On This Day

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest released

November 19th 1975

13:47 19 November 2023

'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' opened in theaters in the United States on this day in 1975. Miloš Forman‘s film, based on the novel by Ken Kesey, stars Jack Nicholson as R.P. McMurphy, a convict who pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution.

When he attempts to inspire his fellow patients to rebel against their oppressive environment, he quickly comes up against head nurse, Mildred Ratched (Louise Fletcher). The movie went on to become the second-highest grossing film of 1975 and because it was released late in the year, became the highest-grossing film of 1976.

One of the greatest films ever made, it went on to win the “Big Five” Oscars of Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay, a feat not achieved since ‘It Happened One Night’ in 1935.