In Old Chicago [VHS]

In Old Chicago [VHS]
by Henry King

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VHS Tape Cover Information

Actor: Alice Brady, Alice Faye, Andy Devine, Don Ameche, Tyrone Power
Director: Henry King
Cinematographer: J. Peverell Marley
Editor: Barbara McLean
Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck
Producer: Kenneth Macgowan
Writer: Lamar Trotti
Writer: Niven Busch
Writer: Sonya Levien
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, NTSC
Running Time: 95 minutes
Release Date: 1994-05-04
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Studio: 20th Century Fox

VHS Movie Reviews of In Old Chicago [VHS]

Movie Review: Fox tries for a San Francisco of its own
Summary: 3 Stars

After years of being only available in a cut 94-minute version, this Fox Classics DVD includes both that and the original roadshow version - with interesting results. In its uncut 110-minute roadshow version, In Old Chicago plays like an even more obvious ripoff of San Francisco, merely substituting Tyrone Power, Don Ameche, Alice Faye and the Chicago fire for Clark Gable, Spencer Tracey, Jeanette MacDonald and the San Francisco earthquake and adding more twee Oirish antics than are healthy. The musical numbers are a step down too, particularly Faye's rendition of Carry Me Back to Old Virginny complete with `massa' lyrics, and the finale isn't as grand on screen as it is in your memory: the scenes of the crowds of refugees on the banks tend to be far more effective than the backlot chaos. Still, any film that features Rondo Hatton can't be all bad, but it's easy to see why Zanuck ordered the film trimmed.

The transfer is good, with a Biography Channel documentary on Don Ameche and 4 newsreel extracts the only extras.

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Summary of In Old Chicago [VHS]

In Old Chicago was 20th Century Fox's grandest production of 1938, and it's still worthy of classic status. Along with MGM's 1936 earthquake drama San Fracisco, it ranks among the finest of the early disaster films, and the climactic depiction of the great Chicago fire of 1871 is still impressive, with some shots that are just as amazing as the digitally rendered disaster effects of present-day Hollywood. It's a highly fictionalized account of the O'Leary family, whose legendary milk-cow kicked over the lamp that set Chicago ablaze, and the teaming of Tyrone Power, Don Ameche, and Alice Faye (as O'Leary brothers Dion and Jack, and Jack's showgirl wife Belle) proved so popular that they were reunited, along with director Henry King, in Darryl F. Zanuck's follow-up production of Alexander's Ragtime Band. They lead a lively cast (including Andy Devine and Brian Donlevy) that delivers all the entertainment value that Zanuck could muster, focusing on the rivalry between Jack and Dion as they clash over their political ambitions and future plans for "The Patch," the beloved Chicago slum district in which they were raised. Their mother (played by Alice Brady in an Oscar?-winning performance) struggles to hold her brood together, and the sibling rivalry reaches a fever pitch just as the city's about to go up in flames. Along the way we're treated to Faye's silky-smooth performances of vintage show tunes (like the title song), and movie buffs will appreciate the early appearance of Rondo Hatton, a bit player who suffered from acromegaly, a deforming pituitary condition (similar to gigantism) that caused him to have one of the most unique faces in the history of movies. --Jeff Shannon

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