The 28^th Golden Globes ceremony was held on February 5, 1971, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. That night, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association honored the best of the best in film and television in 1970.
By this time, it had already become a certain tradition that the motion picture winning Golden Globes as Best Film – Drama reflected the overall psychological climate in society. With people protesting the war in Vietnam and the energy crisis, as well as women’s rights and environmental movements on the rise, Love Story by Arthur Hiller won the award contending with the other four drama films.

The iconic story chronicling the turbulent romance between Ivy League students Oliver, a rich preppy played by Ryan O’Neal, and Jenny, a spirited working-class girl played by Ali MacGraw, gave way to a new generation of rebels, and catapulted its young stars into overnight fame.
Moreover, out of seven Golden Globe nominations Love Story won five awards including Best Picture Drama, Best Director for Arthur HillerErich SegalFrancis Lai, and Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for Ali MacGraw.
Interestingly, the film wasn’t based on the book – quite the opposite: Segal wrote the script, and while the film was being produced, Paramount Pictures execs suggested that Segal would write a novel based on it that would be published on Valentine’s Day and pre-publicize the film release.

When the novel was published, it became a bestseller of its own, read by over five million people before the movie even came out and became an instant box office smash.
Before playing Jenny Cavillery, MacGraw was a novice in Hollywood, and her win over four other contenders – including the star of Bonnie and Clyde, Faye Dunaway, and Golden Globe nominee Melina Mercouri– made the 32-year-old actress a huge star of the 1970s.

Love Story had one more star: fashion. Having a special style moment in every scene, it created an actual textbook on school fashion, including camel coats, leather gloves, chic hats, and sweaters compiled by the costume designers Pearl Somner and Alice Manougian Martin.
When MacGraw talked to HFPA in 2021 about the 50^th anniversary of Love Story, she said: “None of us could ever have imagined what that film would become culturally. I wonder if it’s that decade we made it in, the early 70s, there were huge dark things going on. And we were all at the tail end of this amazing decade where we were all believing that we were free and kind and loving and could do whatever we wanted, and suddenly the door is beginning to shut as the reality of how messed our society was became clear. So maybe people we relieved to escape to this love story.”
Love Story’s legacy of love, loss, and the determination of youth still carries on after 50 years since its release, making the world remember that “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” each time people hear (Where Do I Begin?) Love Story song.