Chicago
Directed by Frank Orson
Written by Lenore J. Coffee; titles by John W. Kraft; story by Maurine Dallas Watkins
1927/US
Cecil B. DeMille Productions
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTub
William Flynn: Cut the bull! I’m not your husband – I’m your lawyer!
This story has been remade so many times because it’s a good one.
Roxie Hart’s (Phyllis Haver) husband Amos (Victor Varconi) is totally besotted by the totally amoral gold digger. Her lover (Eugene Palette) is fed up with her, however. You don’t walk out on Roxie though and loverman winds up with a bullet in his chest. Roxie calls Amos in a panic and the poor sap is up to his ears in trouble trying to help her.
The story proper concerns Roxy’s trial, which rapidly becomes a media circus. Roxie’s lawyer is a money grubbing shyster and the prosecutor is running for public office. Our heroine loves the publicity.
This story originated in a Broadway play and was remade as Roxie Hart (1942) with Ginger Rogers and the Bob Fosse Broadway musical and movie Chicago. It’s a gritty, funny satire on the print media and the justice system that resonates to this day. The performances here are all spot on. I had not seen Varconi before and found him very appealing. I had to keep rubbing my eyes and asking myself is that really Eugene Palette? I thought the running time could have been trimmed by 20-30 minutes without harm but other than that thoroughly enjoyed the film.
Cecil B. DeMille is thought to have directed most if not all of this film. He was talked into taking his name off the credits because the story was not compatible with the message he was sending with The King of Kings released the same year.
Clip – Eugene Palette and Phyllis Haver
