Love in the Time of Cholera (film) until he got the rights. It is the first filming of a García Márquez novel by a Hollywood studio, rather than by Latin American or Italian directors. It is also the first English-language work of Academy Award-nominated Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro, who portrays Tránsito Ariza. In late 19th century Cartagena, a river port in Colombia, Florentino Ariza falls in love at first sight with Fermina Daza. They secretly correspond, and she eventually agrees to marry him, but her father discovers their relationship and sends her to stay with distant relatives (mainly her grandmother and niece). When she returns some years
The Love Machine (novel) into bite-sized nothingness," Nora Ephron, in the same newspaper, said "'The Love Machine' is a far better book than 'Valley'--better written, better plotted, better structured." As with "Valley", the reviews did not affect sales: "The Love Machine" spent 32 weeks on the "Times" best seller list, with 13 of those weeks at #1. The book became the third highest-selling novel of the year, behind just Philip Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint" and Mario Puzo's "The Godfather". Columbia Pictures bought the film rights for $1.5 million, which was a record sum for the time. Released in August 1971, the film was executive-produced by