American Graffiti

Where were you in '62?

American Graffiti focuses on the lives of four young men: Curt, Steve, Terry, and John. Curt is not sure if he wants to go off to college, despite receiving a lodge scholarship, much to Steve's consternation. Steve, on the other hand, is not sure about his relationship with steady girlfriend Laurie, Curt's sister. Curt spends the whole night riding around in other people's cars obsessing about a mysterious blonde driving a white Ford Thunderbird.

John splits his time between trying to pick up girls, "baby-sitting" a precocious 14-year old girl, and defending his reputation as the fastest drag racer in town. Harrison Ford appears in a few scenes as a 'out of town' racer trying to beat John's unbroken record. Whilst racing he crashes his car with Laurie next to him, both survive but the car is wrecked. Steve lends his car to Terry whilst he plans to go to college, Terry uses his car to pick up a girl and spends the rest of the film trying to impress her.

By the end of the night, only Curt goes off to college, whilst Steve decides to stay in town another year with his girlfriend Laurie. As the film closes, a series of onscreen title cards reveal the characters' ultimate fates: one is killed by a drunk driver two years later, another is reported as missing in action in Vietnam, one of the protagonists becomes an insurance salesman, while another avoids the draft by moving to Canada and becoming a writer.

Richard Dreyfuss
as Curt Henderson

Ron Howard
as Steve Bolander

Harrison Ford
as Bob Falfa

Charles Martin Smith
as Terry 'The Toad' Fields