the audience applauded

Best movie ever!

A Masterpiece!

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

CHICAGO (1927) is the story of Roxie Hart (Phyllis Haver), a bored young housewife who kills her lover during an argument. She convinces her doting husband Amos (Victor Varconi) that she killed the man in self- defense. Amos goes to great lengths to save her from the noose, hiring oily lawyer William Flynn (Robert Edeson). Meanwhile, a slick reporter (T Roy Barnes) plays up her beauty and "innocence", making her into a nationwide celebrity. Direction is credited to Frank Urson, but in actuality Cecil B DeMille directed the majority of the film.CHICAGO is an adaptation of a play by author Maurine Watkins, which was inspired by Watkins' own articles about the trial of real-life murderess Beulah Annan. The film is tight and well crafted. In particular, it's a sharp and merciless satire on unearned celebrity, societal double standards, and the hedonistic 1920s lifestyle. There are many laugh-out- loud hilarious scenes, including a scene where Flynn coaches Roxie on how to appear during his closing statement to the jury, and a scene of the photographer posing Roxie shortly after the murder takes place. Many scenes use exaggeration to make points about media sensationalism and lawyers' appeals to emotion, rather than truth, in order to exonerate their guilty clients. The humor is balanced by the dramatic portrayal of Amos' efforts to save his undeserving wife from the noose. Amos is the moral center of the movie, a decent man who is so in love with his wife that he is willing to break the law to save her, yet struggles with her murderous deed and self-centered, callous attitude.The acting in CHICAGO is nothing less than excellent. Phyllis Haver makes a great lead, portraying the many facets of Roxie Hart's character skillfully. She shows equal comedic and dramatic ability. One could argue that Roxie is a sociopath, able to turn on the charm and the waterworks at will in order to get her way, but fundamentally lacking a conscience. Haver's portrayal of Roxie is perfect. I had never heard of Victor Varconi before, but he played Amos with great skill, sensitivity and restraint, turning in a very believable performance. The rest of the cast does fine work as well.Visually, CHICAGO is top-notch, with skillful editing, fluid camera work, and meaningful use of visual cues. One instance of this is a shot of a crowd walking heedlessly on a newspaper with Roxie on the front page once her 15 minutes of fame are up. The visual style of the film points the way forward to the classic Hollywood style of the 1930s and 40s. This film came out the same year as landmark movies like SUNRISE, WINGS, and METROPOLIS, and even though it is not as celebrated as those visual marvels, in its way it's just as accomplished.SUMMARY: CHICAGO is a skillful blend of satire and drama that boasts a razor-sharp script, excellent performances, and highly accomplished direction. The message of the movie has just as much resonance now as it did in its time. A classic! SCORE: 10/10.

I really liked this film, viewed from the UCLA print. Phyllis Haver, now all but forgotten, shines as Roxie Hart, a good time girl who despises her husband and seeks sugar daddies for fun. As soon as you see her pretending to sleep, having discarded her garter with bells attached, you know she's trouble.So Roxie kills, and goes to jail, and because she's blonde and pretty, she's taken up by the media in this wild world of flappers and jazz. Those familiar with the musical film with Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones will be wondering 'where's Velma?' but that character isn't in the forefront at all. This film is all about Roxie, and, more than the musical version, to some extent about her cuckolded husband Amos. Here we see his point of view on several occasions, and even follow him in scenes where Roxie doesn't appear. Victor Varconi puts in a lovely performance as Amos in this film.Haver might dominate the proceedings, and lights up what is already a fast-moving and effective bit of jazz fluff, but there's a good, if brief performance from Eugene Palette as well. As Casely he is very watchable indeed.As this was a late silent, the acting styles are mainly naturalistic, and the fact that it does not have sound, only titles, doesn't matter a bit when it comes to following the story. Miss Haver acts her heart out anyway and you can feel her contempt, her fear, her desperation, just as you would if you could hear it.A superior film, and one which occasionally makes it out for public showings. A great pity it isn't on DVD as it is extremely enjoyable and deserves a wider potential audience.

Really terrific silent film about Roxie Hart (played by Phyllis Haver), blonde bombshell married to a handsome, devoted, sensitive husband who does stuff like serve her breakfast in bed - he loves "every curl on her head". Wishing she had more "gold" she is busy having an affair with Eugene Palette, but when he comes around and accuses her of running after him for his money (which is true, of course, as she says something like "what else have you got I'd want?"), he dumps her and, well, she shoots him dead. But soon Roxie is arrested and loving it as she laps up the publicity she receives as a public figure dubbed the "Jazz Slayer"; she's soon put on trial for murder under the tutelage of a high-priced defense lawyer who teaches her all the tricks to help steer the jury her way!An excellent film with intriguing plot line and funny too, there are quite a few laughs in this. There is a very amusing scene in women's prison featuring an ensemble of lady prisoners apparently allowed to wear their "street" attire in jail, not limited to sequins, garters, and black lace teddies - Roxie gets into a big cat fight with one of these ladies, featuring lots of hair pulling and both of them rolling around on the floor all tangled up in an exercise belt. The film features a truly great and memorable performance by Phyllis Haver, absolutely perfect in this part. And I must say, the actor who plays her husband, Victor Varconi, is truly a very handsome man! The screening I saw of this featured an absolutely gorgeous black and white print - I long to see this film released on DVD. Really great.

I, too, was fortunate to attend the public screening of this recently-restored film at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Los Angeles. While I feel that some of the scoring choices on the part of the accompanying dance orchestra were inappropriate and distracting, and while I suspect that the projection speed was a bit slow (22 fps instead of 24), this is an excellent film adaptation (based on the original stage play) that can hold its own in comparison to the 2002 version (based on the Broadway musical). I should note, too, that this preserved print is the "roadshow" version, which means it is a longer version that was probably shown at the New York or Los Angeles premieres before being cut down for wider release in 1927.Aside from the stellar performances of Phyllis Haver (sexy, vibrant, and even affecting) and Victor Varconi (stoic and sympathetic) as Roxie and Amos Hart, what struck me most about this film was its pervasive use of dramatic irony--a device that is eminently suited to this particular story. Whereas the Bob Fosse musical seeks to emphasize the power of the media in manipulating public opinion, this 1927 CHICAGO strikes me more as a comment on the ironies of life, both cruel and merciful. To name only one example (caution: spoilers ahead), the murder scene is exquisitely conceived: as a player piano hammers out a joyful rag, Roxie rashly fires a shot as her lover walks out the door. The bullet pierces a mirror on the door and reaches its target on the other side. As Roxie looks on in horror at the dead man on the floor, the piano continues, oblivious to the tragedy that has occurred. The cracked mirror, and the black stockings on the door effectively add to the irony of the scene.This is a film that deserves a DVD release (at proper projection speed and with a top-notch score). If Phyllis Haver has been unjustly forgotten (the curse of Roxie Hart's fate), this is the film that, if marketed properly, could turn her into a bona fide 1920s icon. Talk about irony.