Even as early 40s screwball comedies go, this is very… odd. I mean, it’s very, very funny, but it’s more a broad satire than a comedy, but it’s not at all clear what the target of the satire is (beyond the press and celebrity trials). It seems like any scene here could be a political point being made, but it could also just be random silliness.
One thing that could explain it is if this is based on a kooky stage show — it’s set in a very limited number of locations, and it’s got that frantic rhythm…
And then of course Ginger Rogers does a little tap number all of a sudden.
I didn’t quite know what to make of this movie at the start. But as it went along, I just thought it was absolutely brilliant. It’s way ahead of its time — it feels more like a 70s British satire than a 40s comedy. It’s so… relentless. But so much funnier than those 70s satires.
A film adaptation of a 1926 play Chicago by Maurine Dallas Watkins, a journalist who found inspiration in two real-life Chicago trials (Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner) she had covered for the press.
I’ve never seen Chicago!
But… (spoilers) in this version she wasn’t guilty.
Flagg is right that it isn’t perfect, but it’s just so funny. All those little bits… And Ginger Rogers is amazing.
Roxie Hart. William A. Wellman. 1942. ⚅
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