We’ve discussed a number of flat-out mysteries in Annie Hall. Here, I want to point out maybe the strangest of all. The film has two scenes that bear an uncanny similarity to CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite announcing the death of John F. Kennedy. To Cronkite’s right (your left) is what I can only call a ghost-like apparition. It’s kinda there, and kinda not. This effect matches a scene in the film where Annie’s ghost gets out of bed with Alvy to do some drawing while her body stays in bed.
Behind Cronkite are two men of similar height, hair, and attire. They could almost be twins. In the film, Alvy and Max are in a car, and behind them are two police officers, of similar build and height. You know what Alvy and Max are talking about? Twins !!
So the Cronkite clip has these two odd features, both of which appear in Annie Hall in different scenes. Add this to the other mysteries, including two actors playing Annie’s father and a very faint sound of a clock ticking when the two are in bed.
Woody, what’s going on? This film seems to have two parallel threads. One is Woody’s romantic life. The other is strange political or historical theme. It may be possible to explain this other thread, but Woody Allen and his co-writer Marshall Brickman will end up looking very different from their public personas.