Manhattan (film) Manhattan (film) Manhattan is a 1979 American romantic comedy film directed by Woody Allen and produced by Charles H. Joffe. The screenplay was written by Allen and Marshall Brickman. Allen co-stars as a twice-divorced 42-year-old comedy writer who dates a 17-year-old girl (Mariel Hemingway) but falls in love with his best friend's (Michael Murphy) mistress (Diane Keaton). Meryl Streep and Anne Byrne also star. "Manhattan" was filmed in black-and-white and 2.35:1 widescreen. The film features music composed by George Gershwin, including "Rhapsody in Blue", which inspired the idea behind the film. Allen described the film as a combination of his
Woody Allen a film. While best known for his films, Allen has enjoyed a successful career in theatre, starting as early as 1960, when he wrote sketches for the revue "From A to Z". His first great success was "Don't Drink the Water", which opened in 1968, and ran for 598 performances for almost two years on Broadway. His success continued with "Play It Again, Sam", which opened in 1969, starring Allen and Diane Keaton. The show played for 453 performances and was nominated for three Tony Awards, although none of the nominations were for Allen's writing or acting. In the 1970s,