Professor Popper's Problem facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Professor Popper's Problem
Post-1989 title frame
Directed by	Gerry O'Hara
Produced by	Roy Simpson
Screenplay by	Leo Maguire
Story by	Richard Loncraine
Starring	Charlie Drake Adam Richens Debra Collins Philip da Costa
Music by	Kenneth V. Jones
Cinematography	Ken Hodges
Editing by	James Needs
Studio	Mersey Film Productions Children's Film Foundation
Distributed by	BBC (1984) Cineplex-Odeon Home Video (1989) MCA Home Video (1989)
Release date(s)	[[Category:Expression error: Unrecognized word "january". movies]]1 January 1975 (1975-January-01)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£250,000

Professor Popper's Problem is a 1975 British children's science fiction comedy film directed by Gerry O'Hara, starring Charlie Drake in the titular role. Featuring a number of child actors, Todd Carty, Milo O'Shea, and Sydney Bromley also appear. The serial picture was produced for the Children's Film Foundation (CFF) by Roy Simpson of Mersey Film Productions, presenting a screenplay by Leo Maguire and soundtrack by Kenneth V. Jones. The story concerns an eccentric science teacher named Professor P. Popper, miniaturised with a group of pupils after accidentally consuming shrinking pills. A student apart from the group volunteers her help, as, separately, does a colleague of Popper's. As they search for an antidote, Popper and his entourage must see off multiple dangers, including criminals determined to steal his shrinking formula.

Filmed at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, Professor Popper's Problem was serialised into six 14 to 16 minute episodes for television viewing. Akin to other CFF features of the 1970s, the film broke with the Foundation's earlier releases by accurately representing aspects of working-class Britain, albeit through a science fiction narrative. Though restricted by a small budget, props and special effects defined the film; in this respect, O'Hara praised Tom Howard for his work on the picture. Reviews have been few and mixed from its release on 1 January 1975. Upon immediate showings, the film was characterised as unpretentious entertainment. Conversely, the picture has since been appraised as a low-point in Drake's career, simply by his agreeing to act in something perceived as so small. These criticisms have nevertheless been matched by retrospective assessments approving of the film's realistic depictions of 1970s Britain, in addition to Drake's subsequent theatrical roles.

Plot

In a British suburban community, groundskeeper Crickle prepares for a school's re-opening after the holidays. One of its staff, Professor P. Popper, is a diminutive and bespectacled science teacher who is extremely eccentric. Amid brewing potions and a crowded chalkboard, he is accompanied in his jumbled workspace by a talking bird and an affectionate dog. Popper exhibits forgetful and repetitive behaviours, misremembering names and intermittently singing a ditty about Napoleon. In an elaborate bid to eradicate world hunger, he invents a shrinking powder, which when sprayed on vast food stocks facilitates a size reduction that allows for transportation by a single airplane. An antidote would also be provided, restoring the aid to its original dimensions once deployed. Popper and his pupil protégé, Simon, accidentally consume the powder in pill-form after it finds its way into their mugs of tea. A wider group of Popper's student assistants—Terry, Angus, Carol, and Peter—mistakenly join the pair in their predicament after searching for them. However, Liz, another of the Professor's tutees, avoids the fate of her classmates and is consequently tasked with helping them in their plight. Initially confined to Popper's chaotic laboratory, the affected group are now two inches tall, each the size of an insect. Their environment is greatly altered as a result; a book is now like a cliff edge, the rotary dial resembles a carousel, pennies are the size of hula hoops and a cat's paw is as large as a Ford Transit.

Unconcerned, the Professor is happy to sing to his students about the benefits of their newfound scale. Popper's colleague, Professor Crabbit (dressed in the attire of Sherlock Holmes), meanwhile sets about investigating what has happened to the cohort, arousing the suspicion of local man Rollins. Having misplaced the antidote to his formula, Popper's shrinking powder further becomes a prime target of theft. Covert Russian operatives bent on industrial espionage and a London gang, the latter sporting two crooks sent to miniaturise the Bank of England and sell it to the United States in a suitcase, initiate their pursuits. The danger is eventually supplemented by the Professor's group being chased by an enlarged tarantula, as well as a perilous roller skate ride through the capital. Still, the formula is ultimately protected by Popper through this trepidation, and all the villains' plans are ultimately thwarted. Having finally discovered an antidote, normality resumes for the schoolchildren and their teacher.

Cast

Among others, the film features Charlie Drake (left, 1986), Todd Carty (centre, 2009), and Milo O'Shea (right, 1967)

The film's cast comprises:

Images for kids

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  Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire (pictured in 2011)