July 29 - What's Up, Doc?

Here is a film with a scene that happens today – July 29. I hope you enjoy this movie and watch it tonight.

WHAT’S UP DOC?

A man with a plaid traveling case full of top secret documents arrives in San Francisco on July 29, 1972 [3:11 to 47:58] He is pursued by another man to the Hotel Bristol. Absent-minded music professor Howard Bannister arrives from Ames, Iowa with his domineering fiancée Eunice Burns to attend the Congress of American Musicologists convention, where Howard hopes to win the $20,000.00 Larrabee grant  for his paper on early man’s use of igneous rocks to produce music. Howard and Eunice both have plaid traveling cases, his full of rocks, hers full of lingerie. Mrs. Van Hoskins checks into the hotel with a plaid traveling case stuffed with valuable jewelry. The desk clerk and hotel detective are plotting to steal the jewels. When Howard goes to get aspirin he meets Judy Maxwell, who starts flirting with him. She also has a plaid traveling case. At the banquet Howard meets Mr. Larrabee and his rival for the grant, Hugh Simon. Judy, taking advantage of Eunice’s late arrival at the banquet impersonates her as ‘Burnsie’. She so impresses Larrabee that when Eunice finally does show up, Howard says he doesn’t know her and she is thrown out. Through a series of break-ins the bags of secret documents, Mrs. Van Hoskins jewels, and Eunice’s and Judy’s clothes get moved around. When Howard returns to his room Judy is there in the tub and chaos ensues culminating in a fire in the room. The next morning Howard meets Judy in the hotel’s unfinished penthouse suite. She tells about the many colleges she has been expelled from and they have an amorous interlude. Howard learns he has won the grant and is invited to a reception at Larrabee’s house. Judy diverts Eunice to the address where the house detective was to deliver Mrs. Van Hoskins stolen jewels. Everyone eventually realizes they have the wrong case and they all race to Larabee’s house where a riot occurs. Howard and Judy take all the bags and take off on a stolen grocery delivery bicycle. The others follow in three other cars. A hilarious chase ensues involving a shattered plate glass window, a Chinese dragon and everyone ending up in San Francisco Bay. They are all arrested and hauled into court where the Judge turns out to be none other than Judy’s father. All the bags are returned to their rightful owners. The reward Mrs. Van Hoskins had offered just pays for all the damages. Due to the disastrous turn of events, Larrabee awards the grant to Hugh Simon until he says something that causes Judy and Larrabee to realize that his paper was plagiarized, so Howard gets the grant after all. Eunice stays in San Francisco with Larrabee as their joint near death experiences during the chase brought them together. Howard flies back to Iowa, but finds Judy on the plane and tells her he loves her. The film ends with a kiss. 

A hilarious slapstick comedy. The script is just as funny, with many laugh out loud lines. O’Neal’s deadpan delivery and Madeline Kan’s over-the-top performance make this one of the all time classics of comedy films. As hard as it is to believe today, the film was not nominated for even one Academy Award.

The court crier gives the date as 30^th of July, 1972 at 1:16:23-25. Howard, after telling about the banquet says “the next day, today” at 1:23:19-20, so the day before was the 29^th  of July.

Producer - Peter Bogdanovich

Director - Peter Bogdanovich

Screenplay - Peter Bogdanovich, Buck Henry, David Newman and Robert Benton

Runtime – 1 hour 34 minutes

Released - March 10, 1972

Starring –

Barbra Streisand as Judy Maxwell

Ryan O'Neal as Howard Bannister

Madeline Kahn as Eunice Burns

Kenneth Mars as Hugh Simon

Austin Pendleton as Frederick Larrabee

Michael Murphy  as Mr Smith

Philip Roth as Mr Jones

Sorrell Booke as Harry

Stefan Gierasch as Fritz

Mabel Albertson as Mrs Van Hoskins

Liam Dunn as Judge Maxwell

John Hillerman as Hotel Manager

George Morfogen as Head Waiter

Graham Jarvis as Bailiff

Randy Quaid as Professor Hosquith

M. Emmet Walsh as Arresting Officer