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The Front (1976)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
17 September 1976 (USA) moreTagline:
America's Most Unlikely Hero.Plot:
A cashier poses as a writer for blacklisted talents to submit their work through, but the injustice around him pushes him to take a stand. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(2 articles)
A chat with the cast of Woody Allen's Whatever Works (From The Hollywood Interview. 18 June 2009, 11:52 PM, PDT)
Andrea's Still Sure-handed
(From New York Post. 14 November 2008, 8:48 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Excellent more (40 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Woody Allen | ... | Howard Prince | |
| Zero Mostel | ... | Hecky Brown | |
| Herschel Bernardi | ... | Phil Sussman | |
| Michael Murphy | ... | Alfred Miller | |
| Andrea Marcovicci | ... | Florence Barrett | |
| Remak Ramsay | ... | Hennessey | |
| Marvin Lichterman | ... | Myer Prince | |
| Lloyd Gough | ... | Delaney | |
| David Margulies | ... | Phelps | |
| Joshua Shelley | ... | Sam | |
| Norman Rose | ... | Howard's Attorney | |
| Charles Kimbrough | ... | Committee Counselor | |
| Josef Sommer | ... | Committee Chairman (as M. Josef Sommer) | |
| Danny Aiello | ... | Danny LaGattuta | |
| Georgann Johnson | ... | T. V. Interviewer |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
95 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Sweden:11 | USA:PG (Approved No. 24495) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | West Germany:12Fun Stuff
Goofs:
Anachronisms: When Howard and Florence kiss in the park , the Bi-Level George Washington Bridge can be seen in the background. In 1952 when this movie takes place, the bridge only had 1 level. moreQuotes:
Florence Barrett: A writer looks for trouble.Howard Prince: No, wrong. A lunatic looks for trouble.
more
Soundtrack:
Daisy Bell moreFAQ
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Martin Ritt's and Walter Bernstein's excellent and very entertaining revenge film! Woody Allen is a bookie/restaurant cashier who, in order to help out a blacklisted writer-friend, agrees to front for him. Previously oblivious to the horrors of the blacklist, Allen soon realizes that people are not only unable to work, but are literally being destroyed. Director Ritt and screenwriter Bernstein, both victims of the '50s communist witch-hunt, exact their revenge by creating a character who, for all intent and purposes, is an everyman --- one capable of telling the government to go "F" itself!
The large cast --- some of whom were also blacklisted --- is splendid. Herschel Bernardi, Lloyd Gough, Michael Murphy, and, best of a ll, Zero Mostel offer great support and Allen, in a rare acting only role, manages to give what is arguably his best screen performance. He brings his humor --- it's hard to believe some his dialogue, particularly in his scenes with leading lady Andrea Marcovicci --- isn't ad libbed, but also creates his deepest characterization. He's especially powerful when he attends the funeral of a blacklisted friend.