Getting the film made was difficult for Nichols, who, while noted for being a successful Broadway director, was still an unknown in Hollywood. Producer Lawrence Turman, who wanted only Nichols to direct it, was continually turned down for financing. Turman also said that every studio turned down the project, saying "they read the book and hated it, and no one thought it was funny".[13] He then contacted producer Joseph E. Levine, who said he would finance the film because he had associated with Nichols on the play The Knack,[14] and because he heard Elizabeth Taylor specifically wanted Nichols to direct her and Richard Burton in Virginia Woolf.[15]
With financing assured, Nichols suggested Buck Henry for screenwriter, although Henry's experience had also been mostly in improvised comedy, and he had no writing background. Nichols said to Henry, "I think you could do it; I think you should do it."[15] Nichols was paid $150,000, and was to receive one-sixth of the profits.[14]
Casting
Nichols' first choice for Mrs. Robinson was French actress Jeanne Moreau.[16] The motivation for this was the cliché that in French culture, "older" women tended to "train" the younger men in sexual matters. Casting for the project was challenging.[17] Doris Day turned down an offer because the nudity required by the role offended her.[18][19][20] Shelley Winters, Ingrid Bergman, Eva Marie Saint, Ava Gardner, Patricia Neal, Susan Hayward, Deborah Kerr, Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner and Geraldine Page were also considered for the role of Mrs. Robinson.[21][15]
Dustin Hoffman was cast as Liebkind in the Mel Brooks film The Producers (1967), but before filming began Hoffman begged Brooks to let him go to audition for The Graduate.[22] When Dustin Hoffman auditioned for the role of Benjamin, he was just short of his 30th birthday at the time of filming. He was asked to perform a love scene with Ross, having previously never done one, and believed that, as he said later, "a girl like [Ross] would never go for a guy like me in a million years". Ross agreed, believing that Hoffman "looked about 3 feet tall ... so unkempt. This is going to be a disaster." Producer Joseph E. Levine later admitted that he at first believed Hoffman "was one of the messenger boys". Despite — or perhaps because of — Hoffman's awkwardness, Nichols chose him for the film.[23]
"As far as I'm concerned, Mike Nichols did a very courageous thing casting me in a part that I was not right for, meaning I was Jewish," said Hoffman. "In fact, many of the reviews were very negative. It was kind of veiled anti-Semitism.... I was called 'big-nosed' in the reviews; 'a nasal voice'."[24] Hoffman was paid $20,000 for his role in the film, but netted just $4,000 after taxes and living expenses. After spending that money, Hoffman filed for New York State unemployment benefits, receiving $55 per week while living in a two-room apartment in the West Village of Manhattan.[25]
Before Hoffman was cast, Robert Redford and Charles Grodin were among the top choices. Redford tested for the part of Benjamin (with Candice Bergen as Elaine), but Nichols thought Redford did not possess the underdog quality Benjamin needed.[15] Grodin turned down the part at first because of the low $500/week salary offered by producer Lawrence Turman. Grodin was offered more money, but declined again because he did not believe he could prepare for a screen test for the film overnight. "If they had given me three days to prepare, I think I would have gotten the role," he said.[21]
Harrison Ford also auditioned for the role of Benjamin Braddock but was turned down.[26]
Burt Ward was informally offered Hoffman's role, but was already committed to the role of Robin in the Batman television series.[27]
Jack Nicholson, Steve McQueen, Anthony Perkins, Warren Beatty, George Peppard, George Hamilton, Keir Dullea, Brandon deWilde and Michael Parks were also considered for the role of Benjamin Braddock.[21][15][28]
Ronald Reagan was considered for the part of Benjamin's father Mr. Braddock, which eventually went to William Daniels.[29] Nichols cast Gene Hackman as Mr. Robinson, but was later fired after a few days of rehearsals; he was replaced by Murray Hamilton.[30] Hackman would later say being fired from the film still hurts him.[31]
Despite playing mother and daughter, Anne Bancroft and Katharine Ross were only eight years apart in age. Bancroft and Hoffman differed less than six.
Filming
The quality of the cinematography was influenced by Nichols, who chose Oscar winner Robert Surtees to do the photography. Surtees, who had photographed major films since the 1920s, including Ben-Hur, said later, "It took everything I had learned over 30 years to be able to do the job. I knew that Mike Nichols was a young director who went in for a lot of camera. We did more things in this picture than I ever did in one film."[15]
Many of the exterior university campus shots of Berkeley were actually filmed on the brick campus of USC in Los Angeles.[32]
The church used for the wedding scene is actually the United Methodist Church in La Verne. In a commentary audio released with the 40th anniversary DVD, Hoffman revealed he was uneasy about the scene in which he pounds on the church window, as the minister of the church had been watching the filming disapprovingly. The wedding scene was highly influenced by the ending of the 1924 comedy film Girl Shy starring Harold Lloyd, who also served as an advisor for the scene in The Graduate.[33][34]
Music
The film boosted the profile of folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Originally, Nichols and O'Steen used their existing songs like "The Sound of Silence" merely as a pacing device for the editing, until Nichols decided that substituting original music would not be effective, and decided to include them on the soundtrack, an unusual move at that time.[35]
According to a Variety article by Peter Bart in the May 15, 2005, issue, Lawrence Turman, his producer, then made a deal for Simon to write three new songs for the movie. By the time they had nearly finished editing the film, Simon had written only one new song. Nichols begged him for more, but Simon, who was touring constantly, told him he did not have the time. He did play a few notes of a new song he had been working on: "It's not for the movie... It's a song about times past — about Mrs. Roosevelt and Joe DiMaggio and stuff." Nichols advised Simon, "It's now about Mrs. Robinson, not Mrs. Roosevelt."[36]
