John Nichols’s novel, The Sterile Cuckoo, was published in Jan 1965 by the David McKay Company, as noted in the 15 Jan 1965 NYT review of the book. Within a year of its publication, producer Alan J. Pakula discovered the novel while browsing in Martindale’s, a Beverly Hills, CA, bookstore, and decided to option the film rights with his then partner, Robert Mulligan, according to a 7 Nov 1969 LAT article. John Nichols was hired to adapt the screenplay, but his attempt “proved unsatisfactory.” He was replaced by Alvin Sargent, with whom Pakula and Mulligan had collaborated on The Stalking Moon (1968, see entry). Sargent delivered a first draft by spring 1967. A year later, a 30 May 1968 LAT item announced that Paramount Pictures would make the film with Pakula-Mulligan Productions, and that Pakula was attached to direct. The film marked Pakula’s first foray into feature film directing.
       Several actresses were considered for the lead role of “Pookie Adams.” According to the 7 Nov 1969 LAT, actor and filmmaker Tony Bill first recommended Liza Minnelli to Pakula; however, an item in the 11 Sep 1968 DV stated that Minnelli approached Pakula and Mulligan herself in 1965 when she heard their company had obtained the film rights. While other actresses were being considered, Minnelli adamantly pursued the part, and was quoted in the 16 Feb 1970 LAT as saying she had waited three years, and had given up a role in the Broadway musical, Promises, Promises (New York City, 1 Dec 1968), to make herself available. Her casting was officially announced in the 4 Jun 1968 LAT. Two months later, the 13 Aug 1968 DV reported that Wendell Burton would co-star. The film marked Burton’s motion picture debut, after he was “discovered” playing the comic strip character “Charlie Brown” in a play at San Francisco State University.
       A 2 Aug 1968 DV production chart listed a 26 Aug 1968 start of principal photography. Filming was slightly delayed, and began on 11 Sep 1968, according to a DV production chart published two days later. John Nichols’s alma mater, Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, was chosen for location filming because Nichols had had it in mind when he wrote the novel, the 27 Oct 1968 LAT stated. According to a 1 Oct 1969 Var brief, other upstate NY filming locations included the towns of Hamilton, Rome, and Vernon.
       Although the script initially referred to one of the fictional colleges within the film as “Webster College,” an item in the 11 Sep 1968 DV noted that the name had to be changed after producers discovered a real-life Webster College already existed. While filmmakers were not charged a location fee to shoot at Hamilton, they paid for the use of the Theta Delta Chi fraternity house, where a party sequence was filmed over three days. A local brewery provided beer for the party scenes, and college students posed as background actors, earning $29.15 per day. Lured by the prestige of the Hollywood production, some female college students travelled from as far as Wisconsin to join Theta Delta Chi fraternity brothers in front of the cameras.
       An item in the 18 Sep 1968 DV stated that, during the filming of an exterior scene on Hamilton’s campus, a group of students set off firecrackers, prompting Minnelli to shout, “Creeps!” The incident did not interrupt the take, however, and Pakula intended to keep the naturalistic moment in the final film.
       A 6 Nov 1968 DV article reported that a “miniature, self-powered camera crane built on an English Austin automobile” was tested for the first time on the shoot. Marty Kashuk, a grip who was not credited onscreen, designed the $50,000 “minicrane,” which was used during the six weeks of location shooting in NY. The crane had the capacity to raise the camera twenty feet into the air, and was attached to the Austin, which could move at speeds up to sixty miles per hour and had “self-levelling equipment” that facilitated moving shots on uneven roads without the need for track to be laid. After successfully testing the equipment on The Sterile Cuckoo, Kashuk planned to make four more models.
       In mid-Oct 1968, filming moved to soundstages on the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Hollywood, CA, as noted in 18 and 22 Oct 1968 DV items. Filming was still underway on 11 Nov 1968, when DV noted that cast and crew had travelled to Ontario, CA, for more location shooting. A 15 Nov 1968 DV brief stated that the exterior of the abandoned Ontario Bank building doubled as a bus stop. Since filmmakers were behind schedule, they ran into conflict with a wrecking crew, due to demolish the bank building on 14 Nov 1968. However, the production persuaded the wreckers to hold off until shooting was completed.
       By 2 Dec 1968, Minnelli had finished filming her scenes, according to a DV brief published that day.
       The picture was initially rated “R” (restricted) by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), as stated in the 12 Mar 1969 Var. The rating stipulated that children sixteen years of age or under would not be permitted to see it without an adult guardian or parent accompanying them. However, on 15 Oct 1969, Var announced that the final edit of the film was reassessed by the MPAA and rated “M” (suggested for mature audiences). Although parental discretion was advised for films rated M, no age restrictions applied.
       The film was set to open in eleven cities, including New York City, on 22 Oct 1969, as noted in the 1 Oct 1969 Var. Paramount’s promotional campaign was targeted at youth audiences, and included tie-ins with Greyhound Buses and the Polaroid Corp. since, according to an 8 Oct 1969 Var item, Pookie Adams is shown riding a Greyhound bus with a “Polaroid snapshot taken by Wendell Burton” in the opening sequence.
       Three months after opening, the picture was declared a box-office success in the 20 Jan 1970 DV. Reviews were mixed, but Liza Minnelli received accolades for her performance. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, and won Italy’s David Di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress, as well as being named Best Actress of the Year by the Motion Pictures Buyers and Bookers Club of N.Y., according to a 5 Feb 1970 DV brief. A second Academy Award nomination went to Fred Karlin and Dory Previn for Music (Song—Original for the Picture) for the song, “Come Saturday Morning.” As a result of the awards publicity, Paramount arranged a citywide double-feature release of The Sterile Cuckoo and True Grit (1969, see entry) in Los Angeles, beginning 8 Apr 1970, as noted in a 1 Apr 1970 LAT brief.
       Cinematographer William J. Kelly died from a heart attack on 17 Sep 1968, during filming in NY. He was replaced by director of photography Milton Krasner.