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IMDbPro

Kotch

  • 19711971
  • GPGP
  • 1h 53m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in Kotch (1971)
ComedyDrama
Wanting to avoid settling in a nursing home, Joseph Kotcher, a retired salesman, is obliged to leave his son's family. He embarks on a road trip during which he strikes up a friendship with ... Read allWanting to avoid settling in a nursing home, Joseph Kotcher, a retired salesman, is obliged to leave his son's family. He embarks on a road trip during which he strikes up a friendship with a pregnant teenager and begins to understand the true meaning of life as he helps the girl... Read allWanting to avoid settling in a nursing home, Joseph Kotcher, a retired salesman, is obliged to leave his son's family. He embarks on a road trip during which he strikes up a friendship with a pregnant teenager and begins to understand the true meaning of life as he helps the girl give birth to her child.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
    • Jack Lemmon
    • John Paxton(screenplay)
    • Katharine Topkins(novel "Kotch")
  • Stars
    • Walter Matthau
    • Deborah Winters
    • Felicia Farr
    • Jack Lemmon
    • John Paxton(screenplay)
    • Katharine Topkins(novel "Kotch")
  • Stars
    • Walter Matthau
    • Deborah Winters
    • Felicia Farr
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 13User reviews
    • 15Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 4 Oscars

    Photos24

    "Kotch" Dir. Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau 1971 ABC/Kotch Co.
    "Kotch" Walter Matthau 1971 ABC/Kotch Co.
    "Kotch" Walter Matthau, Deborah Winters 1971 ABC/Kotch Co.
    Walter Matthau and Deborah Winters in Kotch (1971)
    Walter Matthau in Kotch (1971)
    Walter Matthau in Kotch (1971)
    Walter Matthau in Kotch (1971)
    Walter Matthau and Charles Aidman in Kotch (1971)
    Walter Matthau, Dean Kowalski, and Donald Kowalski in Kotch (1971)
    Walter Matthau in Kotch (1971)
    Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in Kotch (1971)
    Walter Matthau, Charles Aidman, Felicia Farr, Dean Kowalski, and Donald Kowalski in Kotch (1971)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Walter Matthau
    Walter Matthau
    • Joseph P. Kotcher
    Deborah Winters
    Deborah Winters
    • Erica Herzenstiel
    Felicia Farr
    Felicia Farr
    • Wilma Kotcher
    Charles Aidman
    Charles Aidman
    • Gerald Kotcher
    Ellen Geer
    Ellen Geer
    • Vera Kotcher
    Donald Kowalski
    • Duncan Kotcher
    Dean Kowalski
    • Duncan Kotcher
    Arlen Stuart
    • Mrs. Fisher
    Jane Connell
    Jane Connell
    • Miss Roberts
    James Brodhead
    • Mr. Weaver
    • (as James E. Brodhead)
    Jessica Rains
    • Dr. McKernan
    Darrell Larson
    Darrell Larson
    • Vincent Perrin
    Biff Elliot
    Biff Elliot
    • Motel Manager
    Paul Picerni
    Paul Picerni
    • Dr. Caudillo
    Lucy Saroyan
    Lucy Saroyan
    • Sissy
    Kim Hamilton
    Kim Hamilton
    • Receptionist
    Tamar Cooper
    • Nurse
    Amzie Strickland
    Amzie Strickland
    • Film Narrator
      • Jack Lemmon
      • John Paxton(screenplay)
      • Katharine Topkins(novel "Kotch")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Directorial debut for Jack Lemmon. Lemmon found direction duties both emotionally and physically draining and felt very uncomfortable behind the camera. This was his one and only film as a director.
    • Goofs
      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.

    • Connections
      Featured in Stars of the Silver Screen: Walter Matthau (2016)
    • Soundtracks
      Life Is What You Make It
      Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

      Music by Marvin Hamlisch

    User reviews13

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    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.
    helpful•31
    3
    • osgrath
    • Apr 30, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 17, 1971 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • ABC Pictures Corporation
      • Kotch Company Productions
      • American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 53 minutes
      • Mono

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