The Purple Rose of Cairo

1985 • 1h 22m •

Fantasy Comedy Romance

MOVIEVIBE Rating

★ 7.4/10

1,175 reviews

Your Rating

Cecilia is a waitress in New Jersey, living a dreary life during the Great Depression. Her only escape from her mundane reality is the movie theatre. After losing her job, Cecilia goes to see 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' in hopes of raising her spirits, where she watches dashing archaeologist Tom Baxter time and again.

"She's finally met the man of her dreams. He's not real, but you can't have everything."

Top Billed Cast

Mia Farrow

Cecilia

Jeff Daniels

Tom Baxter / Gil Shepherd

Danny Aiello

Monk

Dianne Wiest

Emma

Milo O'Shea

Father Donnelly

Van Johnson

Larry

Deborah Rush

Rita

Zoe Caldwell

The Countess

Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews

C CinemaSerf Verified TMDB Critic

2025-05-30

Initially, this reminded me a little of the scenario for “King Kong” as the impressionable young “Cecilia” (Mia Farrow) manages, not unreasonably it has to be said, to get fired from her waitressing job in 1930s New York. Despondent, she heads to the cinema to see the “The Purple Rose of Cairo” only for it’s star “Tom” (Jeff Daniels) to quite literally leap off the screen at her and soon her world is in turmoil. It’s not just her, neither. The studio is complaining that he is doing exactly the same in cinemas all over the shop. That gives “Cecilia” quite a quandary as s...