mark.waltz This delightfully funny original version of the late 1920's Broadway hit "Chicago" is a surprise to those who thought that "Chicago" started as a movie musical starring Little Miss Alice Faye. While Elizabeth Taylor was definitely wrong when she quoted that line in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", she was definitely looking into the future as less than 10 years later, Broadway would be taken by storm with a musical of the same name, songs by Kander and Ebb, and a delightful "Forbidden Broadway" quote by an actor portraying Jerry Orbach who indicated that he starred in the flop production of "Chicago" which ran for two years.Roxie is here on her own, no sidekick in Velma Kelly, although there is a character named Velma here, she is apparently no relation to the murderess from Cicero. Absent here also are a lot of the dirty one-liners that made Ginger Rogers wince when she heard of what the book of "Chicago" included. Also gone is that infamous line, "I Gotta Pee!", which Broadway legend Ethel Merman raised her eyebrows over. Yet, this slightly cleaned up "Chicago" is funny enough on its own without all the sexual insinuations, still potent with its publicity loving characters who shine when their names are on the front pages, even if their address is the Cook County Jail.Adolphe Menjou, disheveled with hair a mess, is far from his dapper tuxedo wearing usual self as he plays publicity thriving attorney Billy Flynn. It is made clear to the audience that Roxie isn't a murderess, only pretending to be so she can get some publicity. In other words, this is sort of a "Nothing Sacred" type scam, and one that still holds up even though its been re-done in a more famous way as an extremely long Broadway musical revival and an Oscar Winning Best Picture.Also extremely memorable is Sara Allgood in the role of the matron, calmly reading her movie magazine as Roxie and another inmate have a catfight (with actual cat screeches in the background), and her sudden movement to stop it. Allgood even gets in on the action, dancing along when reporters show up to watch Rogers do an impromptu musical number ("The Black Bottom") which also includes "sob sister" Mary Sunshine (Spring Byington) who obviously doesn't have the same plot twist as the musical. Milquetoast extroardinaire George Chandler is picture perfect as Rogers' unappreciated husband. A ton of other characters not part of the much altered musical appear, played with comic perfection by such talents as Nigel Bruce, Lynne Overman, William Frawley and Phil Silvers.Then, there's the addition of a love interest for Rogers, played by handsome George Montgomery, another character eliminated from the musical. There's enough here to make this stand alone from the musical, and Rogers' gum-snapping floozy is certainly one of her best parts, a throw-back to the characters she played a decade before, and far from those elegant sequined dressed ladies she played when dancing with Fred Astaire.Who better to direct such a sharp look at society and the need for attention than William A. Wellman who could take on a woman's picture with ease as he could a men's action film. This speeds along at a breakneck pace and is practically excellent in every department. So if you feel like rollin' your stockings down and buying some aspirin at United Drug, just remember, all you jazz fans, that long before Kander and Ebb got their hands on Roxie's garter belt, somebody else had been there first. Whatever happened to class? It used to be trash with class, and these teachers will give you a lesson you'll not soon forget.

kenjha This farce about women who kill is based on the play "Chicago," which was successfully filmed as a musical in 2002, It starts off busy, with attempts at broad comedy that don't work. Unlike the musical version, there aren't dazzling numbers to sustain interest when the comedy isn't working, although Rogers does do some dancing. It gets better as it goes along, thanks to the game cast. Rogers seems to be having a lot of fun in the title role. Old pro Mejou is terrific as the flamboyant lawyer who defends Rogers. Although known mainly for Westerns, Montgomery (whose voice is like Clark Gable's) displays fine comic flair as a reporter smitten by Rogers.

Michael_Elliott Roxie Hart (1942) *** (out of 4) Fast paced comedy about a showgirl (Ginger Rogers) who admits to a murder she didn't commit just so she can get her name in the media. This story was previously made in 1927 as Chicago and it was later turned into the Oscar-winner Chicago in 2002. As for this film, it's fun from start to finish and the 75-minute running time flashes by without any dull moments. The true highlight here is Ginger Rogers who is downright brilliant as Roxie. Not only does Rogers perfectly capture all of the character's wit, she also brings a fair portion of sexuality to the role even though most of it ended up getting cut due to the Hayes Office. The supporting cast is full of terrific character actors and they all add great supporting. Adolphe Menjou is wonderful as the showbiz lawyer who wants to turn the trial into something like a movie production. George Montgomery, Nigel Bruce and Phil Silvers.

Maciste_Brother ROXIE HART is a fun film. Its tone is correct. The dialogue is sometimes really sharp, even for today. And the cinematography is unusually gorgeous, for a comedy anyway. But the story lacks depth and it never goes beyond the "let's play the jury with Roxie's charms" bit, which became tiring one hour into the film. The film lacked interesting secondary characters which would have added much needed depth and change from the Roxie Hart storyline. In the end, the constant focus on Roxie and her assets and the wacky court case antics reminded me of the long lasting TV show NIGHT COURT. The film, which is 90 minutes long, is at the same level of a standard 30 minute NIGHT COURT episode. Not good.It's a shame really because Ginger actually gives a great comedic performance. I completely forgot she was the same actress that starred in all of those Fred & Ginger flicks. And the cast is pretty good. The whole project just seems underdeveloped. It's just a one note comedy. It's worth watching for Ginger though.