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''Where's Poppa?'' is a 1970 American
black comedy film Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
based on the 1970 novel by
Robert Klane Robert Klane (October 17, 1941 – August 29, 2023) was an American screenwriter, novelist and filmmaker, best known for early iconoclastic novels and for his screenplays for dark comedies such as ''Where's Poppa?'' (1970) and ''Weekend at Bernie ...
and starring
George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as '' Ship o ...
,
Ruth Gordon Ruth Gordon Jones (October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985) was an American actress, playwright and screenwriter. She began her career performing on Broadway at age 19. Known for her nasal voice and distinctive personality, Gordon gained internati ...
, Ron Leibman, and
Trish Van Devere Trish Van Devere (born Patricia Louise Dressel; March 9, 1941) is a retired American actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for the film ''One Is a Lonely Number'' (1972), and won a Genie Award for the film '' The Changeling'' (1980 ...
. The plot revolves around the troubled relationship between a lawyer (Segal) and his
senile Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform everyday activities. This typically involves problems with memory, ...
mother (Gordon), who keeps interfering with his love life. The film was directed by
Carl Reiner Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, author, comedian, director and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. He was the List of awards and nominations received by Carl Reiner, recipient of many awards and ...
, whose son
Rob Reiner Robert Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and liberal activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael Stivic, Mike "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitc ...
had a role in an early performance. Others in the cast include
Paul Sorvino Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law. Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...
(in his film debut), Rae Allen,
Vincent Gardenia Vincent Gardenia (born Vincenzo Scognamiglio; January 7, 1920 – December 9, 1992) was an Italian-American stage, film and television actor. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, first for '' Bang the Drum Slowl ...
and
Garrett Morris Garrett Isaac Morris (born February 1, 1937) is an American actor, comedian and singer. He was part of the original cast and was the first black cast member of the sketch comedy program ''Saturday Night Live'', appearing from 1975 to 1980. He ...
. The film was re-released in 1975, under the title ''Going Ape'', and maintains a
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
.


Plot

Gordon Hocheiser has had some success as a lawyer working as a criminal defense attorney in New York City. However, he still cares for and lives with his mother, a rude, possibly senile 87-year-old widow, who is ruining her son's love life. He resents her so much that he tries to scare her to death by donning a
gorilla suit Gorilla suits are a type of creature suit resembling a gorilla. The gorilla suit is a popular Halloween and costume party costume, and is also used as a source of humour, while more realistic suits have been used both to represent real gorillas ...
and attacking her in bed, only to end up being hit hard in the groin by her. Nevertheless, she seems unaware of his intentions and refers to him as a "good boy." Despite his deep resentment for his mother and his desire to be rid of her, Gordon had made a deathbed promise to his father not to place her in a rest home, which causes him severe anguish. She continuously asks, "Where's Poppa?" His repeated response is, "Still dead." He is desperate to hire a nurse for help but, since his mother has already had conflicts with many of them, no one will agree take the job. Gordon finally locates Louise, a young and beautiful nurse whose patients have a peculiar habit of dying in her care. Instantly smitten with her, he hires Louise to be his mother's companion, despite her notable lack of any qualifications. Thrilled about his budding love, he immediately becomes frightened that his mother will sabotage it and, when he invites Louise over to his apartment on the
Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...
, he tries to lock his mother away in her room. After a disastrous first meeting between Louise and his mother, a frustrated Gordon calls his brother Sidney and threatens to kill his mother if he doesn't immediately take her off his hands. Worried that Gordon will actually carry through with his threats, Sidney, who lives with his family on the
Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...
, ignores the protests of his wife and runs in the middle of the night across
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
, where he has a history of repeatedly being mugged. As expected, his muggers again confront him and steal his clothes. When a naked Sidney arrives at Gordon's apartment, Louise has already left so, after agreeing to help the next time he needs him, Sidney borrows the gorilla costume and wears it home. Soon after, Louise returns and, realizing that this may be his last chance with her, Gordon calls Sidney's apartment to come back to help. On his way back across the park, however, a gorilla-suit wearing Sidney runs again into his muggers and they force him to assault a woman in the park, who turns out to be an undercover male police officer. Back at his apartment, Gordon's mother humiliates him in front of Louise at dinner, pulling down his pants and biting his buttocks. This causes Louise to flee into a cab, leaving Gordon on the street with his pants still around his ankles. A despondent Gordon visits Sidney in jail, who, to both of their surprise, gets off free. The next day, Gordon returns to work, but, tired and unfocused, he represents a client in court with utter incompetence. During this trial, Louise appears at the back of the courtroom and Gordon leaves abruptly to meet her. At the end of his rope, with Louise unable to stand his mother one minute more and threatening to leave Gordon, he returns to his apartment, picks up his mother, packs her luggage, and tells her that they're going to meet Poppa. Gordon drives with his mother and Louise to a series of rest homes, some of which take terrible care of their residents but none of which currently have room. After eventually finding one that will take his mother, Gordon drops her off at the entrance and presents a random elderly stranger as Poppa. Finally free of his mother, Gordon and Louise then drive away joyously.


Cast


Production

Filming took place in New York, including
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. Other filming locations included
sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or te ...
s on the West Side, streets in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
,
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
, and several sites in
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
. Filming was concluded as of June 1970, after seven weeks of filming in and around New York. Director
Carl Reiner Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, author, comedian, director and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. He was the List of awards and nominations received by Carl Reiner, recipient of many awards and ...
's son
Rob Reiner Robert Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and liberal activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael Stivic, Mike "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitc ...
had an early role in the film.


