Now, there is no doubt that I love my city and think it is far superior to New York, but let’s be real. New York is an iconic city, perhaps no more so because it is a city that allows many different kinds of people to mingle together. Yes, there are typical New Yorkers that can be spotted from a mile away, but, by looking at classic New York cinema, we can see all the different personality types that make New York such a classic city. Here are some of my favorite movies from the past, all with a bit of New York flair.
Citizen Kane (1941): The Media Titan
New York thinks of itself as the final word in journalism, and maybe some of that stems from personalities like Charles Foster Kane, the egomaniacal and power-hungry tycoon played by the enigmatic Orson Welles. This character type has been recreated over the years in both movies and television, and maybe it’s not so far from how these New York media giants really are.
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The Seven-Year Itch (1955): The Unattainable Seductress
Perhaps there is no more iconic image in American cinema than Marilyn Monroe standing on a subway grate as her skirt billows up around her. That image alone led American men everywhere to fall head over heels for Miss Monroe, and a new character type was born. Equally sly and innocently ditzy, beautiful yet somewhat awkward, and flirtatious but completely unattainable. You know the type.
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The Apartment (1960): The Innocents
For all that can be said about New York attitude, there are always some that are better than the rest. Jack Lemmon basically perfected the somewhat depressed lost-soul character type who sees all the bad going on around him and dutifully keeps his mouth shut. In this particular role, as C.C. Baxter, he allows his apartment to be rented out to his company managers for their extramarital affairs and in the process falls for Shirley MacLaine’s Fran Kubelik, one of these mistresses. Both characters’ inner goodness allow them to fall for each other, and a common movie trope was born.
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Annie Hall (1977): The Quirk
Probably the first character that comes to mind when we think of New York movies is Annie Hall, the offbeat and instantly iconic title character in Woody Allen’s seventies masterpiece. With her menswear-inspired wardrobe, ditzy personality, and endearing relationship with Alvy, the classic New York neurotic, Annie Hall created an entirely new New York woman. No longer was Jackie O perfection the only thing that women strove for. The “manic-pixie dream girl” trope that is so common today is a direct descendant of Annie Hall.
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Arthur (1981): The Opposites
We often hear that opposites attract, and in New York, with all the different stereotypes and personalities, it’s easy to see how it can happen. Like in this case, when a spoiled Park Avenue alcoholic millionaire (Dudley Moore, the best) falls for a mouthy down-and-out waitress from Queens (Liza Minelli). Rich and poor, mature and appallingly childish, spoiled and working class, these two have nothing in common, but because it’s a classic New York movie, they fall in love and get the happy ending!
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