{{Short description|1970 film by Carl Reiner}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Where's Poppa? | image = Where's Poppa poster.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = [[Carl Reiner]] | producer = [[Jerry Tokofsky]]<br>[[Marvin Worth]] | writer = [[Robert Klane]] (novel & screenplay) | starring = [[George Segal]]<br>[[Ruth Gordon]]<br>[[Ron Leibman]]<br>[[Trish Van Devere]] | music = [[Jack Elliott (composer)|Jack Elliott]] | cinematography = [[Jack Priestley]] | editing = Chic Ciccolini<br>[[Bud Molin]] | distributor = [[United Artists]] | released = {{Film date|1970|11|10|United States}} | runtime = 82 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $1 million<ref>{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA | title=AFI|Catalog }}</ref> }}
'''''Where's Poppa?''''' is a 1970 American [[black comedy|black comedy film]] based on the 1970 novel by [[Robert Klane]] and starring [[George Segal]], [[Ruth Gordon]], [[Ron Leibman]], and [[Trish Van Devere]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Where's Poppa?|url = https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/215572|website = Turner Classic Movies|access-date = 2015-05-08}}</ref> The plot revolves around the troubled relationship between a lawyer (Segal) and his [[senile]] mother (Gordon), who keeps interfering with his love life. The film was directed by [[Carl Reiner]], whose son [[Rob Reiner]] had a role in an early performance. Others in the cast include [[Paul Sorvino]] (in his film debut), [[Rae Allen]], [[Vincent Gardenia]] and [[Garrett Morris]]. The film was re-released in 1975, under the title '''''Going Ape''''', and maintains a [[Cult film|cult following]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Where's Poppa?|url = https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/poppa-26033/|website = Backstage|date = 2007-03-14|access-date = 2021-05-17}}</ref>
==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]] 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]], 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]], ignores the protests of his wife and runs in the middle of the night across [[Central Park]], 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 rape 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 explains that "the bad part" of the assault was that it was an undercover officer, but that he hadn't noticed because he was "terribly excited". However, to both of their surprise, Sidney gets off free after the raped officer sends Sidney flowers and a card saying "Thank you for a wonderful evening" and asking for his telephone number. 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 rest home which takes terrible care of their residents but which currently has no room. After eventually finding another 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== <!--- Cast and order per opening tombstone credits, roles per closing credits scroll ---> {{Cast listing| * [[George Segal]] as Gordon Hocheiser * [[Ruth Gordon]] as Mrs. Hocheiser * [[Ron Leibman]] as Sidney Hocheiser * [[Barnard Hughes]] as Colonel Hendricks * [[Vincent Gardenia]] as Coach Williams * [[Trish Van Devere]] as Louise Callan * [[Rae Allen]] as Gladys Hocheiser * [[Rob Reiner]] as Roger * [[Penny Marshall]] as courtroom spectator * [[Paul Sorvino]] as Owner of "Gus & Grace's Home" * [[William Le Massena]] as Judge * [[Michael McGuire (actor)|Michael McGuire]] as Army Lawyer * [[Martha Greenhouse]] as Owner of "Happytime Farms" * [[Israel Lang]] as Muthafucka * [[Garrett Morris]] as Garrett * Arnold Williams as Arnold * Buddy Butler as Buddy * Joe Keyes Jr. as the gang leader }}
==Production== Filming took place in New York,<ref name=Baltimore/> including [[Brooklyn]].<ref>{{cite web |title=News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/2223091/ |work=Redlands Daily Facts |date=1970-05-28 |access-date=2018-10-17}}</ref> Other filming locations included [[sound stage]]s on the [[West Side (Manhattan)|West Side]], streets in [[Manhattan]], [[Central Park]], and several sites in [[Long Island]]. Filming was concluded as of June 1970, after seven weeks of filming in and around New York.<ref name=Baltimore>{{cite web |title=Ruth Gordon With 'Poppa' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/377354337/ |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=1970-06-16 |access-date=2018-10-17}}</ref> Director [[Carl Reiner]]'s son [[Rob Reiner]] had an early role in the film.<ref name=Son>{{cite web |title=Son Follows 'Poppa' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/148676924/ |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=1970-07-10 |access-date=2018-10-17}}</ref>
===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.<ref name=OtherName/><ref>{{cite web |title=Here and There |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/88157259/ |work=The Pittsburgh Post |date=1970-11-03 |access-date=2018-10-17|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Dick Van Dyke Needs Pretty Girl For Phoenix |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/371772473/ |work=The Evening Sun |date=1970-11-17 |access-date=2018-10-17|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In a [[post-credits scene]] 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."<ref>{{cite web |title=Where's Poppa? |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wheres_poppa/ |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=2018-10-17 |quote=The film's incest-themed original ending (trimmed from the video version but still included in cable prints) finds Gordon climbing into bed with Mrs. Hocheiser, only to be greeted with a "Here's Poppa."}}</ref>
