Play It Again, Sam

Originally written as a play, Play it Again, Sam is the most-successful film adaptation of Woody’s theater work. The Broadway production went on for 453 performances between February 1969 and March of 1970, which is why it’s no surprise the actors worked so well bringing the story to celluloid. It wasn’t the first time Woody wrote for the stage. His previous play, Don’t Drink the Water was a hit, running for 598 performances in 1966. However, I’ve always had a fondness, a special affinity for Play It Again, Sam. In my mind, it received a much better movie treatment. Perhaps that’s due, in part, to the direction of Herbert Ross, best known for films like The Sunshine Boys, The Goodbye Girl, and Steel Magnolias. The play was directed by Joseph Hardy who received a Tony nomination for his work on Play It Again, Sam. I’ve always wondered why Woody didn’t direct the movie himself— coming off a three-film streak (What’s Up Tiger Lily, Take The Money And Run, Bananas), Play It Again, Sam is the odd-man out in his filmography. According to a 1972 interview in Cinema Magazine, Woody said, “I would never want to direct a play into a movie. I would only be interested in working on original projects for the screen.” In the 2012 film, Woody Allen: A Documentary, he discusses his stories and characters, about spending a year developing them, getting the film out the door, and moving onto the next one. “I was already at work on Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask and I didn’t want to spend a year doing a project that I had done on Broadway,” he told Cinema. Play It Again, Sam breaks the Woody Allen convention of directing his own written work but, in the context of his desire to always look forward to the next project, it starts to make sense.

The film breaks another Woody convention he’d soon become known for— a New York setting. While the play is set entirely in a New York apartment, original plans to shoot the film in Manhattan and Long Island were scrapped and production moved west to San Francisco due to a strike by the New York film workers union. The story is classic Woody fare. Allan, a writer and film buff spends his days watching movies and his nights dreaming of them. When his wife leaves him for warm weather and hot bodies, Allan seeks comfort from his best friend Dick and his wife, Linda. The couple do their best to coax him out of his own head, setting him up with some women they know but his insecurities and trembling exterior hinder any chance for romance. Allan “regularly conjures up Humphrey Bogart as a noir-style Dr. Phil, doling out relationship advice that often forces Allen to emulate Bogart’s indifferent approach to dating women,” writes Richard Saad of Cinephile Magazine. “What’s the matter with me?” Allan asks of himself. “Why can’t I be cool? What’s the secret?” The ghost of Bogey appears and responds, “There’s no secret, kid. Dames are simple. I never met one who didn’t understand a slap in the mouth or a slug from a forty-five.” Whether you want to think of Bogart as some form of Hamlet’s ghost or Fred Flintstone’s Great Gazoo or just a representation of Allan’s id, the contrast of the cool, calm Humphrey and the nervous Allan plays out great in several big scenes.

Dialogue in the film is faithful to the play’s script.

Play It Again, Sam is a more conventional film than Allen’s previous movies. It’s less farcical, more grounded, sweeter, and sincere. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its share of laughs. Woody manages to get in some great physical comedy including his struggle with a hairdryer putting out hurricane-force winds. The dialogue, as well, includes his trademark wit. “Have you heard from her?” Linda asks about his ex-wife. “I heard from the firm of Schulman and Weiss,” says Allan. “It’s funny. We went to Mexico on our honeymoon. Spent the entire two weeks in bed. I had dysentery.”

The actors who brought it to the stage returned to their roles three years later for the film adaptation including Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, and Jerry Lacy as Humphrey Bogart. Rumor has it Woody and Diane were already seeing each other during the play production but this movie marks the first of their on-screen collaborations. The two would go on to make many more movies together including Annie Hall and Manhattan. Like Picasso going through a red or blue period, Woody goes through leading-lady phases in his career, starting with Diane Keaton. Tony Roberts shows up again in movies like Annie Hall, as well. In fact, so much of what makes Play It Again, Sam special re-appears in Annie Hall. Both films are stories about relationships, starring the same actors, with a touch of whimsical flair. The implausible scenes with Bogart remind me of the fourth-wall breaking scenes in Annie Hall such as Alvy Singer conjuring director Marshall McCluhan to settle an argument with a stranger. Play It Again, Sam is an often over-looked part of Woody’s catalogue but one worth seeing. Amidst the slapstick shenanigans of Bananas and Sleeper is this more subdued gem, a prototype of Woody Allen films to come.