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{{Short description|1927 film by Frank John Urson}}
The movie '''''Chicago''''' was produced by [[Cecil B. DeMille]] in [[1927]] and directed by [[Frank Urson]]. It was drawn from a play by [[Maurine Dallas Watkins]] which was in turn based on the true crime story of [[Beulah Annan]], fictionalized as "Roxie Hart" (played by [[Phyllis Haver]]), her fellow death-row inmate [[Belva Gaertner]], and their spectacular involvement in the murder of their boyfriends.
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Chicago
| image = Chicago lobby card.jpg
| caption = Lobby card
| director = [[Frank Urson]]<br/>[[Cecil B. DeMille]] (uncredited)
| screenplay = [[Lenore J. Coffee]]
| based_on = {{based on|''[[Chicago (play)|Chicago]]''|[[Maurine Dallas Watkins]]}}
| producer = Cecil B. DeMille
| starring = {{plainlist|
* [[Phyllis Haver]]
* [[Julia Faye]]
* [[Victor Varconi]]
* [[May Robson]]
}}
| cinematography = [[J. Peverell Marley]]
| editing = [[Anne Bauchens]]
| distributor = [[Pathé Exchange]]
| released = {{film date|1927|12|27}}
| runtime = 103 minutes
| country = United States
| language = [[Silent film|Silent]] (English [[intertitle]]s)
| budget = $303,306<ref name="Birchard">{{cite book |last=Birchard |first=Robert S. |title=Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=2009 |at=Appendix A |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h8I1dEf7GqIC |isbn=978-0-8131-2324-0}}</ref>
| gross = $483,165<ref name="Birchard"/>
}}
[[File:Chicago (1927) by Frank John Urson.webm | thumb|The full film]]
'''''Chicago''''' is a 1927 American [[silent film|silent]] [[crime film|crime]] [[comedy-drama]] film produced by [[Cecil B. DeMille]] and directed by [[Frank Urson]]. The first [[film adaptation]] of [[Maurine Dallas Watkins]]' [[Chicago (play)|play of the same name]], the film stars [[Phyllis Haver]] as [[Roxie Hart]], a fame-obsessed housewife who kills her lover in cold blood and, after trying to coerce her husband into taking the blame, is put on trial for murder.<ref name="afi">{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3282-CHICAGO |title=Chicago |work=afi.com |access-date=April 6, 2024}}</ref><ref name="silentera">{{cite web |url=https://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/C/Chicago1927.html |title=Progressive Silent Film List: ''Chicago'' |access-date=April 6, 2024 |publisher=silentera.com}}</ref>


==Plot==
The Watkins play was again filmed in 1942 as '''''[[Roxie Hart]]''''', starring [[Ginger Rogers]] (in the title role), and Adolphe Menjou as Billy Flynn. Notable minor players were [[Nigel Bruce]] and [[Phil Silvers]]: the movie was directed by William A. Wellman.
The plot of the film is drawn from the 1926 play ''[[Chicago (play)|Chicago]]'' by [[Maurine Dallas Watkins]] which was in turn based on the true story of [[Beulah Annan]], fictionalized as [[Roxie Hart]] ([[Phyllis Haver]]), and her spectacular murder of her boyfriend.


The silent film adds considerably to the material in Watkins' play, some additions based on the original murder, and some for Hollywood considerations. The murder, which occurs in a very brief vignette before the play begins, is fleshed out considerably. Also, Roxie's husband Amos Hart has a much more sympathetic and active role in the film than he does either in the play or in the subsequent musical. The original ending is altered to have Roxie punished for her crime.
==Related topics==


==Cast==
* [[Chicago (play)]]
* [[Chicago (2002 movie)]]
* [[Phyllis Haver]] as [[Roxie Hart]]
* [[Victor Varconi]] as Amos Hart
* [[Virginia Bradford]] as Katie
* [[Robert Edeson]] as [[Billy Flynn (Chicago)|William Flynn]]
* [[Eugene Pallette]] as Rodney Casley
* [[Warner Richmond]] as Asst. District Attorney
* [[T. Roy Barnes]] as Reporter
* [[Clarence Burton]] as Police sergeant
* [[Julia Faye]] as [[Velma Kelly|Velma]]
* [[May Robson]] as Matron Mrs. Morton
* Viola Louie as Two Gun Rosie

==Preservation and availability==
Complete prints of ''Chicago'' are held by:

* [[Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée|Archives du Film du CNC]]
* [[CINEMATEK|Cinematheque Royale de Belgique]]
* Filmoteka Narodowa in [[Warsaw]]
* [[Museum Of Modern Art]] (on [[35 mm movie film|35 mm]] and [[16 mm film|16 mm]])
* [[Gosfilmofond]]
* [[Arhiva Națională de Filme]]
* [[George Eastman Museum]]
* [[UCLA Film and Television Archive]] (on 35&nbsp;mm)
* [[Cinémathèque française]]<ref name="American Silent Feature Film Database">{{cite web |url=https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.132/ |title=American Silent Feature Film Database: ''Chicago'' |access-date=April 6, 2024 |publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref>

The film was long difficult to see, but in 2006 the UCLA Film and Television Archive restored a 35&nbsp;mm print, which was screened at Kansas Silent Film Festival in 2007.<ref name="afi"/> Flicker Alley released the film on [[DVD]] in 2010<ref name="silentera-HV">{{cite web |url=https://www.silentera.com/video/chicagoHV.html |title=Silent Era Films on Home Video: ''Chicago'' |access-date=April 6, 2024 |publisher=silentera.com}}</ref> and later on [[Blu-ray]] on October 6, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Chicago-Blu-ray/277731/|title=Chicago Blu-ray}}</ref>

