979 to honour the worst the film industry had to offer in 1978. The ballot was later revisited and the expanded version was released in the summer of 2003. Listed as follows are the original ballot's picks for Worst Picture and its dishonourable mentions, which are films that were considered for Worst Picture but ultimately failed to make the final ballot, and all nominees included in the expanded ballot. All winners are highlighted.

References

  1. "Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Give A Damn Archived 2019-08-20 at the Wayback Machine ", AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes, American Film Institute.
  2. "Press release by AFI: 100 greatest movie quotes of all time" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2006-09-17.
  3. "'Love Story' Reunion: Ryan O'Neal, Ali MacGraw Say Movie's Most Famous Line is a 'Crock' (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter . 25 June 2014.
  4. McGee, Mark Thomas (1995). Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures. McFarland & Company. p. 282. ISBN   0-7864-0137-0. The melodrama Love Story (1970) was a very popular film at the time and contained the now famous line, 'Love means never having to say you're sorry.' Jim Nicholson parodied that line on the ads and trailers for Phibes: 'Love means never having to say you're ugly.'
  5. Lampley, Jonathan Malcolm (2010). Women in the Horror Films of Vincent Price. McFarland & Company. p. 150. ISBN   978-0786436781.
  6. Bitner, Brian (September 20, 2016). "Face-Off: Dark Shadows vs. Crimson Peak". JoBlo.com . Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  7. Agard, Chancellor (April 13, 2016). "iZombie Season Finale Recap: Outbreak". Vulture . Retrieved May 16, 2024.