United Artists To Film Harvard Saga

A team of filmmakers from United Artists of California, headed by producer Robert Cohen '71, came to Harvard yesterday to choose locations for their film, "A Circle of Friends," which will be shot here in March.

Adams House, the Crimson building, the Indoor Athletic Building, Memorial Hall and the Year dorms are locations likely to be used in the film, which is about the effect of the social and political upheaval of the late 1960s on the personal lives of three under graduates at Harvard.

John Corty, the director, plans to "involve Harvard students in the shooting of the movie both in front of the camera and behind the scenes."

Deane Lord, director of the office of public information at Harvard, authorized the group to work on campus.

"There are no restrictions on the use of Harvard exteriors in the making of a film as long as the educational process is in no way hindered," Lord said yesterday. The University does not receive any money for movies shot at Harvard and in no way endorses the film or what it says, she added.

The film will focus on a triangular love affair between two men and a woman at Harvard during the height of the protestera, Cohen said.

Cohen said he is trying to capture "the experience of the period of upheaval through the eyes of those who lived it." He hopes to "bring the essence of the period of the early '70s back on film the way no magazine or photo es say ever could."

The Best and the Greatest

Cohen is best known for his films "The Wiz," "Thank God It's Friday," and "Mahogony." He is a graduate of Harvard's Visual and Environmental Studies Program. Corty directed the television film, "Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman."

For Harvard students interested in making films, Cohen said, "the best major is History and Lit. VES is good for people who want to be drama critics or film teachers, but not for people who want to make films in Hollywood. The best thing to do is as much reading and writing as possible. History and great literature are the greatest stories of all."

All's Quiet

Cohen said Harvard "has taken a 180 degree turn" since he was an undergrad. "During the late '60s and early '70s Harvard was a tumultuous, politically alive place. Now it is very calm in comparison." Cohen added, "this is still the most articulate and intelligent student body that I have seen anywhere. That will probably never change."