What was the age difference between Harold and Maude?

Few things are quite as emotionally gripping as a fictional whirlwind romance — perhaps even more so when it’s displayed on the big screen. Some of the greatest love stories of all time come by way of the cinema, but what happens when an undeniable age gap comes along with it?

Here are 11 of the biggest age gaps between actors who played love interests.

Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones had nearly four decades between them in "Entrapment."

The two actors had a 39-year age difference.Youtube

Connery was 69 when he played the thief-turned-unlikely partner opposite Zeta-Jones, who was 30 at the time of filming this 1999 crime thriller.

Scarlett Johansson was 17 years old when she filmed "Lost in Translation" alongside 51-year-old Bill Murray.

These two have a 34-year age gap.Focus Features

A single kiss might’ve been the only physical moment between them, but Johansson and Murray’s chemistry was strong despite a 34-year age gap. Johansson was 17 when the movie was filmed.

Jack Nicholson has a fleeting fling with a woman less than half is age in “Something’s Gotta Give.”

These two characters have a 35-year age gap.Youtube

Amanda Peet was 31 years old when she starred as the woman who originally catches Nicholson’s eye in this 2003 romantic comedy. Nicholson’s character claims he has a thing for younger women, and this one, in particular, was 35 years younger than the real-life actor.

Woody Allen was more than double the age of Mira Sorvino in “Mighty Aphrodite.”

Allen and Sorvino had a 32-year age gap.Youtube

In this 1995 indie film, Allen seeks out the mother of his genius adopted son and finds out she's a sex worker. A hookup occurs — Allen was 60 and Sorvino 28 at the time of filming.

Twenty-eight years separated Colin Firth and Emma Stone when they filmed “Magic in the Moonlight.”

Stone and Firth had a 28-year age difference.Sony Pictures Classics

Woody Allen isn’t afraid to shy away from shockingly large age gaps, as more recently evidenced by this 2014 romance drama. Firth and Stone were 53 and 25 respectively when the movie was filmed.

Scarlett Johansson was only 16 when her character tried to seduce a 46-year-old Billy Bob Thornton in "The Man Who Wasn’t There.”

Johansson and Thorton have a 30-year age gap.Youtube

In this blackmail-gone-wrong crime drama from the Coen brothers, Scarlett Johansson and Billy Bob Thorton had 30 years in age between them.

The original film adaptation of “Lolita" had a 37-year age gap between the lead actors.

The relationship in this movie revolves around characters with a 38-year age difference.MGM

At the time of its 1962 release, James Mason was 52 when he starred opposite 15-year-old Sue Lyon in this X-rated romance — although it shouldn’t shock you if you’ve read the novel. The on-screen version leaves more to the imagination.

Drew Barrymore stars as a teenage seductress opposite Tom Skerritt in “Poison Ivy." Skerritt was 59 at the time.

These two had a 42-year age difference.Youtube

Barrymore was only 17 in this scandalous thriller where Barrymore and Skerritt had a 42-year age difference.

A very unlikely romance buds between the title characters of “Harold and Maude,” who were 52 years apart.

Gordon and Cort have 52 years between them.Paramount

Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort were 74 and 22 during the filming of this 1971 cult rom-com. The characters' mutual hobby of attending funerals belies the half-century gap between their ages.

Liam Neeson and Olivia Wilde star as on-again, off-again lovers in "Third Person," with a 32-year age gap.

Wilde and Neeson have 30 years between them.Sony Pictures Classics

Wilde was 29 when this interconnected love story was originally released. Things get complicated when she visits 61-year-old Neeson in Paris.

Michael Caine falls for his friend’s daughter in “Blame it on Rio.”

The two characters in the budding romance have 33 years between them.

In this 1984 rom-com, Caine lusts for Michelle Johnson’s character, 33 years his junior. 

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What is the age gap in Harold and Maude?

— Cat Stevens, "Harold and Maude" soundtrack. Much ado has been made of the supposedly shocking age gap between Cooper Hoffman's 15-year-old Gary and Alana Haim's 25-year-old Alana, the erstwhile couple in "Licorice Pizza," Paul Thomas Anderson's new coming-of-age comedy.

How old is Bud Cort in Harold and Maude?

74 years (March 29, 1948)Bud Cort / Agenull

Is Harold and Maude a love story?

The romantic black comedy is the story of a young man intrigued by death named Harold (Bud Cort) who forms a friendship and eventual romance with a 79-year-old woman named Maude (Ruth Gordon), who teaches Harold how to enjoy life to the fullest.

How did Maude change Harold?

Story Dynamics. Through Maude's influence, Harold loses his obsession with death and destruction and embraces life—driving his hearse (without him inside of it) over a cliff. Harold must lose his fear of change, and stop alienating those who try to get close to him by faking suicide.