ARTHUR HILLER

Director Arthur Hiller left this vale of tears recently at the good age of 92. He had a run of good films in the 70's. He kept working for many years but never got back to that high level. 
He is perhaps best known as the director of the classic three-handkerchief Love Story (1970). Okay, it’s really soapy by today’s jaded standards. But let’s see you watch the whole thing without tearing up! Good grief, Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal are just beyond beautiful. Remember “Love means never having to say you’re sorry”? Of course you don’t- you’re too young. Anyway, Mr. Hiller got his only Oscar nomination for this one but lost out to Franklin Schaffner for Patton. 
The Academy finally gave him one of those honorary deals in 2002. “Gee, we really ought to do something for this guy- he’s not going to be around forever”.
Plaza Suite (1971) may not be the very best Neil Simon adaptation, but it’s pretty good. The film, like the play, is divided into three parts. Walter Matthau appears in all three, changing characters as easily as changing hats. Lee Grant and Maureen Stapleton are on board and are just fine. The third act is the funniest, as Mimsey Hubley (Jenny Sullivan) locks herself in the bathroom rather than go through with her wedding. Her parents’ increasingly frantic efforts to get her to come out are hilarious.
Paddy Chayefsky won an Oscar for his screenplay, The Hospital (1971). George C. Scott stars as a doctor in a Manhattan hospital. His life is falling apart and so is his beloved hospital. There are curious unexplained deaths, and a fight over whether to just tear the thing down and build a rehab center. Mr. Hiller gets the most out of this powerful script. 
I would call the filming of Man Of La Mancha (1972) serviceable. The suits missed a chance to cast the Broadway stars, like Richard Kiley as Don Quixote and several other missteps. Peter O’Toole couldn’t sing a lick and a voice double is used for his songs. The film is okay but somehow doesn’t soar like the play did. 
The Man In The Glass Booth (1975) is about a German war criminal snatched from his comfy life by Israeli agents and whisked off to stand trial for his misdeeds. It is fictional, but based on the life and trial of Adolf Eichmann. Nowadays it would start off with something like “based on a true story”.  Maximilian Schell stars as the Nazi. The glass booth of the title is bullet-proof because this is one hated guy. The plot is a bit of a reach, but hey, this is Hollywood.
Silver Streak (1976) is a convoluted but funny film with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor having frantic adventures on and off the title train. 
All of the films in this article are available on DVD and for streaming. All are for grown-ups.