In the midst of the Great Depression, Cecilia is a downtrodden waitress living in New Jersey. To escape her mundane reality and loveless marriage, she finds solace in the movies. She becomes enamored with a fictional RKO film called The Purple Rose of Cairo, starring Tom Baxter as a charming archaeologist. One day while watching the film, Tom breaks the fourth wall by stepping out of the movie screen and into real life. He falls for Cecilia while taking her on a magical evening in the town within the film. However, their love is complicated by Gil Shepherd, the actor who plays Tom in the movie; he wants Tom to return to the film to save his own Hollywood career; Cecilia must choose between Tom, the fantasy figure, and Gil, the real person. Ultimately she chooses Gil but he betrays her, leaving her heartbroken; she returns to her beloved movies for comfort, immersing herself in Fred Astaire's and Ginger Rogers' dance in Top Hat.

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Some movies that have similar genres and were produced around the same time as The Purple Rose of Cairo include Dream a Little Dream, All of Me, Splash, Teen Wolf, Chances Are, Big.

The Purple Rose of Cairo was released in theaters on April 19, 1985.