Filmed in 1971 under the title THE WIDOWER, LOVE AND PAIN AND THE WHOLE DAMN THING finally reached the screen in 1973. Set in Spain, the film stars Timothy Bottoms as Walter Elbertson, the aimless son of a successful professor. While bicycling through the Spanish countryside, Walter makes the acquaintance of much-older Lila Fisher (Maggie Smith). He falls in love with her, but she is resistant. Eventually touched by Walter's clumsy sincerity, Lila invites him to bed. The film then wanders into LOVE STORY territory when Lila is afflicted with a terminal illness. Director Alan J. Pakula completed LOVE AND PAIN AND THE WHOLE DAMN THING during the "cooling off" period between his more famous KLUTE (1971) and THE PARALLAX VIEW (1974).