The Front

PG

Released Sep 17, 1976

1h 33m

Comedy

Drama

List

69%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

74%

Audience Score

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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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

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.

Dec 2, 2023

Full Review

Time Out

An empty monument to the senility of American liberalism.

Jan 26, 2006

Full Review

Vincent Canby

New York Times

It recreates the awful noise of ignorance that can still be heard.

Rated: 3.5/5

May 9, 2005

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an effective (and affecting) endeavor.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 2, 2021

Full Review

Michael Mascioli

Philadelphia Gay News

The Front lacks a good script and seems to have trouble convincing us whether or not all this really happened.

May 28, 2020

Full Review

Donald McLean

Bay Area Reporter

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.

May 21, 2020

Full Review

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Mark B

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.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/28/23

Full Review

Shioka O

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.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/21/22

Full Review

Russ G

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!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/31/22

Full Review

david f

A funny comedy about the Hollywood Blacklist and a man who fronts for blacklisted writers.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Sebastian B

My pick for best movie starring Woody which he did not direct!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/28/22

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

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Martin Ritt

Director

Woody Allen

Howard Prince

Zero Mostel

Hecky Brown

Herschel Bernardi

Phil Sussman

Michael Murphy

Alfred Miller

Andrea Marcovicci

Florence Barrett

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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: Rollins-Joffe Productions, Persky-Bright Productions, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 17, 1976, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Runtime: 1h 33m
Sound Mix: Mono

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