Comments on: CHICAGO d: Cecil B. DeMille

By: Andre Soares

Andre Soares — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 02:37:51 +0000

I believe “Chicago” will see the light of DVD-Day sooner or later, if only because of its more famous — and quite dull — remake.

By: Sue Slutzky

Sue Slutzky — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 18:19:21 +0000

I attended the screening of “Chicago” at the Academy. I enjoyed the film very much and I have to agree with your assessment of the musical accompaniment. It was distracting and totally wrong for the movie. Johnny Crawford and his Orchestra are good on their own. They have no business playing for a silent film. They play 1920s dance music and that’s what they should stick to. I would love to see the film again with a proper score. Phyllis Haver was a joy to watch. I do hope it comes out on DVD so more people can discover this entertaining film.

By: Allan Ellenberger

Allan Ellenberger — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 17:57:03 +0000

I saw the silent version of Chicago at Cinecon this past labor day weekend. I was looking forward to this rarely-seen film which was one of the predecessors of the recent Academy Award winner of the same name. While I enjoyed the film, however, for me the script was lacking. Some scenes seemed to go on forever and could have benefited by the editors scissors. I would like to have seen more of Velma, who is very prominant in the recent version. Phyllis Haver was a delight and effective in the films comic scenes. Overall it was worth the wait and hopefully we will see it soon on DVD.

By: Andre Soares

Andre Soares — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:46:52 +0000

Phyllis Haver married a Manhattan millionaire in 1929. I don’t think she even made any talkies. (The IMDb lists her as having a role in a 1930 film, but that’s a mistake, I’m pretty sure.)
I’ve read that “Sal of Singapore” is a part-talkie, but I haven’t found confirmation on that.

By: Marcus Tucker

Marcus Tucker — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 14:06:45 +0000

Phyllis Haver had great legs too bad that she didn’t go too far in talkies but it’s great the film was shown. I wish I could have been there. Silent scoring is sort of tough for modern composers I think because it’s an altogether different animal from the way films are scored now. The musical was affected because it took so long to get made. And they went with movie stars instead of people who would have been ideal for the roles, they somehow overlooked everyone who helped revive the stage show. Bebe Neuwirth, not only a Broadway star but a professional dancer, with two Tonys for goodness sake. Or Jasmine Gy also a professional dancer who appeared in the Broadway show. The very least they could have done was hire Ann Reinking, who actually worked with Fosse and as a dancer and choreographer. But they wanted a hit and they got one.