History Film / RadioDays

''Radio Days'' is a 1987 Creator/WoodyAllen comedy-drama film about the golden age of radio in [[TheForties the 1940s]].

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-->'''Narrator:''' 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.

* TheCameo: Creator/DianeKeaton appears as a singer at the party near the end of the film, as does Creator/TonyRoberts. Both are best known for their roles in ''Film/AnnieHall''. Music/TitoPuente plays a Cuban band leader, while Creator/DonPardo essentially plays himself as the host of a ''Series/NameThatTune''-style game show. Creator/KittyCarlisle also appears, essentially as herself as well. Creator/DannyAiello appears as a hitman who has to off Sally. Creator/WallaceShawn is the Masked Avenger. Creator/JeffDaniels is Biff Baxter.

* {{Expy}}: All of the radio programs depicted (except for ''Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds'', and even that's depicted differently) are fictional, as Allen couldn't afford the rights to the real ones. "Breakfast with Irene and Roger", for example, was inspired by ''Breakfast with Dorothy and Dick'', "The Masked Avenger" is likely based on ''Radio/TheShadow'', and "Guess That Tune" stood in for ''Series/NameThatTune''. In addition, the story about Kirby Kyle is a {{Parody}} of real-life pitchers Monty Stratton (whose life was depicted in the Creator/JimmyStewart film ''Film/TheStrattonStory'') and Pete Gray.

* HistoricalInJoke: Tons, most pronounced when Aunt Bea and her date happen to catch an expy of Creator/OrsonWelles' infamous ''Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' broadcast. HilarityEnsues.

As an adult NostalgicNarrator (voiced by Allen), Joe relates memories from his childhood inspired by [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic certain songs and sounds from the radio era]]. Woven in with stories about his own family, Joe also narrates several collected stories about famous radio stars of the time, including the story of Sally White (Creator/MiaFarrow), a [[BrainlessBeauty ditzy cigarette girl]] from Brooklyn who became one of the most respected radio hosts through a series of mishaps and lucky breaks. The glamorous lives of the stars contrast with Joe's humble family, but as the adult Joe observes, the radio played an equally important role in all of their lives. Despite the times having changed drastically, the stories still live on through the music and the memories.

** Joe sees a Nazi U-boat off the coast of Coney Island. They really did make that close an approach to New York City, but this wasn't known til decades later.