==Release== ''Where's Poppa?'' was released in the United States on November 10, 1970, by [[United Artists]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17842/wheres-poppa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018105305/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17842/wheres-poppa |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 18, 2020 |title=Where's Poppa? (1970) - Overview |publisher=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=2015-04-30}}</ref><ref name=NYT/><ref>{{cite web |title=Ruth Gordon Has Gone Full Circle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/139893391/ |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=1970-11-15 |access-date=2018-10-17|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 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''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Who can figure out big business? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/147316880/ |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=1975-03-05 |access-date=2018-10-17|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=More Movie News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/382730210/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1975-05-25 |access-date=2018-10-17|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Film Notes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/382109160/ |work=Chicago Tribune |date=1975-07-01 |access-date=2018-10-17|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription }}</ref> United Artists chose the title because the film involved various gorilla-related shenanigans.<ref name=OtherName>{{cite web |title=Movie by Any Other Name Is Same Film |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/398630056/ |work=The Atlanta Constitution |date=1975-06-15 |access-date=2018-10-17|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''Where's Poppa?'' was released on DVD in 2002, and on [[Blu-ray]] in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Where's Poppa? releases |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/wheres-poppa-v54252/releases |website=AllMovie |access-date=2018-10-17}}</ref>
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.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}
==Reception== [[Roger Greenspun]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' 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."<ref name=NYT>{{cite web |last=Greenspun |first=Roger |title=Screen: 'Where's Poppa?' Aims to Remove Bachelor's Momma |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/11/11/archives/screenwheres-poppa-aims-to-remove-bachelors-mommareiner-directs.html |work=The New York Times |date=1970-11-11 |access-date=2018-10-17}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] rated the film three stars out of four and recommended it to those "who want to laugh and like being offended."<ref>{{cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=Where's Poppa? |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wheres-poppa-1970 |work=RogerEbert.com |date=1970-12-29 |access-date=2018-10-17}}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' 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."<ref>Siskel, Gene (December 21, 1970). "...Where's Poppa?" ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 2, p. 9.</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' 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."<ref>"Film Reviews: Where's Poppa?" ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. November 11, 1970. 15.</ref> [[Charles Champlin]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called the film "irreverent, foul-mouthed, vulgar, tasteless, indecent and—for reasons I'm not sure I fully understand—riotously funny."<ref>Champlin, Charles (December 16, 1970). "'Where's Poppa?' Opens". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Part IV, p. 22.</ref> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' 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."<ref>Arnold, Gary (December 28, 1970). "Where's Poppa?" ''[[The Washington Post]]''. C6.</ref> [[Tom Milne]] of ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote, "Flawlessly scripted, acted and directed, and hovering somewhere between ''[[Lord Love a Duck]]'' and ''[[Little Murders]]'' in its delightfully eccentric humour, ''Where's Poppa?'' is one of the ''nicest'' black comedies in years, as well as the funniest."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Milne |first=Tom |date=January 1972 |title=Where's Poppa? |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=39 |issue=456 |page=19 }}</ref>
==Award nominations== {| class="wikitable" |- style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;" ! style="background:#bcbcbc;"|Year ! style="background:#bcbcbc;"|Award ! style="background:#bcbcbc;"|Result ! style="background:#bcbcbc;"|Category ! style="background:#bcbcbc;"|Recipient |- | rowspan=2|1971 || Laurel Awards || rowspan=2|'''Nominated''' || Star of Tomorrow, Female || Trish Van Devere |- | [[Writers Guild of America Award]] || Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium || Robert Klane |}
==Television pilot== In 1979, a half-hour [[television pilot]] was aired on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] for a proposed series titled ''Where's Poppa?'', starring [[Steven Keats]] (Gordon), [[Elsa Lanchester]] (Momma), and [[Allan Miller]] (Sidney). The series wasn't picked up.<ref>{{cite web |last=O'Connor |first=John J. |title=TV: 'Where's Poppa?' May Be Series |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/17/archives/tv-wheres-poppa-may-be-series.html |work=The New York Times |date=1979-07-17 |access-date=2018-10-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=69-_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268 |first=Vincent |last=Terrace |year=2019 |title=Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937–2019 |page=268 |isbn=978-1-4766-7874-0 |edition=2 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc.| location=Jefferson, North Carolina |access-date=2023-07-05 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Goldberg |first=Lee |title=The Best TV Shows That Never Were: 300 Memorable Unsold Pilots |date=2015 |publisher=[[Lee Goldberg]] |isbn=9781511590747 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5BRLDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT103 |access-date=2018-10-17}}</ref>
==See also== * [[List of American films of 1970]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|0066563|Where's Poppa?}} *{{rotten-tomatoes|id=wheres_poppa|title=Where's Poppa?}} *{{TCMDb title|id=17842|title=Where's Poppa?}}
{{Carl Reiner}}
[[Category:1970 films]] [[Category:1970 black comedy films]] [[Category:1970s satirical films]] [[Category:American black comedy films]] [[Category:American satirical films]] [[Category:1970 English-language films]] [[Category:Films about lawyers]] [[Category:Films based on American novels]] [[Category:Films directed by Carl Reiner]] [[Category:Films scored by Jack Elliott (composer)]] [[Category:Films set in Manhattan]] [[Category:Films shot in New York City]] [[Category:Films shot in New Jersey]] [[Category:United Artists films]] [[Category:1970 American films]] [[Category:Films about mother–son relationships]] [[Category:Films with screenplays by Robert Klane]] [[Category:English-language black comedy films]]