Film Notes

Allan lives in an apartment furnished with movie trivia. He sleeps beneath a poster for “Across the Pacific”, shaves with “Casablanca” reflected in the mirror, and fries his eggs across from “The Big Sleep” (1946). There is not a place in the apartment from which the names Mary Astor and Sydney Greenstreet cannot be read. He is a Humphrey Bogart fan. He is more than that. He is a Humphrey Bogart pupil. 

Allan’s wife moved out some weeks ago and is suing for divorce, so now there are only the two people living in the apartment: Allan and Bogie. Whenever Allan reaches a crisis in his life, Bogie appears. His snap-brim is pulled down low over his eyes, and the collar is turned up on his trench coat, and there is a gat in his pocket and a Chesterfield in his mug. 

“Tell her your life has changed since you met her,” Bogie advises. Allan turns toward the lovely brunette sitting next to him on the sofa. He turns back to Bogie. “She won’t fall for that!” Allan says. “Oh no?” says Bogie. “Try it and see.” This is pretty high-class advice, but Allan is a mess around girls. He’s your average, ordinary movie freak, perfectly at home in the dark cave of a revival theater, watching the airport scene from “Casablanca.” But get him away from the movies and he gets nervous. His friends try to take him to the beach. “I hate the beach! I hate the sun!” he cries. “I’m pale and I’m redheaded! I don’t tan, I stroke!” You can see that he has problems, even with Bogie on his side. His friends, Linda and Dick, try to fix him up with girls, but he splashes himself with too much Canoe and then destroys his furniture during a seizure of nonchalance. After a while it begins to occur to him that he’s in love with Linda, and she likes him, and Dick is always on the phone making real estate deals. 

All of this is slightly less mad than your usual Woody Allen comedy, maybe because “Play It Again, Sam” is based on Woody’s Broadway play, and with a play it’s a little hard to work in material like a Howard Cosell play-by-play of an assassination in South America. Still, as comedies go, this is a very funny one. Woody Allen is one of those rare comedians who understands that humor can be based on pathos as well as sadism. While the high-pressure comics overwhelm us with aggressive humor, Woody is off in the bathroom somewhere being attacked by a hairdryer. 

The notion of using a Bogart character is surprisingly successful. The Bogie imitation by Jerry Lacy is good, if not great, and the movie begins and ends with variations on that great “Casablanca” ending. That, and the movie’s rather conventional Broadway plot structure, give it more coherence than the previous Woody Allen films, “Take the Money and Run” and “Bananas.” Maybe the movie has too much coherence, and the plot is too predictable; that’s a weakness of films based on well-made Broadway plays. Still, that’s hardly a serious complaint about something as funny as Play It Again, Sam.”

Roger Ebert Chicago Sun Times, January 1, 1972

Play It Again, Sam Review

Despondent after being abandoned by his wife, Nancy, film critic Allen Felix takes the advice of his movie hero, Humphrey Bogart and reluctantly allows himself to be cheered up by his best friend Dick Christie, only to find himself falling for Dick's wife

Woody Allen stumbled across his trademark screen persona in this engaging adaptation of the 1969 stage play that was inspired by his impending divorce from second wife, Louise Lasser. However, he would veer off into the future (Sleeper) and the Napoleonic past (Love and Death) before returning to this archetypical New York nebbish in Annie Hall. Ironically, an east coast union strike forced Herbert Ross to shoot the picture in San Francisco, but Allen Felix is essentially the template for Woody's Manhattan Man.

         Perhaps just as significantly, the Broadway production also brought Allen into contact with Diane Keaton. He had only agreed to a casting call to appease producer David Merrick, but was instantly struck by the kooky Californian and began to rework the scenario to her advantage. Indeed, so intense was their personal and professional attraction that, part way through the 453-performance run, Keaton briefly moved into Allen's apartment, where he was in the process of reworking the screenplay for Take the Money and Run. However, he would also make Bananas before a deal could be struck to transfer  Sam to the screen.

         Woody was initially content for either Dustin Hoffman or Richard Benjamin to play Allan, as he still saw himself primarily as a comedian rather than a film-maker. But the success of Bananas persuaded Paramount to stick with the original stage trio of Allen, Keaton and Tony Roberts - although this was to be the last time that Allen would allow another director to handle one of his screenplays.

            Allen opened out the play by adding a couple of party and disco sequences and some self-lacerating reveries involving his ex-wife. However, the storyline retained its original three-act structure and this staginess is occasionally intrusive. But Allen was still able to imbue the action with a passion for cinema, not only through the memorabilia in Felix's apartment and Bogie's ethereal appearances, but also through the clips from Casablanca that reinforced the central celebration of movies as an escape from the pressures of daily life.

Woody's neuroses are still gloriously present, and the whole thing is made accessible by Herbert Ross' dynamic direction.

David Parkinson, Empire magazine, 1st January 2000.

What you thought about Play It Again Sam

Film Responses

Collated Response Comments

108 members and guests attended this screening. The total number of responses received was 67, delivering a film score of 4.34 and a response rate of 62%......slightly down on the 65 % from the last screening but still Wow.…. many thanks. Keep them coming.

