Jeff Daniels has played many characters in his time, but matinee idol? Bit of a stretch, though it worked a treat in 1985 Woody Allen comedy The Purple Rose Of Cairo. Tom Baxter was every inch the debonair black and white movie star. Yet one look at cinemagoer Mia Farrow and that was that - he fled the confines of his projected prison and intermingled with the real world to romance her. As in Fiddler On The Roof, the rigours of a past society intruded on the romance. Depression-beset New Jersey wasn't a laugh riot and Farrow sought to get away from her cretinous husband by sitting in the dark watching exotic stories unfold. The film is both Allen's love letter to a classic age of cinema and a skilful lesson on the power of imagination. Daniels, who replaced Michael Keaton at the last minute, gave Baxter pathos as well as lunkheaded lust and being the fine actor he is also delivered a turn as Gil Shepherd. Safe to say, Shepherd had words to say to Baxter, having portrayed him in the celluloid spectacle he escaped from.
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
