– The original Broadway production of “Play It Again, Sam” opened at the Broadhurst Theater on February 12, 1969 and ran for 453 performances until March 14, 1970. Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts and Jerry Lacy reprised their roles in the movie.

– In an interview with ‘Cinema’ magazine in March 1972, Woody Allen 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. I was already at work on ‘Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)’, and I didn’t want to spend a year doing a project that I had done on Broadway”. Woody Allen hoped that the film, directed by Herbert Ross, would garner “a nice, solid, funny commercial picture, and hopefully entice a broader audience for me than I get with my own films”.

– The set dressing and direction of a movie buff’s apartment required locating many rare film posters and movie memorabilia. The value of the items ranged from as little as ten dollars to as expensive as $500. Some of the rarer pieces could only be rented by the production.

– A rare instance of an America-set movie starring Woody Allen which was neither set nor shot in New York. It was shot and set in San Francisco.

– Hollywood legend Humphrey Bogart never actually said the phrase “Play it again, Sam” in the film Casablanca (1942) nor in any of his other movies.

– Originally to be shot in Manhattan and Long Island but moved to San Francisco when New York film workers went on strike in the summer of 1971.

– Near the beginning of the film, when the Woody Allen character is lying in his bed among several books, one of them (with the yellow cover) is the actual Woody Allen book “Without Feathers”.

DIRECTOR:
Herbert Ross
SCREENPLAY:
Woody Allen
PRODUCER:
Arthur P. Jacobs
CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Owen Roizman
EDITING:
Marion Rothman
CASTING:
Juliet Taylor
RUNTIME:
87 minutes
BUDGET:
GROSS:
$2.30 Million
PRODUCTION:
Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions
DISTRIBUTOR:
Unitee Artists
RATED:
PG
ASPECT RATIO:
1.85:1
U.S. RELEASE DATE:
May 4, 1972

MOVIE POSTER

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Original movie poster for Play It Again, Sam

PREMISE

Overanxious film critic Allan (Woody Allen) sinks into a depression after his wife leaves him. Concerned, his married friends Dick (Tony Roberts) and Linda (Diane Keaton) encourage him to meet new women. Inspired by Humphrey Bogart’s hyper-masculine persona, Allan attempts to emulate him in flirting with women. However, his frail personality ensures that his every attempt blows up in his face. His hapless romantic life reaches catastrophic levels when he develops feelings for Linda.

CAST & CREW

Woody Allen
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Allan
Diane Keaton
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Linda
Tony Roberts
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Dick
Jerry Lacy
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Bogart
Susan Anspach
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Nancy
Jennifer Salt
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Sharon
Joy Bang
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Julie
Viva
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Jennifer
Susanne Zenor
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Discotheque Girl
Diana Davila
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Museum Girl
Mari Fletcher
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Fantasy Sharon
Michael Greene
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Hood
Ted Markland
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Hood
Ingrid Bergman
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Ilsa Lund (archive/uncredited)
Humphrey Bogart
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Rick Blaine (archive/uncredited)
Tom Bullock
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Taxi Hippie (uncredited)
Jean De Briac
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Orderly (archive/uncredited)
Mark Goddard
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Real Estate Developer (uncredited)