These notes on Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up, Doc? were written by Samantha Herndon, a former graduate student in UW Madison's Department of Communication Arts. A 35mm print of What's Up, Doc? will screen on Friday, March 11, in the Cinematheque's regular venue, 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave. Admission is free.

By Samantha Herndon

Inspired by screwball comedies of the 1930s and '40s, by the French New Wave, and by Bugs Bunny himself, What's Up, Doc? is a New Hollywood take on the witty romantic comedy. Ryan O'Neal plays Howard Bannister, an uptight musicologist arriving at an important conference with his plainful fiancée Eunice Burns (Madeline Kahn), only to be knocked off his feet by a series of encounters with the freewheeling, beautiful Judy Maxwell, played by Barbra Streisand in one of her funniest performances. What's Up, Doc? stands out among films of the early '70s, with its focus on farcical situational comedy, romance that shuns the old-fashioned for the modern, and a star-powered cast that doesn't hesitate to make fun of themselves. 50 years after its original release, the film maintains both commercial and critical appeal, and was among the highest-grossing films at the 1972 box offices, competing with The Poseidon Adventure and The Godfather.

Director Peter Bogdanovich and production designer and producer Polly Platt had a working relationship that resulted in some of the most iconic films of the New Hollywood era that ran from 1967-1981 and both challenged and reinvigorated older styles of filmmaking. What's Up, Doc? is one of the finest of the Bogdanovich-Platt collaborations, which include Targets (1968), The Last Picture Show (1971), and Paper Moon (1973). Theirs was a dynamic collaboration that progressed from their work in summer stock theater in New York through their move to LA, tutelage by Orson Welles and John Ford, and lasted longer than their marriage. It was Platt's idea to set What's Up, Doc? in San Francisco, and the hilly streets, urbane '70s style, and distinctive architecture became a memorable backdrop for the film's slapstick comedy and unlikely romance.

Platt designed the sets of What's Up, Doc? to maximize the physical humor, using extra-wide doorways, a posh apartment where worlds collide, and a Rube Goldberg machine of a gift shop as the setting for the meet-cute. Platt took visual inspiration from Ernst Lubitsch and German Expressionism for the design elements. Her work on What's Up, Doc? and the Oscar favorite Last Picture Show earned her place as the first woman admitted into the Art Directors Guild.

Bogdanovich, who passed away in January of this year, was an actor's director, experienced in performance himself, and adept at bringing out different sides of the actors he worked with. Many of the cast and crew from Bogdanovich and Platt's earlier films worked on What's Up, Doc?, and their tight unit helped to create a comedic environment on set that was conducive to camaraderie and high jinks. Streisand plays against type, and her character's journey includes scaling the walls of the hotel and sinking into the Port of San Francisco. O'Neal is game to up the ante of the farce, playing a straight man turned sideways, willing to appear in bowtie and skivvies to sell the joke. In promoting What's Up, Doc?, Bogdanovich was effusive in his praise for Bringing Up Baby, the 1938 picture directed by Howard Hawks and scripted by Dudley Nichols and Hagar Wilde. Bogdanovich who, along with Platt, had connected with many of the previous generation of filmmakers upon moving to Hollywood, wanted to give credit to Hawks, and even consulted with him on the making of What's Up, Doc? "Just don't let them be cute," Hawks told Bogdanovich about his lead actors.

What's Up, Doc?'s script by Buck Henry, Robert Benton, and David Newman (who had worked together on Bonnie and Clyde) creates taught, daffy, rapid-fire dialogue that brings Howard closer and closer to Judy, and farther from Eunice, who shines as a "dangerously unbalanced woman." Buck Henry said of the scripting, "What's Up, Doc? is a farce, which generally means it's about nothing except itself. We wanted a G-rated comedy with no redeeming social values. It’s wacky farce, like Hollywood used to do in the thirties – very rare nowadays."

While Judy's keen interest in disrupting Howard's life in every way possible seems highly implausible, the film works best when you just give in to its conceits and roll with it through the hills of San Francisco. Cinematography by the always-great Laszlo Kovacs highlights the city's movement, culture, and stunning backdrops. The slow-burning chemistry between Streisand and O'Neal, who had dated prior to the production, infuses a sense of true romance amidst the laughter, particularly in the duo's piano rendition of "As Time Goes By."

If you're not familiar with the screwball comedy genre, there are many to enjoy, and What's Up, Doc? is a fun vehicle by which to enter the fray. The British Film Institute writes of the style, "Emerging in the 1930s, screwball comedies were a wild new strain of fast-talking farces involving battles of the sexes and a world forever on the brink of chaos." What's Up, Doc? exemplifies the genre, with an emphasis on the chaos.

In light of Peter Bogdanovich's recent death, we can look back on his fourth feature film and appreciate its playful humor, artful direction of memorable performances, and homage to earlier eras that mark Bogdanovich and company's best work.