# Where's Poppa?
**Where's Poppa?** is a 1970 American dark comedy directed by [Carl Reiner](https://www.edgepedia.org/carl-reiner), adapted by Robert Klane from his own novel, in which a New York lawyer tries to rid himself of his senile mother so that she will not destroy his romance with a nurse. It stars [George Segal](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-segal), Ruth Gordon, Trish Van Devere, and [Ron Leibman](https://www.edgepedia.org/ron-leibman), and was distributed by United Artists.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | New York opening 10 November 1970; Los Angeles opening 16 December 1970; distributed by United Artists[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA) |
| Source | Based on Robert Klane's novel *Where's Poppa?* (Random House, 1970); Klane also wrote the screenplay[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA) |
| Principal cast | George Segal as Gordon Hocheiser, Ruth Gordon as Mrs. Hocheiser, Trish Van Devere as Louise Callan, Ron Leibman as Sidney Hocheiser[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA) |
| Budget | $1 million, per a 25 March 1970 Variety article[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA) |
| Rating | MPAA rating R; the National Association of Theatre Owners argued the film merited an X[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA) |
| Runtime | 84 minutes per the AFI Catalog; 82 minutes per several home-video and database listings[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wheres_poppa) |
| Later title | Re-released nationally in 1975 as *Going Ape*[3](https://www.netflixmovies.com/where-s-poppa-1970) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Gordon Hocheiser is a Manhattan lawyer who lives with his elderly widowed mother, who repeatedly asks "Where's Poppa?" about a husband who has been dead for years. Bound by a deathbed promise to his father never to place her in a rest home, Gordon watches her eccentric and obscene behavior ruin every romance. The film opens with him donning a gorilla costume and leaping onto her bed in an attempt to scare her to death; the eighty-seven-year-old woman responds by striking him in the groin with her cane.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA)
Gordon hires a private nurse, Louise Callan, whose list of former patients who died under her care does not discourage him, and the two fall in love. When his mother's behavior threatens the relationship, Gordon pleads with his brother Sidney to take her away. Sidney, a habitual victim of a [Central Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/central-park) mugging gang that strips him even of his clothes, borrows the gorilla suit for his trip home, is stopped by the muggers, and is arrested when the woman he is coerced toward turns out to be a policeman in disguise; the officer later refuses to press charges and sends Sidney a bouquet of flowers and a thank-you note.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA)
### Alternate ending
An early cut screened twice in New York City ended differently. In that version, Gordon drops his mother at a retirement home, has to return after she causes a ruckus, loses his girlfriend in the process, and reunites with his mother by jumping on top of her and announcing "Poppa's come home." The released version instead shows Gordon wheeling an elderly gentleman up to his mother, introducing him as "Poppa," and riding off with his girl. [United Artists](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-artists) said the ending was changed to give the film a more upbeat conclusion, not in response to test-audience criticism. The alternate ending was later included as an extra on the 2016 Kino Lorber DVD and Blu-ray release.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA) • [6](https://catalog.slcpl.org/search/title.aspx?cn=990969&pos=1)
## Production
The project was announced as Carl Reiner's next directorial film in August 1969. The production company, Where's Poppa Co., was formed by producers Jerry Tokofsky and Marvin Worth together with Reiner, Klane, and lead actor George Segal. [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) began in New York City on 2 March 1970; three weeks of interiors were filmed at a Manhattan studio, followed by location shooting in Central Park and on [Long Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/long-island), and filming was completed by early May 1970.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA)
Jack Priestley was the director of photography, Warren Clymer the art director, Bud Molin and Chic Ciccolini the editors, and Jack Elliott the composer; Elliott and Norman Gimbel wrote the film's songs, including the title song sung by Clydie King.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA) Paul Sorvino made his film debut in the picture.[4](https://www.laemmle.com/film/wheres-poppa) Reiner's son [Rob Reiner](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-reiner) appears as Roger, a draft dodger defended by Gordon in a subplot involving a racist military general.[5](https://www.screenslate.com/articles/wheres-poppa)
