Kotch (1971)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Jack Lemmon

Writers:

John Paxton (writer)
Katherine Topkins (novel)

Release Date:

17 September 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Joseph Kotcher, a retired traveling salesman, lives with his son Gerald and daughter-in-law Wilma in Los Angeles...

Plot Keywords:

Senility | One Word Title | Old Age | Based On Novel | Independent Film

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Walter Matthau	...	Joseph P. Kotcher
Deborah Winters	...	Erica Herzenstiel
Felicia Farr	...	Wilma Kotcher
Charles Aidman	...	Gerald Kotcher
Ellen Geer	...	Vera Kotcher
Donald Kowalski	...	Duncan Kotcher
Dean Kowalski	...	Duncan Kotcher
Arlen Stuart	...	Mrs. Fisher
Jane Connell	...	Miss Roberts
James Brodhead	...	Mr. Weaver
Jessica Rains	...	Dr. McKernan
Darrell Larson	...	Vincent Perrin
Biff Elliot	...	Pink Motel manager
Paul Picerni	...	Dr. Ramon Caudillo
Lucy Saroyan	...	Sissy

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Palm Springs, California, USA

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Trivia:

Walter Matthau was only 50 at the time of filming. The actor playing his son (Charles Aidman) was 45.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Kotch collects old bowling pins to throw into his fireplace to keep warm; in reality, the thick plastic coatings would create smoke and noxious fumes.

Quotes:

Joseph P. Kotcher: [about his wife and baby son in the car] She covered all the windows every time she changed him. I don't know why, I don't know what harm it would do people seeing his little pink pecker at 25 miles an hour, but she covered the windows every time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Remembers Walter Matthau (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Life Is What You Make It

A hidden gem

When this movie first came out I was in college and must have taken 4 or 5 different dates to see it. This movie was a mini cult phenomenon on campus, at least where I was, so I have always been surprised that it didn't get more publicity and acclaim. I saw it so many times because I felt it was a very worthwhile and meaningful film as a view into aging, the way we take care of elderly people, especially when it might be inconvenient for us. It was a good look into the feelings and hang-ups of people interacting among themselves: a retired man feeling increasingliy irrelevant in the environment he is compelled to live in, his spineless and uncomprehending son who doesn't offer much support at all, and his post-natal depressive daughter-in-law who can't understand why she has to put up with this codger who complicates her alreay-more-complicated life.

The movie also has a lot to say about the power of the human spirit to cope with change and make the best of things that aren't always going the way we always want them to.

I would like to see it again after 30+ years, but I can't find it at the usual rental stores. Having thought about it, though, I will continue to seek.