Alternate ending

The film's original ending, featuring Gordon in bed with his mother, was considered too risqué and was removed before the theatrical release. In a
post-credits scene A post-credits scene (also known as a stinger, end tag, or credit cookie) is a short teaser clip that appears after the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV show, or video game has run. It is usually ...
removed from the movie but still seen in cable prints and featured on several home video releases, Gordon's ruse to keep his mother at the rest home has failed. She calls him at his apartment and, sensing that this will continue, Louise follows through on her threat to leave him. With the phone still in his hand, Gordon drives up to the rest home and, upon arriving, appears likely to murder his mother. However, resigned to the belief he will never be rid of her, he instead dejectedly climbs into bed with his mother, saying, "Here's Poppa."


Release

''Where's Poppa?'' was released in the United States on November 10, 1970, by
United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
. Though it did not do well upon first release, it subsequently gained a following, prompting United Artists to re-release it nationally in 1975 under the title ''Going Ape''. United Artists chose the title because the film involved various gorilla-related shenanigans. ''Where's Poppa?'' was released on DVD in 2002, and on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
in 2016. In regards to the VHS releases of ''Where's Poppa?'', the Key Video release was the theatrical version, which had its original ending changed to a more 'sedate' finish. The later MGM/UA Home Video release had the original ending restored where Gordon Hocheiser ends up in the bed with his mother. Thus, viewers have their choice of which version they prefer to watch.


Reception

Roger Greenspun Roger Greenspun (December 16, 1929 – June 18, 2017) was an American journalist and film critic, best known for his work with ''The New York Times'' in which he reviewed near 400 films, particularly in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and for '' ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' wrote that if the film "doesn't succeed all the time, or even most of the time, it succeeds often enough, if only by energy and will, to satisfy a taste for comedy that has not had much nourishment this season."
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
rated the film three stars out of four and recommended it to those "who want to laugh and like being offended."
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...
of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote that Klane "has written his screenplay as tho he thought it would be his last (a position which can be self-enforcing). He's crammed the short story (only 83 minutes) with comments on the Army, little-league baseball and Central Park. He should have stayed with his major story premise which is wickedly funny." ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote that "Many ... will be offended by this black comedy," but "Many others will feel it only hurts when you laugh, and that director Carl Reiner, with a maniac zeal, has pulled off one of the most outrageous and funniest comedies this year."
Charles Champlin Charles Davenport Champlin (March 23, 1926 – November 16, 2014) was an American film critic and writer. Life and career Champlin was born in Hammondsport, New York. He attended high school in Camden, New York, working as a columnist for the ...
of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' called the film "irreverent, foul-mouthed, vulgar, tasteless, indecent and—for reasons I'm not sure I fully understand—riotously funny." Gary Arnold of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' wrote that George Segal was "in really brilliant form" but the film's mix of "self-consciously outrageous" scenes and charming scenes "don't blend, and often the tendency of one style warps or undermines the tendency of another."
Tom Milne Tom Milne (2 April 1926 – 14 December 2005) was a British film critic. See also After war service, he studied English and French at Aberdeen University and later at the Sorbonne. Interested in the theatre too, he wrote for the magazine ...
of ''
The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...
'' wrote, "Flawlessly scripted, acted and directed, and hovering somewhere between '' Lord Love a Duck'' and ''
Little Murders ''Little Murders'' is a 1971 American black comedy film directed by Alan Arkin, in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Elliott Gould and Marcia Rodd. Based on the stage play of the same name by Jules Feiffer, it is the story of a ...
'' in its delightfully eccentric humour, ''Where's Poppa?'' is one of the ''nicest'' black comedies in years, as well as the funniest."


Award nominations


Television pilot

In 1979, a half-hour
television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
was aired on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
for a proposed series titled ''Where's Poppa?'', starring
Steven Keats Steven Keats (born Steven Paul Keitz; February 6, 1945 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor who appeared in such films as '' Death Wish'' (as Charles Bronson's character's son-in-law), '' Black Sunday'', '' Hester Street'' and the Chuck Norris ...
(Gordon),
Elsa Lanchester Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (28 October 1902 – 26 December 1986) was a British actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.Obituary '' Variety'', 31 December 1986. Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the First World ...
(Momma), and
Allan Miller Allan Miller (born February 14, 1929) is an American stage, film, and television actor. Biography Miller served in the U.S. Army after World War II during the occupation of Japan.Miller, Daryl H"Stages of Development" ''Los Angeles Times'' ...
(Sidney). The series wasn't picked up.


See also

*
List of American films of 1970 This is a list of American films released in 1970. Box office The highest-grossing American films released in 1970, by domestic box office gross revenue as estimated by '' The Numbers'', are as follows: January–March April–June Jul ...


References


External links

* * * {{Carl Reiner 1970 films 1970 black comedy films 1970s satirical films American black comedy films American satirical films 1970s English-language films Films about lawyers Films based on American novels Films directed by Carl Reiner Films scored by Jack Elliott (composer) Films set in Manhattan Films shot in New York City Films shot in New Jersey United Artists films 1970s American films Films about mother–son relationships Films with screenplays by Robert Klane English-language black comedy films