Broadway Danny Rose

A New York agent who represents acts nobody wants agrees to pose as the boyfriend of a singer, his one promising client. The woman turns out to have other connections. The film frames the story as an anecdote told by comedians in a restaurant, so the reliability of the telling is in question from the start. The narrative makes loyalty its subject: the agent has accepted losing in advance, and the film finds that dignified rather than pitiful. Woody Allen wrote, directed and starred. Mia Farrow is unrecognisable as the woman. It was shot in black and white. Who it's for: those who like New York comedy and characters at the edge of show business. Who it's not for: viewers who want a reliable narrator; the story is framed as a restaurant anecdote.