Radio Days

Radio Days is a 1987 film that provides a nostalgic look at radio's golden age focusing on one ordinary family and the various performers in the medium. Directed and written by Woody Allen. Narrator My most vivid memory connected with an old radio song I associate with the time that Aunt Bea and her then-boyfriend Chester took me into New York to the movies. It was the first time I'd ever seen the Radio City Music Hall and it was like entering heaven. I just never saw anything so beautiful in my life. I love old radio stories. And I know a million of 'em. I've collected 'em down through the years, like a hobby. Anecdotes and gossip and inside stories about the stars. Plus, I recall so many personal experiences from when I grew up and listened to one show after another. This girl singing used to be a favorite at my house - one of many. Now, it's all gone, except for the memories. For some miraculous reason, it's a wonderful feeling having a teacher you've seen dance naked in front of a mirror. Despite his bravado, Mr Manulis panicked and bolted out of the car. He was so frightened by the reports of interplanetary invasion that he ran off, leaving Aunt Bea to contend with the green monsters he expected to drop from the sky at any moment. She walked home. Six miles. When Mr Manulis called for a date the next week, she told my mother to say she couldn't see him. She had married a Martian. What Aunt Bea did with the rest of the money was treat us all to a Broadway dance palace. She and Sy seemed very much in love, and she seemed happy. But it was not to be, because after a week Sy did not leave his wife and children, nor did he after two weeks nor ever. And as the year came to a close, Aunt Bea would soon be back to her old dreams of finding a true love. Still, on this night, no one had any thoughts except what a wonderful time we were all having. Sally hung around the Broadway area and tried to break into broadcasting but the only roles she ever seemed to wind up with were in the bedroom. [last lines] I never forgot that New Year's Eve when Aunt Bea awakened me to watch 1944 come in. I've never forgotten any of those people or any of the voices we would hear on the radio. Though the truth is, with the passing of each New Year's Eve, those voices do seem to grow dimmer and dimmer. Mother [as she watches anti-aircraft searchlights with husband during a World War II black-out] It's so beautiful. Boy, what a world... it could be so wonderful, if it wasn't for certain people. There are those who drink champagne at nightclubs and us who listen to them drink champagne on the radio. Father [to Mother] You're lucky I love you, you old douchebag. Why can't you be like that, huh? Why can't you be a genius? I'll tell you why. Because you're too busy listening to the radio all the time. That's why! Other Masked Avenger: I wonder if future generations will ever even hear about us. It's not likely. After enough time, everything passes. I don't care how big we are or how important are our lives. Rocco: This is a coincidence. I meet nobody from the old neighborhood in years. I finally do, and I gotta kill her. Dialogue Narrator: Then there were my father and mother, two people who could find an argument in any subject. Father: Wait, you think the Atlantic is a greater ocean than the Pacific? Mother: No. Have it your way. The Pacific is greater. Narrator: I mean, how many people argue over oceans? Mother: I don't know what to do, Rabbi. Every night, he listens to the radio. I can't keep him away. I say, "Go to the beach. Play in the sun. Get some fresh air." No. "The Lone Ranger," "The Shadow," "The Masked Avenger." Rabbi Baumel: This is not good. This boy needs discipline. Radio, it's all right once in a while. Otherwise, it tends to induce bad values false dreams, lazy habits. Listening to the radio these stories of foolishness and violence this is no way for a boy to grow up! Joe: You speak the truth, my faithful Indian companion. Rabbi Baumel: To a rabbi you say "my faithful Indian companion"? [hits him in a head] Roger: I hope 1944 turns out well. They pass so quickly. Where do they all go? Biff Baxter: So quickly. Then we get old. And we never knew what any of it was about. Mother: I think you have these qualities that you demand and when you meet a nice man you disqualify him for the smallest fault. Bea: That's not true. Mother: So, what was wrong with Nat Bernstein? Bea: He wore white socks with a tuxedo! Ceil: Abe, have you seen mama's teeth. She left them in a glass of water