The Harrad Experiment (1973)

 

Fifty years ago, veteran TV director Ted Post helmed the film version of Robert Rimmer's 1966 provocative novel The Harrad Experiment to a modicum of "outrage" but pretty decent box office sales. The film starred James Whitmore, Tippi Hedren and 24-year-old Don Johnson in one of his first feature films.

The story is set at fictional Harrad College where Philip and Margaret Tenhausen are conducting sexuality experiments with young male and female students, mismatched in dormitory rooms to see if "heat" will overwhelm their conflicting personalities. Johnson plays Stanley, a sexual libertine, who is assigned to a room with Sheila, the very model of sexual repression. It's all titillation and voyeurism and decidedly tame based on 2023 standards. (The DVD is available for purchase on Amazon.)

A 1970 issue of New York's Other Scenes newspaper included a guest column titled Group Marriage, which describes an alternative living experiment in Berkeley, California, (where else?) that invited those interested in sharing spouses, breeding and parenting to apply. It was called Harrad West.

The invitation read in part: "Since we are a growing community, we would welcome as new members those who share our aims. We are particularly interested in applicants in the thirtyish age bracket. Younger persons are often not emotionally ready for what we are doing, though of course there are always exceptions. The upper age limit is often a point at which the individual is no longer able to change his (sic) life style. Couples are especially welcome, as are single females. We already have a large number of inquiries from interested males."

Hmmm. I suppose there's no getting around human nature.