Occasionally, there is a sensational murder trial in which the accused emerges as a larger-than-life public figure by the swarming media who detail every lurid minutiae of the crime. Maurine Dallas Watkins, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune in the mid-1920s, covered two particular murder trials. When she left the newsroom and entered the Yale School of Drama, she was given an assignment to sketch out a play for her writing class. Watkins composed her semi-fictional script based on the pair of murder trials she reported on, the Beulah Annan and the Belva Gaertner court cases. Her homework assignment eventually morphed into the play 'Chicago,' which caught the eye of New York City theater producers. 'Chicago' opened on the Broadway stage in late 1926.
If the names Roxie Hart and Velma, matched with the title 'Chicago,' sound familiar, then it's noteworthy to know Watkins' play was reworked and presented as a musical in 1975, then adapted to the screen in 2002, earning it the Academy Awards' Best Picture. What is rarely known is Watkins' play was first brought to the screen in December 1927's "Chicago," produced by Cecil B. DeMille.
In the late 1920s, DeMille was operating his own independent film studio. In addition to serving as a company to finance his own movies he directed, his enterprise produced lower-budgeted films, called 'program pictures.' These so-called Grade B movies were mainly the opening film of a double-billed evening of movies, with the main feature following. Studios were strict in keeping these 'program pictures' on a starvation budget. But not DeMille. Despite all his efforts to tamp down the expenditures, the lower-tier movies cost more than his competitors and didn't reach the profitability as his rivals. But film historians say they sure were far more entertaining and ingenious in their content.
DeMille's "Chicago" was the top grossing of all the 'program pictures' his studio produced. Frank Urson, who previously directed eight nondescript movies before "Chicago," is credited as the director. However, DeMille quickly discovered Urson wasn't the type of director the great script deserved. He took over the chair and spent the next 11 days reshooting Urson's work. DeMille decided to forego listing himself on the credits since he felt the lofty subjest-matter of his recently-released "King of Kings" precluded him from being credited as the director of a movie filled with adultery, murder, lying and scheming.
Actress Phyllis Haver plays married Roxie Hart (Ginger Rogers later took the role of the accused murderer in 1942's "Roxie"), who kills her paramour (Eugene Pallette). Her day in court ends up being a media circus since her high-paid lawyer manipulates both the jury and the press in portraying her as the victim. Haver dominates the screen, in both the murder and in the ensuing trial. She appeared in several more films before meeting a millionaire three years after "Chicago." Still under a DeMille contract, she grew disinterested in acting. DeMille reminded her she had a binding contract that couldn't be broken. Haver pointed to the 'Act of God' clause in her pact. The producer asked her what act of God could possibly cancel the ironclad contract with him. She replied, "If marrying a millionaire isn't an Act of God, I don't know what is." Flustered, DeMille released her from her obligation.
If the names Roxie Hart and Velma, matched with the title 'Chicago,' sound familiar, then it's noteworthy to know Watkins' play was reworked and presented as a musical in 1975, then adapted to the screen in 2002, earning it the Academy Awards' Best Picture. What is rarely known is Watkins' play was first brought to the screen in December 1927's "Chicago," produced by Cecil B. DeMille.
In the late 1920s, DeMille was operating his own independent film studio. In addition to serving as a company to finance his own movies he directed, his enterprise produced lower-budgeted films, called 'program pictures.' These so-called Grade B movies were mainly the opening film of a double-billed evening of movies, with the main feature following. Studios were strict in keeping these 'program pictures' on a starvation budget. But not DeMille. Despite all his efforts to tamp down the expenditures, the lower-tier movies cost more than his competitors and didn't reach the profitability as his rivals. But film historians say they sure were far more entertaining and ingenious in their content.
DeMille's "Chicago" was the top grossing of all the 'program pictures' his studio produced. Frank Urson, who previously directed eight nondescript movies before "Chicago," is credited as the director. However, DeMille quickly discovered Urson wasn't the type of director the great script deserved. He took over the chair and spent the next 11 days reshooting Urson's work. DeMille decided to forego listing himself on the credits since he felt the lofty subjest-matter of his recently-released "King of Kings" precluded him from being credited as the director of a movie filled with adultery, murder, lying and scheming.
Actress Phyllis Haver plays married Roxie Hart (Ginger Rogers later took the role of the accused murderer in 1942's "Roxie"), who kills her paramour (Eugene Pallette). Her day in court ends up being a media circus since her high-paid lawyer manipulates both the jury and the press in portraying her as the victim. Haver dominates the screen, in both the murder and in the ensuing trial. She appeared in several more films before meeting a millionaire three years after "Chicago." Still under a DeMille contract, she grew disinterested in acting. DeMille reminded her she had a binding contract that couldn't be broken. Haver pointed to the 'Act of God' clause in her pact. The producer asked her what act of God could possibly cancel the ironclad contract with him. She replied, "If marrying a millionaire isn't an Act of God, I don't know what is." Flustered, DeMille released her from her obligation.