==Adaptations==
The plot was [[Chicago (musical)|adapted into a stage musical in 1975]] with music and lyrics by [[John Kander]] and [[Fred Ebb]] and received mixed reviews. A 1996 [[New York City Center|City Center]] [[Encores!]] production received critical acclaim and later transferred to Broadway, ultimately becoming the [[List_of_the_longest-running_Broadway_shows|longest-running musical revival on Broadway]].<ref>Leve, James. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IvJZVyrt-nUC&q=%22James+Leve%22+%22Chicago%22+Kander ''Kander and Ebb''] ''Kander and Ebb'', Yale University Press, 2009, {{ISBN|0-300-11487-7}}, p. 6</ref> The stage musical was made into a [[Chicago (2002 film)|musical film in 2002]], starring [[Renée Zellweger]] as Roxie, [[Catherine Zeta-Jones]] as fellow murderess [[Velma Kelly]], [[Richard Gere]] as [[Billy Flynn (Chicago)|Billy Flynn]], [[Queen Latifah]] as Mama Morton, and [[John C. Reilly]] as Amos. The film was also a hit and won the [[75th_Academy_Awards|Academy Award for Best Picture]] in 2003.

==See also==
* ''[[Roxie Hart (film)|Roxie Hart]]'' (1942)
* ''[[Chicago (musical)|Chicago]]'' (musical)
* ''[[Chicago (2002 film)|Chicago]]'' (2002)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline}}
* {{wikisource-inline|single=yes|Chicago (film)}}
*{{IMDb title|0017750|Chicago}}
*{{allMovie title|87105|Synopsis}}
*[http://moviessilently.com/2014/03/30/chicago-1927-a-silent-film-review/ Stills] at moviessilently.com
*Chicago (good print of entire film) on [https://classicfreemovies.com/movies/chicago/ Classic Free Movies]

{{Chicago (play/musical)}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1927 films]]
[[Category:1927 comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1927 crime films]]
[[Category:1920s American films]]
[[Category:1920s crime comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1920s English-language films]]
[[Category:1920s rediscovered films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American crime comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:American films based on plays]]
[[Category:American silent feature films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Frank Urson]]
[[Category:Films set in Chicago]]
[[Category:Pathé Exchange films]]
[[Category:Rediscovered American films]]
[[Category:Silent American comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Silent crime comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Surviving American silent films]]
[[Category:English-language crime comedy-drama films]]

Latest revision as of 01:57, 13 November 2024

Chicago
Lobby card
Directed byFrank Urson
Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)
Screenplay byLenore J. Coffee
Based onChicago
by Maurine Dallas Watkins
Produced byCecil B. DeMille
Starring
CinematographyJ. Peverell Marley
Edited byAnne Bauchens
Distributed byPathé Exchange
Release date
  • December 27, 1927 (1927-12-27)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
Budget$303,306[1]
Box office$483,165[1]
The full film

Chicago is a 1927 American silent crime comedy-drama film produced by Cecil B. DeMille and directed by Frank Urson. The first film adaptation of Maurine Dallas Watkins' play of the same name, the film stars Phyllis Haver as Roxie Hart, a fame-obsessed housewife who kills her lover in cold blood and, after trying to coerce her husband into taking the blame, is put on trial for murder.[2][3]

Plot

[edit]

The plot of the film is drawn from the 1926 play Chicago by Maurine Dallas Watkins which was in turn based on the true story of Beulah Annan, fictionalized as Roxie Hart (Phyllis Haver), and her spectacular murder of her boyfriend.

The silent film adds considerably to the material in Watkins' play, some additions based on the original murder, and some for Hollywood considerations. The murder, which occurs in a very brief vignette before the play begins, is fleshed out considerably. Also, Roxie's husband Amos Hart has a much more sympathetic and active role in the film than he does either in the play or in the subsequent musical. The original ending is altered to have Roxie punished for her crime.

Cast

[edit]

Preservation and availability

[edit]

Complete prints of Chicago are held by:

The film was long difficult to see, but in 2006 the UCLA Film and Television Archive restored a 35 mm print, which was screened at Kansas Silent Film Festival in 2007.[2] Flicker Alley released the film on DVD in 2010[5] and later on Blu-ray on October 6, 2020.[6]

Adaptations

[edit]

The plot was adapted into a stage musical in 1975 with music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb and received mixed reviews. A 1996 City Center Encores! production received critical acclaim and later transferred to Broadway, ultimately becoming the longest-running musical revival on Broadway.[7] The stage musical was made into a musical film in 2002, starring Renée Zellweger as Roxie, Catherine Zeta-Jones as fellow murderess Velma Kelly, Richard Gere as Billy Flynn, Queen Latifah as Mama Morton, and John C. Reilly as Amos. The film was also a hit and won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2003.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Birchard, Robert S. (2009). Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood. University Press of Kentucky. Appendix A. ISBN 978-0-8131-2324-0.
  2. ^ a b "Chicago". afi.com. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  3. ^ "Progressive Silent Film List: Chicago". silentera.com. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  4. ^ "American Silent Feature Film Database: Chicago". Library of Congress. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  5. ^ "Silent Era Films on Home Video: Chicago". silentera.com. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  6. ^ "Chicago Blu-ray".
  7. ^ Leve, James. Kander and Ebb Kander and Ebb, Yale University Press, 2009, ISBN 0-300-11487-7, p. 6
[edit]
  • Media related to Chicago (1927 film) at Wikimedia Commons
  • The full text of Chicago (film) at Wikisource
  • Chicago at IMDb
  • ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› Synopsis at AllMovie
  • Stills at moviessilently.com
  • Chicago (good print of entire film) on Classic Free Movies
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