Your comments are collected below: -

“Such a classic and still funny 52 years on”.

“Woody Allen at his most personal best. Hope the Society takes a more nuanced view on subtitles and put them on only when absolutely necessary. Heard every word and was reading the jokes before they finished their lines...not needed for this film, imo”.

“I had seen this before, albeit many years ago, but I still found it as amusing and clever as I recall from then, despite the passage of time. Like him or not as a person you cannot ignore Woody Allen's talent as a comic writer and actor. Excellent support from Diane Keaton and overall an ideal film for an autumn evening. Thanks”.

“It was good to be reacquainted with film again. Still hilarious in places, although suggesting slapping females was never acceptable. Second best Woody Allan line in a film "if I am not back in an hour sublet my apartment". The first is in Annie Hall of course”.

“Thoroughly enjoyed this film and came out smiling. Good to be reminded of Woody Allen's off beat, neurotic and lovable comic genius. Though meant as comedy, this touched on some uncomfortable areas that maybe should be off limits in 2024 eg violence towards women. Loved the extremely young Diane Keaton”.

“More Woody Allen films please!”

“My problem with homage films is that I always find myself thinking that I'd much rather be watching the film we are paying homage to. In this case there is Diane Keaton to compensate for Woody Allen's frenetic and cringeworthy behaviour”.

“I'll preface this feedback by saying thank you for all the effort the committee put in. I also support having subtitles on English-language films. As for the film, I'm not sure this should ever be played again Sam! Apart from a few witty scenes at the end I found this to be toe-curlingly awful. Perhaps it was pioneering in some way otherwise I don't understand why it was considered for the GFS programme. It hasn't aged well and some of the misogynistic language was stomach-turning. I guess that by showing films like this we get to see that some things have changed for the better”.

“Over 20 years since I last saw it and well worth another viewing. What a great, funny, warm and inventive film. Woody Allen using some of his best lines from his stand-up act. Diane Keaton as beautiful, funny and intelligent as ever. Another fabulous choice for the 2024/25 season!

“So, my first Woody Allen film and it was quite enjoyable.  Probably a 3 out of 5 from me.  Funny little chap Woody Allen quite literally. Good decision about subtitles, thank you. Ironically because I am hard of hearing I couldn’t hear the ‘chat’ beforehand and the man who wasn’t so keen about your decision and quite rude about it as well.  My husband relayed it to me afterwards.  As a younger person who wears hearing aids being told to sit in the front isn’t very helpful.  It doesn’t make a difference anyway as sound coming from a variety of points.  I always appreciate subtitles when they are on so I can follow everything and know you do everything to make Film Club and enjoyable experience for all”.

"The Bogart who Woody is manifesting here is a borderline psychopath and deeply misogynistic. Not the trench-coated knight of the back alleys we are all familiar with. So is Woody questioning Hollywood's attitudes or merely commenting on his character's insecurities? The ending is a lovely echo of the airport scene at the end of Casablanca shown at the beginning but it is surely a mistake to include so much of the iconic masterpiece, it does not flatter the rest of the film. How convincing is the story arc of the vain, entirely self absorbed paranoiac finally doing the right thing? Not completely but it makes for a satisfyingly tidy plot. It turns out, after all these years and all his troubles, Woody is still funny even if some of his physical comedy belongs on stage not in film. Inevitably it is dated but there were plenty enough laughs in the hall to suggest it still works".

“Delightful film. Deliciously funny. Being a little hard of hearing, the subtitles were a bonus”.

“Great film. So enjoyable”. “Enjoyed it”.

“Gave insight into the start of the relationship between Keaton and Allen”.

“Still really funny”.

“Forget some of the dialogue, the film itself was brilliant”.

“Brilliant. Nothing more to see”.

“Forgotten how good it was – enjoyed every minute”.

“Charming. Very funny!”

“As funny as ever still. Moments of non-PC!”

“Woody Allen – such great humour”.

“Lovely uncomplicated and very amusing”.

“Grateful for subtitles. Enjoyed the humour. I knew nothing about the film before I came. Something new to explore. Thank you”.

“Dated but very enjoyable”. “Really great choice”. Very witty. Funny”.

“Brilliant”.

“Sharp, intelligent. Very funny. Excellent use of ‘Casablanca’. A bit long, perhaps”.

“Some great lines, but also some very outdated attitudes”.

“Thank goodness for subtitles!” “Very enjoyable”.

“Funny but quite misogynistic”. “Very funny and enjoyable”

“Good of its kind. Reinforced my idea that Woody Allen is a slightly strange guy”.

“Pure escapism. Very clever story. The first time I have ever seen a Woody Allen film. Not so bad”.

“Funny and well-made and acted but some jokes have aged poorly. As ever an excellent introduction but while Mr Allen is well lauded, it is important to acknowledge the valid criticism of his personal life”.

“Interesting story and great actors and actresses”.

“Too dated”.