## Censorship and rating controversy
Reiner predicted before release that, despite containing no nudity, the "controversial" picture would be rated R or X by the Motion Picture Association of America. The MPAA granted an R, but the National Association of Theatre Owners protested, attending a screening in early November 1970 and determining that the film merited an X. United Artists responded, "Thank God there's no correlation between what they think and business." UA also accused the New York radio station WOR of "arbitrary censorship" after it refused to run advertisements and barred Segal from mentioning the film during an interview on *The Martha Deane Show*.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA)
## Reception and legacy
Contemporary reviews were divided. Reviews in Daily Variety, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times in November and December 1970 were generally favorable while acknowledging the film's raunchy content.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA) Roger Ebert, the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times) critic and later [Pulitzer Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/pulitzer-prize) winner, gave it three stars and wrote that "There is a certain kind of humor that rises below vulgarity. It isn't merely in the worst possible taste; it aspires to be in the worst possible taste. Where's Poppa? is the best example of the genre since The Producers," adding, "Go if you want to laugh and like being offended."[7](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wheres-poppa-1970) Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times called it "irreverent, foul-mouthed, vulgar, tasteless, indecent and… riotously funny."[4](https://www.laemmle.com/film/wheres-poppa) Time's Stefan Kanfer was dismissive, calling it "a single joke" whose punch line was "the commonplace twelve-letter obscenity."[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/215572/wheres-poppa)
The film did poorly on first release but gained a following, prompting United Artists to re-release it nationally in 1975 under the title *Going Ape*, chosen for the gorilla-suit shenanigans.[3](https://www.netflixmovies.com/where-s-poppa-1970) It has since been described as a cult favorite; critics have noted its politically incorrect humor about old age, mother love, and police misconduct, and J. Hoberman wrote that its "extended slapstick riffs" head "straight into psychosexual hyperbole," with passages that "seem Hollywood's equivalent of the Kafkaesque."[4](https://www.laemmle.com/film/wheres-poppa) • [9](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/wheres-poppa1/) On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes it holds an 82% Tomatometer score from 11 reviews.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wheres_poppa)
Robert Klane's script earned him a Writers Guild of America Award nomination in the category of Best American Comedy Adapted for Another Medium.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA) Klane, who died in 2023, later wrote *Weekend at Bernie's* (1989); his 1992 film *Folks!* revisited the theme of adult children coping with elderly parents, and Roger Ebert placed it on his Worst of 1992 list, in contrast to his favorable view of *Where's Poppa?*.[6](https://catalog.slcpl.org/search/title.aspx?cn=990969&pos=1) • [10](https://thenewbev.com/blog/2020/03/a-tale-of-two-poppas/)
## References
1. [Where's Poppa? (1970), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23519-WHERES-POPPA)
2. [Where's Poppa?, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wheres_poppa)
3. [Where's Poppa? (1970), NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/where-s-poppa-1970)
4. [Where's Poppa, Laemmle Theatres](https://www.laemmle.com/film/wheres-poppa)
5. [Where's Poppa?, Screen Slate (Sarah Winshall, 2017)](https://www.screenslate.com/articles/wheres-poppa)
6. [Where's Poppa? DVD catalog record, The City Library, Salt Lake City](https://catalog.slcpl.org/search/title.aspx?cn=990969&pos=1)
7. [Where's Poppa? movie review, RogerEbert.com (December 29, 1970)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wheres-poppa-1970)
8. [Where's Poppa? by David Sterritt, Turner Classic Movies (2008)](https://www.tcm.com/articles/215572/wheres-poppa)
9. [Where's Poppa?, Film at Lincoln Center](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/wheres-poppa1/)
10. [Carl Reiner & Robert Klane's Where's Poppa?, The New Beverly Cinema (2020)](https://thenewbev.com/blog/2020/03/a-tale-of-two-poppas/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Black comedy and satire films › Released 1939 to 1997*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license