yesterday, and she can't find them. Abe: Kids were playing hockey with them. Ceil: They were playing hockey with mama's teeth? Abe: Yeah, the're about the same size as a puck. Ceil: Oh, Abe, how come you never take me to the Copacabana or El Morocco? Abe: Take the gas pipe. Ceil: I suppose you would have been happier married to Rita Hayworth. Abe: You gotta ask? Ceil: Believe me, Abe, those show business celebrities get divorced every six weeks, but we're together forever. Abe: I may take the gas pipe. Abe: Only creeps and crazy people go out on new year's eve. Ceil: Then you should definitely go out, Abe. Narrator: [about a therapist's radio show] I found the show silly and always imagined my parents on it airing their standard complaints. Mother: He's a business failure. He never finishes what he starts. We're forced to live with my relatives and thank God for them. And I should have married Sam Slotkin. Father: Sam Slotkin's dead. Mother: Yes, but while he was alive, he was working. Father: She'd be lost without her whole family around her all the time, and you should see 'em. They're like some kind of tribe. They're like the Huns. Maybe if I had married a more encouraging woman, who knows? Mother: So who do you think is right? Mr. Abercrombie: I think you both deserve each other. Mother: What does that mean? Father: Look, we didn't come here to be insulted. Mother: I love him, but what did I do to deserve him? Bea: Tess, I can't decide if I should take my vacation on a cruise or go to the mountains. I mean, the men are richer on a cruise, but there's more of them in the resorts. What do you think, Tess? Mother: Well, I met my husband at a mountain resort. So, I'd advise you to go on a cruise. Mother: Pay more attention to your schoolwork and less to the radio! Joe: You always listen to the radio. Mother: It's different. Our lives are ruined already. You still have a chance to grow up and be somebody. Mother: Better be careful. The daughter believes in free love. Father: Why do you say that? Mother: You heard what happened to Mrs. Silverman? She couldn't sleep. She was up one night taking a cup of tea and she heard a car pull up 3:00 in the morning. So, you know Mrs. Silverman. She always likes to know what's going on. So, she's peeking out her front door and there's the girl across the street coming back from a folk-singing thing with a tall colored man. You're not gonna believe this, Ceil. She gives the guy a big, long kiss. Well, you can imagine how Rose Silverman reacted. She had a stroke on the spot. Father: What do they want, those Nazis? To slaughter everyone on the planet? Mother: The Nazis, the Communists. The world would be better off without any of them, believe me. Come here. You know what W.C. Fields said, don't you? He said, to settle a war the leaders of the countries involved should meet in a stadium and fight it out with socks filled with horse manure. Mother: If it's a girl, I thought we could name it Lola. Father: Lola? What do you want her to be, a stripper? Cast Woody Allen - Joe, the Narrator Seth Green - Young Joe Mia Farrow - Sally White Dianne Wiest - Aunt Bea Julie Kavner - Tess, Joe's mother Michael Tucker - Martin, Joe's father Josh Mostel - Uncle Abe Renée Lippin - Aunt Ceil Leah Carrey - Grandma Joy Newman - cousin Ruthie Wallace Shawn - Masked Avenger Julie Kurnitz - Irene Draper David Warrilow - Roger Daley Danny Aiello - Rocco Jeff Daniels - Biff Baxter Hy Anzell - Mr. Waldbaum Sydney Blake - Miss Gordon Larry David - Communist Neighbor Gina DeAngelis - Rocco's mother Denise Dumon - Latin singer Todd Field - Crooner Kitty Carlisle Hart - Maxwell House (Coffee) Radio Jingle Singer Paul Herman - Burglar Robert Joy - Fred Diane Keaton - New Year's Singer William Magerman - Grandpa Judith Malina - Mrs. Waldbaum Brian Mannain - Kirby Kyle Kenneth Mars - Rabbi Baumel Helen Miller - Mrs. Needleman Don Pardo - "Guess That Tune" Host Tony Roberts - "Silver Dollar" Emcee Martin Rosenblatt - Mr. Needleman Rebecca Schaeffer - Communists' Daughter Roger Schwinghammer - Richard Martin Sherman - Mr. Abercrombie Mike Starr - Burglar Richard Portnow - Sy Jackson Beck - voice of radio reporter William H. Macy - Radio Voice Kenneth Welsh - Radio Voice External links 0093818 Category:1987 American films Category:American comedy-drama films Category:American coming-of-age films Category:Films about families Category:Period films Category:Independent films Category:Films set in New York City Category:Screenplays by Woody Allen Category:Films directed by Woody Allen