Harold And Maude - Shocking News
Harold's Mom is amazed to hear that he plans on getting married. Then, when he shows her a photo of Maude, her shocked expression says it all.
She lines up all of Harold's authority figures but they, in tandem with the background presence of theirs, fail to dissuade him.
The young beau has everything worked out and plans to pop the question on Maude's birthday, surprising her with a private sunflower-themed celebration in her railcar. But she reminds him of her philosophy of life, and death - she always intended to depart on her 80th birthday; in fact she has just taken the pills. Aghast, it's Harold's turn to be shocked.
Then ... He calls for an ambulance, seen here racing along the curving approach to a hospital.
... in the 1970s ... viewed from the same approach road this vintage photo shows the hospital as the ambulance saw it; it was the Peninsula Hospital in Burlingame (map), not far from San Francisco's International Airport. This building was replaced in 2012 by the new Mills-Peninsula Hospital in response to seismic concerns.
Here's a 2010 satellite view taken while the new hospital was being constructed alongside the old. Click or tap the image to see it today; the new hospital's parking lot now covers the site of the old hospital.
Then and Now, While the doctors fight for Maude's life Harold waits through the night fearing the worst, hoping for the best. As dawn breaks he looks to the hills west of the hospital. Click or tap the image to see how the hillside would look today were that room still there.
Reflections add interest to this shot as the camera peers into the waiting room from outside as the doctor delivers the fateful news... Maude is gone.