Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Woody Allen | ... | Danny Rose | |
Mia Farrow | ... | Tina Vitale | |
Nick Apollo Forte | ... | Lou Canova | |
Sandy Baron | ... | Sandy Baron | |
Corbett Monica | ... | Corbett Monica | |
Jackie Gayle | ... | Jackie Gayle | |
Morty Gunty | ... | Morty Gunty | |
Will Jordan | ... | Will Jordan | |
Howard Storm | ... | Howard Storm | |
Jack Rollins | ... | Jack Rollins | |
Milton Berle | ... | Milton Berle | |
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Craig Vandenburgh | ... | Ray Webb |
Herb Reynolds | ... | Barney Dunn | |
Paul Greco | ... | Vito Rispoli | |
Frank Renzulli | ... | Joe Rispoli |
Danny Rose is a manager of artists, and although he's not very successful, he nevertheless goes out of his way to help his acts. So when Lou Canova, a singer who has a chance of making a come-back, asks Danny to help him with a problem, Danny helps him. This problem is Lou's mistress Tina. Lou wants Tina to be at his concerts, otherwise he can't perform, but he's married, so Danny has to take her along as if she was his girlfriend. Danny however gets more than he has bargained for when two mobsters come looking for the guy who has hurt their brother by stealing the heart of Tina, the girl he loves. Written by Leon Wolters <wolters@strw.LeidenUniv.nl>
A pretty funny Woody Allen comedy, in which Allen himself plays Danny Rose, small-time talent agent who finds himself falling for the mistress (Mia Farrow) of one of his clients (Nick Apollo Forte) when he has to pretend to be the mistress's date at one of his client's shows (it's a long story). Before long, Allen and Farrow are engaged in an escape from a gang of hoods that climaxes in a shootout in the storage warehouse for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Allen is hilarious as usual, but Farrow is the one who impressed me with her acting here. I already knew she was a fine dramatic actress, but here she gets to show her comedic side, playing a brassy floozy with a Joisy accent and enormous glasses.
The film is framed as a story one famous comedian is telling to a group of other famous comedians at New York City's Carnegie Deli, and the whole film has the patina of nostalgia for NYC that so often infuses Allen's films. Like "Manhattan," "Broadway Danny Rose" is filmed in black and white and looks fantastic.
Grade: A-