Movie · 1984 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 24m · PG · English
Curator score: 7.8/10 (52K ratings)
Overview
A hapless talent manager named Danny Rose, by helping a client, gets dragged into a love triangle involving the mob. His story is told in flashback, an anecdote shared amongst a group of comedians over lunch at New York's Carnegie Deli. Rose's one-man talent agency represents countless incompetent entertainers, including a one-legged tap dancer, and one slightly talented one: washed-up lounge singer Lou Canova, whose career is on the rebound.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.8/10
IMDb: 7.4/10
Letterboxd: 3.80/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Metacritic: 82
TMDB: 7.1/10
Director
Woody Allen
Production
Orion Pictures, Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions
Cast
Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Nick Apollo Forte, Sandy Baron, Corbett Monica, Jackie Gayle, Morty Gunty, Will Jordan, Jack Rollins, Howard Storm, Herb Reynolds, Milton Berle, Craig Vandenburgh, Paul Greco, Frank Renzulli, Michael Badalucco, Joe Franklin, John Doumanian, Edwin Bordo, Gina DeAngeles
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A charming, bittersweet New York comedy with a fast, anecdotal structure and a lot of heart. It’s especially rewarding if you like small-scale character comedy, showbiz eccentrics, and black-and-white craftsmanship with a melancholy undertow.
Best for
fans of witty, talky comedies with emotional warmth
viewers who enjoy New York stories and backstage showbiz worlds
people who like compact 80s films with a classic feel
audiences drawn to underdog protagonists and gentle farce
Skip if
you want high-stakes plotting or big narrative twists
you dislike Woody Allen’s comic rhythm and neurotic dialogue
you prefer broad slapstick over character-driven humor
you are looking for a purely romantic or purely dramatic film
Overview
Broadway Danny Rose is one of those deceptively slight films that keeps revealing how carefully it’s built. The frame story gives it the feel of a good dinner-table anecdote, while the black-and-white photography and brisk runtime make the whole thing glide. It’s a comedy about a man who keeps helping the wrong people for the right reasons, and that tension gives it real tenderness.
Worth noting
What stands out most is the affection for second-rate performers, forgotten acts, and the whole scrappy ecosystem around them. The jokes are quick, but the movie never treats its characters as disposable. Even when it’s being farcical, it has a melancholy sense of people chasing dignity in a world that rarely rewards it.
Bottom line
It’s not the most famous entry in its director’s filmography, but it’s one of the easiest to like. The tone is light, the writing is sharp, and the ending lands with more feeling than you might expect from a movie this breezy. If you enjoy elegant small comedies with a humane streak, this is an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Rick Burin (5★) · 239 likes
Danny Rose: What'd you do, you divorced him, or got a separation, or what? Tina Vitale: Nah, some guy shot him in the eyes. Danny Rose: Really? He's blind? Tina Vitale: Dead. Danny Rose: Dead. Of course, 'cause the bullets go right through.
I don't think this is Woody's greatest film, but it's the one I return to most often: a sweet, funny, utterly charming tall tale - with hidden emotional heft - about a loveable Broadway talent agent (Woody… more
Will Sloan (4.5★) · 223 likes
Wow, the two leads are really great together! Apparently they dated in real life, too. Wonder what happened to them...
David Sims (4★) · 204 likes
Mia Farrow's sunglasses deserved a best supporting actress nom
The Reel House (4.5★) · 126 likes
‘Broadway Danny Rose’ was one of the my most anticipated Allen features to see and it didn’t disappoint!
Allen’s direction is impeccable here. Aided by DP : Gordon Willis once again (easily the best collaboration Allen has ever had with a cinematographer), the film looks utterly stunning. Willis also shot Allen’s magnum opus : ‘Manhattan’ and the stylistic, classical quality of that film definitely falls here as well. The use of long takes and close ups are absolutely magnificent, the… more
Adam Forrest (4★) · 113 likes
A charming tale of a working class New Yorker frantically trying to keep his half-baked plan going as everything crumbles around him. Is it any wonder that the Safdies have both cited this as one of their all-time favorites? One thing that sets this one apart is the wonderful title character. Right from the start, you can’t help but like and root for Danny Rose, with his fight-for-the-underdog drive and his genuine empathy with all his D-list clients.
And of… more