“Play it Again, Sam” is the Woody Allen film that is not really a Woody Allen film but then again…it really is. Huh? This is just my convoluted way of saying that Woody did not direct the film, but and that is a big but, the script and the play the film is based is pure Mr. Allen. So why didn’t Woody direct this film? Made in 1972, it was still early in his directing career and “Sam” is more of a character driven script than his previous directorial efforts up to that time (Bananas, Take the Money and Run and What’s Up Tiger Lily). Still unsure of himself, he agreed to have Herbert Ross direct.
I have been a big Woody Allen fan since I first saw him do his stand up act on the Ed Sullivan show back in 1965 and that same year caught him on the big screen in “What’s New Pussycat?” at the old Astor Theater on Broadway. Around the same period I discovered in a record store one of Woody’s comedy LP’s (Woody Allen Vol. 2) and scooped that up. Over the course of his stand up career Woody made three comedy LP’s (two on the Colpix label, “Woody Allen”, Woody Allen Vol. 2″ and his last, “The Third Woody Allen Album”, on Capital) that are now long out of print though they have resurfaced over the years in compilation copies under various names (Woody Allen: The Nightclub Years 1964-1968 and Woody Allen: Standup Comic) and cover art. The oddest cut on one of the original albums was a pantomime routine that lasted about two minutes. Yes, you’re reading this right, pantomime on vinyl! Two minutes of nothing but audience laughter. It was like watching a sit-com minus the show. Continue reading
Twenty Four Frames 