Chicago (1927 film)

Chicago
Lobby card
Directed by Frank Urson
Produced by Cecil B. DeMille
Written by Lenore J. Coffee
Based on Chicago
by Maurine Dallas Watkins
Starring Phyllis Haver
Julia Faye
Victor Varconi
May Robson
Cinematography J. Peverell Marley
Edited by Anne Bauchens
Distributed by Pathé Exchange
Release date
  • December 27, 1927 (1927-12-27)
Running time
 118 minutes
Country United States
Language Silent (English intertitles)
Budget $303,306[1]
Box office $483,165[1]

Chicago is a 1927 American comedy-drama silent film produced by Cecil B. DeMille and directed by Frank Urson.

Plot

The plot of the film is drawn from the 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 (played by Victor Varconi) has a much more sympathetic and active role in the film than he does either in the play or in the subsequent musical. The ending is crueler to Roxie, in keeping with Hollywood values of not allowing criminals to profit too much from their crimes (although she does get away with murder).

Cast

Preservation status

The film was long difficult to see, but a recent print was made available from the UCLA Film and Television Archive, enabling the film to play at festivals and historic theaters around the country. This has greatly improved the reputation of the film.[2]

A print of Chicago also survives at Gosfilmofond Russian State Archives.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Birchard, Robert S. (2009). Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood. University Press of Kentucky. Appendix A. ISBN 978-0-8131-2324-0.
  2. ↑ "Progressive Silent Film List: Chicago". silentera.com.

Further reading


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