# What came first The Graduate or Mrs. Robinson? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2007, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177 "2007-06-24T01:36:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177/21 "2012-03-27T20:50:48Z")
> [@Gotte](#): > > I love the film, even if it looks dated, it looks dated in a good way, and the music always reminds me of a time when I was you, and yes, in love. Ah, to be you again. ---
**Author:** ![I-VI-ii-V](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c89c15/32.png) [@I-VI-ii-V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I-VI-ii-V)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177/22 "2012-03-28T02:40:35Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > Having “Scarborough Fair” play 3 or 4 times throughout the movie only made it worse. If I had watched it back in the day, it would have been fresher or some such. I think you mean “The Sounds of Silence”. Saw it for the nth time a couple of weeks ago. Still great. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177/23 "2012-03-28T07:41:55Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > It’s not always apparent, but it’s there. The filters used make it very 60’s/70’s. It can mostly be seen in flesh tones. See here. If it looks like that, it comes from that point in time. I never knew the movie was in color. I’ve only seen it in black & white and I was fine with that. Which I suppose makes it seem very Sixties, but movies in B&W isn’t an extraordinary thing to me. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177/24 "2012-03-28T08:30:15Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > It’s not always apparent, but it’s there. The filters used make it very 60’s/70’s. It can mostly be seen in flesh tones. See [here](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/1410/Mptv/1410/3461_0356.jpg?path=gallery&path_key=0061722) . If it looks like that, it comes from that point in time. I think I may have just figured out why women in seventies movies always seem more attractive to me, even though, when I look at them objectively, they really aren’t–many seem even less attractive. Now that I notice the filters, I notice that the flesh tones are closer to one of my favorite colors, the Crayola “Peach.” ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177/25 "2012-03-28T12:15:43Z")
No wonder black actresses had such a hard time getting roles. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177/26 "2012-03-28T12:55:03Z")
> [@I-VI-ii-V](#): > > Saw it for the nth time a couple of weeks ago. Still great. Ah, well there’s the problem. I’ve seen it n+1 times, and it’s starting to age. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177/27 "2012-03-28T13:05:13Z")
Somebody asked Roger Ebert if he ever wanted to change any of his reviews. He said that on further consideration, he’d like to change his comment about the soundtrack of \*The Graduate \*being “forgettable”. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177/28 "2012-03-28T13:16:04Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Ah, to be you again. You is wasted on the young. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177/29 "2012-03-28T20:15:38Z")
Of course, only you can make this world seem right. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177/30 "2012-03-28T21:29:54Z")
> [@I-VI-ii-V](#): > > I think you mean “The Sounds of Silence”. > > Saw it for the nth time a couple of weeks ago. Still great. No, I think ZebraShaSha did indeed mean Scarsborough Fair, which IIRC is played a few times in the background, at least once when Ben is up at Berkley stalking Elaine? The Sounds of Silence was only played during the opening credits as Ben is on the airport walkway. The “Mr. Robinson” work-in-progress version as featured during the movie - when Ben is driving back home (I seem to remember the song slowed down in tempo as he ran out of gas)? - wasn’t that just sung notes (e.g. “dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-deee”) - no true lyrics? ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177/31 "2012-03-29T00:04:21Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > The short answer is, some of the songs were written specially for “The Graduate” and some were songs that Simon and Garfunkel had already recorded. > > The most famous song, “Mrs. Robinson,” falls somewhere in between. Paul Simon had been working on a song about the 1940’s entitled “Mrs. Roosevelt.” He had hit a wall with that song and set it aside for a while. When Mike Nichols asked him to write some songs for his new movie, Simon dusted off “Mrs. Roosevelt,” changed some of the lyrics, and turned it into “Mrs. Robinson.” > > The line about Joe Dimaggio was probably a holdover from “Mrs. Roosevelt.” I have always heard originally it was supposed to be “Where have you gone, Mickey Mantle” as Mantle was Simon’s baseball hero growing up (DiMaggio retired when Simon was 10). But the number of syllables didn’t fit the song so Simon went with DiMaggio who initially thought he was being insulted and DiMaggio was very touchy about perceived insults. But some of his posse convinced him Simon wasn’t being disrespectful. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177/32 "2012-03-29T02:16:31Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Ah, to be you again. You’re only you once. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-the-graduate-or-mrs-robinson/409177.md?page=1)