|
“In Old
Chicago”
|
 |
Reviewed
by: |
Wayne A. Klein |
| Genre: |
Drama |
| Video: |
1.78:1 Anamorphic
widescreen |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
5.1 |
| Languages |
English |
| Subtitles |
English |
| Length |
115 minutes
(Road show Version)/ 96 minutes (General Release) |
| Rating |
NR |
| Release Date |
8/9/05 |
| Studio |
20th Century
Fox Home Entertainment |
| Commentary:
|
Director
Oliver Hirschbiegel |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
None |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
“Don Ameche:
Hollywood’s Class Act” |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
None |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
“Hollywood
Spotlight 1”, “Hollywood Spotlight 2”, “Chicago”, “Along Broadway” |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Tyrone Power,
Don Ameche, Alice Faye, Alice Brady, Andy Devine, Brian Donlevy,
Phillis Brooks |
| Written
By: |
Sonya Levien
and Lamar Trotti based on the story “We The O’Learys” by Niven
Busch |
| Produced
By: |
Daryl F.
Zanuck |
| Directed
By: |
Henry King
|
| Music:
|
Sidney Clarke
and Lew Pollack |
| The
Review: |
Disasters frequently bring out the
best in filmmakers. Perhaps it’s the human drama or the grand
scale of an epic with the smaller scale of the individuals
affected by the outcome of a disaster but either way films
like “San Francisco” (1936) proved in retrospect that Irwin
Allen didn’t make the best disaster pictures after all. Neither
did Henry King. Who’s Henry you say? Certainly NOT the king
of disaster pictures as proven by the hoary old chestnut “In
Old Chicago” (1937). While King did make some classic films
such as “Twelve O’clock High”, “The Gunfihter” and “The Song
of Bernadette” proves that he has no feel for either the large
scale of this type of film or the human drama at its heart.
Of course it didn’t help that director King was hobbled by
a screenplay by Sonya Levien and Lamar Trotti that made the
script for “Seventh Heaven” (made by King the same year) appear
almost Shakespearian by comparison. Luckily, it features Tyrone
Power and the ever charming Don Ameche. ***
Power plays Dion O’Leary who owns
the best saloon (and owns part of the slum called “the patch”)
in town and is on a crusade to win the heart of Belle (Alice
Faye) an attractive singer. Ameche plays Mayor Jack O’Leary
Dion’s brother. Ameche has the less interesting role as the
good brother. While Dion bribes the city leaders to get what
he wants, his brother Jack crusades to clean up Chicago and
make it a decent place to live. and Alice Brady plays their
mother st1:GivenName w:st="on">Molly O’Leary who owns the
cow that starts the great fire of old Chicago. Who plays the
cow that starts the blaze? Who knows? Who cares? Luckily,
the impressive sets, miniatures, matte paintings and forced
perspectives shot by the second unit special effects crew
saves the day making this movie more than the usual Hollywood
hokum that dominated theaters in the 30’s. “In Old Chicago”
isn’t a bad movie it’s just a template for all the bad Irwin
Allen disaster movies that were churned out in the 70’s. These
films were about spectacle not about the script or performance
(much less the direction) and, as such, “In Old Chicago” despite
the turgid pacing is still pretty involving. ***
|
| Image
and Sound: |
A very
nice transfer from Fox, this DVD features both the original
road show version and the general release version. What’s the
difference you may ask? The road show version of a film was
generally longer with both an Overture and Intermission section
with music for the audience to listen to while they went to
the bathroom and bought popcorn. The shorter general release
version played in smaller theaters where the pomp and circumstance
of the road show version would put the audience to sleep. Which
is the better version? The 96 minute version has better pacing
(and lacks the overture and intermission) but wins only by a
hair. The image quality is pretty consistent throughout with
solid blacks and minimal digital or analog defects (despite
the age of the film). There are two soundtracks available for
both—one is in the original mono which sounds fine although
a bit thin and an artificial steeo soundtrack. Both feature
crisp dialog and, despite some minor distortion on the original
soundtracks, sharp sounding musical scores as well. --- |
| The
Extras: |
Fox has
generously provided four “Fox Movietone News” excepts. “Hollywood
Spotlight 1” and “Hollywood Spotlight 2” feature Power and
Daisy (there we did find out her name!) the cow that started
the fire (it wasn’t Billy Joel after all) and Douglas Fairbanks
Snr. giving Daryl Zanuck the Thalberg award. “A&E Biography:
Don Ameche-Hollywood Class Act” provides us with a nicely
done look at the life of one of Hollywood’s most underrated
leadig men. Including interviews with directors John Landis,
Ron Howard and co-stars, “Ameche” gives a pretty nicely well-rounded
picture of the veteran actor without digging up too much dirt.
“Chicago” features a clip of Mrs. O’Leary’s home and the movie
premiere (it lacks audio) and “Along Boradway” provides footage
of the New York premiere with actress Alice Faye in attendance.
---
|
| Commentary:
|
There’s no
commentary track although there’s nothing indicating whether
Daisy was asked to provide her opinions on the making of this
film. --- |
| Final
Words: |
An epic
disaster and a disaster of a motion picture, “In Old Chicago”
features winning performances from Tyrone Power, Alice Faye
(Power’s love interest in the movie) and Don Ameche. They all
deserved a much better script and direction from Henry King.
Luckily, special effects save the day with a grand fire and
visuals that makes one want to sing “Disco Inferno” (maybe that
should have run on the commentary track) as one watches the
movie. Fox has done a terrific job showcasing this film. Whether
it deserves the deluxe ttention will be your call but there’s
a reason this ain’t on the AFI 100 Best Movies list folks. |
