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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Henry King's In Old Chicago
(1937) derives its appeal from a decade where
opulence and melodrama served as ample background
fodder for some great saga of tragedy in the human
experience.
On this occasion, that disaster is the great fire
that leveled the city of Chicago in 1871 thanks,
so history relates, to one Mrs. O'Leary and her
temperamental cow. But before Bossy rekindles the
spark that turns into a blaze of epic proportions
we get the inevitable back story. The O'Leary's
have come to Chicago to stake their fortunes in
the big city. But even before arriving a bad omen
strikes with the death of patriarch, Patrick
O'Leary (J. Anthony Hughes) who is dragged behind
a carriage by wild horses. Under matriarchal
guidance a patchwork quilt of young love, randy
obsession and sibling rivalry emerges between
brothers, Dion (Tyrone Powers) and Jack (Don
Ameche). Jack has aspirations for the mayoral seat
of power. Dion has eyes for a saloon singer; the
lusty whisky-voiced chanteuse, Belle Fawcett
(Alice Faye). A contrivance in which Jack's
political ambitions are nearly destroyed by the
accidental complicity of Dion and the jealous
muckraking of one Gil Warren (Brian Donlevy) are
basically what fuel this treacle to its
inevitable, if lavishly staged conclusion; a grand
spectacle of all consuming flames chasing the
populous of Chicago into the sea from whence
salvation and a reprieve of immorality will
ultimately emerge. King's direction is solid, and
he is blessed on this occasion with three stars
(Power, Ameche and Faye) who genuinely give it
their all. The sets and costumes attain a level of
period perfection that is two thirds historical
and one part Hollywood grandeur.
Fox has done a thorough research job on this
Studio Series title. We get both the theatrical
version and the original limited engagement 'road
show' edition that is a bit longer and fleshes out
more of the plot and character development. For
purists it's the 'road show' all the way. However,
image quality on both versions is not exactly up
to snuff. The chief complaint this reviewer has is
that there is a generally poor level of contrast
to the print that is overall much too dark. Whites
are rarely clean and most of the tonal quality
leads more toward murky black than variations of
gray. Film grain is present throughout, however,
for a film of this vintage it seems -- at least
for the most part -- to be at, if not acceptable,
then passable levels. The audio is Mono as it
should be and is fairly represented. There are a
few minor instances of pops and hiss but nothing
that will distract. Extras include a Biography
Special on Don Ameche, audio commentary and
theatrical trailers for this and other Fox Studio
Line titles. |
