The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) on Netflix
PG19851h 22mComedyFantasyRomance
In Depression-era New Jersey, waitress Cecilia endures an abusive marriage and escapes into the movies. Tom Baxter, an archaeologist on the screen, notices her and steps out to meet her.
- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb7.6/1058,461 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes93%
Trailer
Plot summary
Cecilia waits tables in a New Jersey diner during the Depression while her husband Monk spends his days with his friends instead of looking for work, and the movie house is her escape. She keeps returning to The Purple Rose of Cairo, a romantic adventure she has watched several times. During one of the screenings, Tom Baxter, the film's archaeologist, speaks to Cecilia from the screen, telling her he has noticed her at earlier screenings and has fallen in love with her, then steps into the audience. The other characters are left in a story they cannot finish without him, and Cecilia knows the man beside her is not real.
Cast
- Stephanie Farrowas Cecilia's Sister
- David Kiesermanas Diner Boss
- Elaine Grollmanas Diner Patron
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Michael Keaton was originally cast as the film character Tom Baxter and his actor Gil Shepherd because Woody Allen was a fan of his work, but Allen decided Keaton, who took a pay cut to work with him, was too contemporary for the period role; they parted after ten days and Jeff Daniels replaced him.
SPOILER
Woody Allen wrote the script, but halfway through it stalled and he set it aside; it only became "a real movie" when the idea came to him that the real actor goes to town, the woman chooses him, and he dumps her.- Jeff Daniels founded the Purple Rose Theatre Company in his hometown of Chelsea, Michigan, in 1991, taking the theater's name from The Purple Rose of Cairo.
- Woody Allen shut down the Kent Theater on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, the neighborhood where he grew up, so that the film could be shot there.
- Viggo Mortensen was cast in an unspecified role in the film, but all of his scenes were cut before it was released.
