Broadway Danny Rose (1984)

A struggling show biz agent (Woody Allen) handles acts like a one legged tap dancer, stuttering ventriloquists and piano playing parrots. When one of his clients, a washed up lounge singer (Nick Apollo Forte), begins catching on again because of a nostalgia craze, things are looking up. Until the singer's mistress, a mob widow (Mia Farrow) enters the picture. Written and directed by Woody Allen. One of Allen's best films, there's a sweetness about this show biz fable that's endearing. It's one of Allen's best roles although he is, of course, still playing Woody Allen or rather the patented Allen persona. Allen's loyal and caring agent is a genuinely nice guy, perhaps too nice for the nature of the competitive business he's in. It's one of the very few characters that Allen has played that we really care about. In films like ANNIE HALL or MANHATTAN, we may find him amusing, perhaps even likable but he doesn't touch us, make us care for him. The star of the movie is Mia Farrow, no longer the fey and delicate sprite but a brassy, tough talking broad channeling Judy Holliday. Handsomely shot in B&W by the great Gordon Willis (THE GODFATHER). With Milton Berle, Sandy Baron, Corbett Monica and Sandy Richman.