What's Up, Doc? (1972)

Director:

Peter Bogdanovich

Writers:

Peter Bogdanovich (story)
Buck Henry (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 March 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music | Romance

Tagline:

A screwball comedy. Remember them?

Plot:

Two researchers have come to San Francisco to compete for a research grant in Music. One seems a bit distracted...

Plot Keywords:

Jewel | Hotel | Prehistoric | Spy | Love

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win

Cast

Barbra Streisand	...	Judy Maxwell
Ryan O'Neal	...	Dr. Howard Bannister
Madeline Kahn	...	Eunice Burns
Kenneth Mars	...	Hugh Simon
Austin Pendleton	...	Frederick Larrabee
Michael Murphy	...	Mr. Smith
Philip Roth	...	Mr. Jones (as Phil Roth)
Sorrell Booke	...	Harry
Stefan Gierasch	...	Fritz
Mabel Albertson	...	Mrs. Van Hoskins
Liam Dunn	...	Judge Maxwell
John Hillerman	...	Mr. Kaltenborn
George Morfogen	...	Rudy, the Headwaiter
Graham Jarvis	...	Bailiff
Randy Quaid	...	Professor Hosquith

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M (DVD rating) | Finland:S | Norway:12 | Sweden:Btl | USA:G | West Germany:12 | Australia:G | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

22nd Avenue & Balboa Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Saticoy Productions

Trivia:

First American film to credit the stunt people in the credits (first British film to do so was the James Bond film Moonraker (1979)).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the chase, when the van is hit multiple times it is crushed widthwise. When the driver comes out and opens the door, the van falls over (away from the camera) revealing an underside that shows it is not a crushed car at all but prop specially made for the film.

Quotes:

Eunice: I'm not looking for romance, Howard.
Howard: Oh?
Eunice: No, I'm looking for something more important than that, something stronger. As the years go by, romance fades and something else takes its place. Do you know what that is?
Howard: Senility?
Eunice: Trust!
Howard: That's what I meant.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Night of Comic Relief 2 (1989) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Santa Lucia

Silly slap stick humour at its best

This film really does make the equivalent Carry On movies extremely juvenile. Very rarely, if at all does this film delve into lavatorial/innuendo humour. All of its humour is based on slapstick and a terrific script full of one-liners that you never tire of viewing. They could have made a sequel, but then the humour would have soured in the same way that the Naked Gun or Airplane films did. All the characterisations are spot on, everyone except Striesand is portrayed as being bumbling unsubtle fools including the CIA and Russian spys. It's basically a change to see the Americans not taking themselves seriously for once. Kenneth Mars is very amusing as O'Neal's opponent for the music grant. Of particular note is the car chase in San Francisco in an exaggerated Bullitt style. Granted, it is very dated - it's 1972 and chequered flares and velvet is much in evidence, but this adds to the film's charm. It is one of the few films that I was sad to see ending...