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The Front

Play trailer Poster for The Front PG 1976 1h 34m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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68% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
In the 1950s, restaurant cashier Howard Prince (Woody Allen) is apathetic toward the politics around him. When a blacklisted screenwriter (Michael Murphy) asks Howard to sell a script under his own name, Howard sees an opportunity to make a profit and becomes a "front" for several blacklisted writers. But after he witnesses the social destruction of a comedian (Zero Mostel), Howard sees the corruption of McCarthyism and decides to do something to make a difference.
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The Front

Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker 12/02/2023
Damned if the subject didn't get the better of Berstein. He didn't develop the comic potential of his idea; instead, almost as if by reflex, he has written one of those scripts about how the common man must become involved, must learn what he stands for. Go to Full Review
Time Out 01/26/2006
An empty monument to the senility of American liberalism. Go to Full Review
Vincent Canby New York Times 05/09/2005
3.5/5
It recreates the awful noise of ignorance that can still be heard. Go to Full Review
David Nusair Reel Film Reviews 04/02/2021
3/4
...an effective (and affecting) endeavor. Go to Full Review
Michael Mascioli Philadelphia Gay News 05/28/2020
The Front lacks a good script and seems to have trouble convincing us whether or not all this really happened. Go to Full Review
Donald McLean Bay Area Reporter 05/21/2020
Funny as only Allen can be, the script by Walter Bernstein and the direction by Martin Ritt delve far deeper and give us a penetrating look via black comedy at a time of mass hysteria. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Mark B 08/26/2023 The Front shows the devastation of American Art by HAUC, McCarthy and incidentally, Catholics. Don't believe me. Watch the film. All the bad guys have uber Irish Catholic names. Woody Allen, Zero Mostel, and Herschel Bernardi give great performances, while the bad guys are all straw men. Still, this is a film worth watching, even though, like many Ritt films, this is a fantasy. NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY said what Woody Allen says to the HUAC. See more Shioka O 12/21/2022 Woody Allen's character is somewhat the only slightly likeable in this film. This is lousier than Allen's own film, there are some laughs but I felt he could make this better with smart dialogs. See more Russ G 10/31/2022 Hard to believe I saw this nearly half a century ago! Given what we know of Woody Allen's later life, it's hard to remember that he rattled off a string of good movies. This was a film that had to be made while many of the McCarthy era's victims were still alive. Today's Lefties need to see this, because turnabout is NOT fair play! See more david f 10/30/2022 A funny comedy about the Hollywood Blacklist and a man who fronts for blacklisted writers. See more 06/20/2022 WA does a great job playing a silly and self-important "writer". The film does a good job combining humor and activism. It's a different sort of Woody Allen film, and that's great. See more jon c 09/18/2021 What happens when you're at the front of the line? When you're actually faced with answering the difficult questions that put you and your friends at risk? Martin Ritt directs and Woody Allen stars in this period piece centering on the era of McCarthyism He plays a cashier Howard whom is very apathetic when it comes to the politics surrounding him A screenwriter is blacklisted after asking Howard to sell a script under his own name so it presents him an opportunity to be a 'front' man It's only after the social construction of a comedian that Howard realizes things have gotten more dire with several individuals accused of communism He then decides to take action but feels the immense pressure Writer Walter Bernstein smartly suggests how capitalism actually benefited from the oppression of suspected communists There's a lot of debates and discussions in here how to approach the situation being named something among many Yet Allen and Ritt take plenty of real life examples to make this story feel compelling See more Read all reviews
The Front

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the 1950s, restaurant cashier Howard Prince (Woody Allen) is apathetic toward the politics around him. When a blacklisted screenwriter (Michael Murphy) asks Howard to sell a script under his own name, Howard sees an opportunity to make a profit and becomes a "front" for several blacklisted writers. But after he witnesses the social destruction of a comedian (Zero Mostel), Howard sees the corruption of McCarthyism and decides to do something to make a difference.
Director
Martin Ritt
Producer
Martin Ritt
Screenwriter
Walter Bernstein
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Persky-Bright Productions, Columbia Pictures Corporation, Rollins-Joffe Productions
Rating
PG
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 17, 1976, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Runtime
1h 34m
Sound Mix
Mono
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