An Exercise In Nonsense

A different way of telling a story

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

Having seen Roxie on Broadway back in the 70s it took me quite a while before I saw Roxie Hart finally. It was worth the wait as Ginger Rogers gets to display her comedic and dancing talents with a bit of drama thrown in. The dance was not often seen any more since she and Fred Astaire parted cinematic company and she won that Best Actress Oscar for Kitty Foyle.Told in flashback by newspaperman George Montgomery the film harkens back to Prohibition and the lawless town of Chicago in the Roaring Twenties. As a publicity stunt manager Lynne Overman persuades burlesque queen Ginger Rogers to confess to a murder she really didn't commit.With flamboyant Adolphe Menjou defending her and Cook County juries being what they were and some maintain still are he's sure of acquittal. But there are a few unexpected bumps along the way.Besides Rogers, Adolphe Menjou had a real flair for roles like defense attorney Billy Flynn where he could ham it up and it not looking out of place. Spring Byington has a few good scenes are sob sister Chicago columnist, a far cry from her usual motherly or grandmotherly roles.The one I remember best is George Chandler who got a career role for himself as Roxie's nebbish of a husband. He's such a schnook he practically deserves Roxie cheating on him. I think you'll remember him best as well.Roxie Hart in those dark days of the first full year of America in World War II was a real winner for 20th Century Fox and for star Ginger Rogers and the entire cast that supported here in this nostalgia driven film.

I'm not sure what motivated me to see this movie -- perhaps it was because I like Adolphe Menjou. Whatever it was, I was quite disappointed. The film has a few flashes of interest, but it has aged very poorly since 1942... overall, its humor is much too broad, sophomoric and dated. As a result, the many "gags" fall quite flat and become tiresome very quickly. I wanted to walk out after the first half hour but logistically that was impossible so I sat through the whole painful thing. If you like William Wellman, Menjou, Ginger Rogers or anyone else involved in this production, try seeing them in something more worthwhile.

Although this film has some funny moments, it's not consistent, and some of the jokes are whacked to death by the director (the photographers, the ogling jury, the deadpan court announcer). Ginger Rogers gives a one-dimensional performance without the least bit of subtlety, and we're even forced to watch two dance numbers that are shoe-horned into the plot to show off her ankles.It's fun to spot some character actors who went on to great success in television (Spring Byington, William Frawley, and especially Phil Silvers). Other supporting players, such as Nigel Bruce and George Chandler, are spot-on in their roles as agent and rebuffed husband. But the main characters need to drive a film, and the three leads in ROXIE HART don't quite fire on all cylinders. Adolphe Menjou is always fun to watch, but about 30 years too old for the part. (Even though his character is described as oozing with sex appeal.) George Montgomery is flat, and Ginger starts to grate after a half-hour or so.The lighting is especially good in the prison scenes, with lots of angular shadows. The print shown on TCM was in very good shape, with good contrast and sharp focus. ROXIE HART is not a total loser, but if you're looking for a top-rank 40s screwball comedy, this isn't it.

Other reviewers have noted it too -- this film is a major disappointment, especially if you are a Ginger Rogers fan. Which I am. But that's not to say I don't recognize that not every film she made was a gem. Indeed, she made her share of turkeys. This is not quite a turkey but it comes close. The problem is the studio. 20th Century Fox did not have the flair for comedy MGM, Columbia, or Ginger's old haunt RKO, where she made all her wonderful films with Astaire. First off, Ginger is a little too old for the part. She was 31 or 32, had gained some weight since the Astaire years, and was in her brunette/black hair period -- which was far from attractive. The use of gauze over the camera lens is evident in all her closeups, because she just was no longer the radiant young thing she was in her 1930s films. Ginger could do screwball comedy, and in The Major and the Minor, directed by Billy Wilder -- who knew how to do a comedy -- she shines. Here, she and all the comedic talents in the cast, are wasted by (1)a lackluster script and (2)heavy-handed direction by a man who did better with drama than comedy. One comes to Roxie Hart expecting a lot, but it just isn't there, and the whole show is dragged down by George Montgomery's non-acting. The character actors try to save the film -- William Frawley and Phil Silvers were outstanding in other films and on TV. But here their efforts fall flat. I have read that Barbara Stanwyck was the first choice for Roxie but I doubt if she could have saved it. And the constraints of 1942 censorship rendered the whole story of "Chicago" so antiseptic it is a wonder it has any following at all. Finally, it is rumored this version is not the original 1942 release -- which reportedly featured much saucier dancing. Having said all that, I would still prefer to watch this over the obnoxious and somewhat repugnant film "Chicago" recently released on an unsuspecting public.