Woody Allen's The Front

This is a movie about a dark chapter in American history- the persecution of anyone remotely linked to the left. I mean with communist leanings. American people have seen slavery, a civil war, and this mindless persecution which probably ended in the sixties, but not before taking a heavy toll of reputations and people with reputations.

Anyway, trust Woody to make a black comedy about this. Made in 1976, this is the story of an ordinary American who fronts as a writer for a "left-leaning' friend who is on the dreaded blacklist, and therefore does not get any work under his own name. This leads to naturally comic situations, such as Woody pretending to know a lot of authors, and his being asked to rewrite a scene on the sets of a hit TV show because the sponsor has a gas company and wants the reference to gas chambers deleted from a Nazi story episode. He also finds a girl who is in love with the 'writer' in him, and throws a fit when she discovers he is not.

A delightful film, recommended highly for fans of the Woody Allen brand of humour.

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