Alicia I love this movie so much

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Claudio Carvalho In 1854, the patriarch Patrick O'Leary (J. Anthony Hughes) of the O 'Leary family dies in an accident nearby Chicago while traveling amid-western prairie. His wife Molly O'Leary (Alice Brady) raises her three sons alone working as laundress. Her son Jack (Don Ameche) becomes an idealistic lawyer; Dion (Tyrone Power) is a gambler; and Bob (Tom Brown) helps his mother in the laundry business and marries local Gretchen (June Storey) in the old area known as The Patch. Dion meets the singer Belle Fawcett (Alice Faye) in the cabaret owned by Gil Warren (Brian Donlevy) and they fall in love with each other and become lovers. They also open a business of their own to compete with Gil that becomes their enemy. However Gil invites Dion to join the politics with him but Dion plots a scheme with tragic consequences."In Old Chicago" is a film with the fictional dramatization of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. The melodramatic and romantic screenplay follows basically the fictional lives of the Irish brothers Jack and Dion. However it seems that the origin of the fire is precise with the O'Leary cow starting the fire in the barn. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Na Velha Chicago" ("In Old Chicago")

zardoz-13 Political machinations abound in "Jesse James" director Henry King's historical tale "In Old Chicago." This portrait of urban corruption in the Windy City during the 1870s culminates with the devastating Chicago fire that destroyed a large part of the city. The clan O'Leary family ends up in the middle of all the mayhem. Special effects director H. Bruce Humberstone and his crew conjured up the fabulous images of Chicago ablaze with buildings collapsing. Clocking in at a trim 94 minutes, this flavorful yarn never wears out its welcome. Strapping young Tyrone Power heads a sturdy cast as the notorious Dion O'Leary, while Don Ameche co-stars as his straight-up, on the level, brother Jack. "In Old Chicago" received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Writing by Niven Busch, Best Music, and Best Sound Recording. Initially, the clan O'Leary traveled to Illinois aboard a wagon with their mother and younger brother Bob. With Chicago looming on the horizon, the O'Leary family decides to challenge a locomotive to see who can outrun whom. Tragically, O'Leary patriarch, Patrick O'Leary (J. Anthony Hughes), whips his two horse team for more speed to beat the train. Sadly, the horses break free of the wagon and drag the father to his death. When the O'Leary clan trundles into the muddy streets of Chicago, Molly O'Leary (Oscar winner Alice Brady who won the statuette for Best Supporting Actress) discovers she can reap a fortune by washing clothes, so she sets up her French laundry. Meantime, Dion falls in with the wrong crowd heading by none other than Brian Donlevy as the villainous Gil Warren. Warren owns the most prosperous saloon in the city. Warren imports a vocalist from New York City named Belle Fawcett (Alice Faye) to warble her sweet tunes in the Hub. Not surprisingly, Dion falls madly in love with Belle the first time he lays eyes on this gorgeous gal. Mind you, Belle doesn't reciprocate similar sentiments. Indeed, she plays hard-to-get. As it turns out, the O'Leary clan learns about Gil Warren's secret plans to re-route a trolley car system from a sketch on a tablecloth from the Hub. Before long, Dion steals Belle away from Gil, and the two go in as partners in their grander establishment known as The Senate. Gil decides to run for mayor, while the upright townspeople implore Jack to run against Warren on the Reform ticket. Actually, the scheming Dion has sent the delegation to persuade Jack to run for mayor. At the same time, Dio engineers a way to ensure that Gil won't win the mayor's race. He invites Warren and all his cronies from a section of Chicago known as 'the Patch' to a political banquet. Dion's men goad these fellows into a fight, and the Chicago Police Department show up in force with paddy wagons galore. The cops arrest Warren and all of his political bosses, and Jack wins the race. No sooner has Jack triumphed in the mayor's re-election than he goes after his brother and the anarchic element thriving in the Patch. At first, Jack wants to expose Dion's evil by persuading Jack's partner Belle to testify against him in court. Crafty Dion exchanges marital vows with Belle, and this transition rules out the wife testifying against her husband. Meantime, Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicks over a milk bucket and all hell broke loose. This empire building that collapses is tremendous stuff.

Steffi_P Copycatting and one-upmanship were popular sports among the major studios of classic era Hollywood. In 1936 MGM had had a massive hit with San Francisco, an epic about the city's early days culminating with the infamous 1906 earthquake. The following year Fox sought to mine the same gold with a similarly massive production of fictional drama leading up to the great fire of Chicago.In Old Chicago was also a vehicle for Fox's latest rising star, Tyrone Power. Power is handsome and charismatic but not a great actor. This is a surprisingly ambiguous role for him, verging on villainy more than once. As it happens Power is quite well suited to being dastardly and would have made a good gangster. His best scene is the one where he nonchalantly tells Brian Donlevy he sold him out. Other than that he's just a grinning twit. His co-star Don Ameche on the other hand was a fine dramatic player who really stands out here. It's just a shame Ameche so often missed out on the juiciest roles. Alice Brady is very good too, playing the boys' mother. Unlike most Oscar-winners she doesn't have one "big" scene that clinched it, but is throughout full of eye-catching spirit. Also watch out for an uncredited Rondo Hatton, a menacing presence lurking in several scenes.The screenplay is by prolific Hollywood hacks Sonya Levien and Lamar Trotti, based on a story by Niven Busch. It is a rather trite affair, events all slotted together a little too neatly. Very little time is devoted to subplot or character development, and by the picture's climax we do not feel especially attached to these people. Much is made of "The Patch" being a district of squalor and vice, but we never see a glimpse of the sordid side of the city, so it remains just an abstract over which the characters bicker but the audience remains indifferent to. Tyrone Power woos his woman in the manner of the era's swashbucklers, basically with a series of persistent assaults and abductions. The screenplay doesn't really give time to the development of a more touching romance. Despite its ambitious scope, the picture runs only a bit over 90 minutes, then a more typical length for a small chamber drama. The brevity of the picture is disappointing and the culprit is a script that needs more padding.The director was among Fox's most respected professionals, the consistently competent veteran Henry King. As usual King places a heavy emphasis on sets and clutter, bringing a rather dark, oppressive look to the picture. Even the opening scene of the pioneer wagon does not conjure up the freedom of the open plain, beginning instead with an almost entirely black shot with the wagon swinging round to fill the frame. This prevents the switch to the tall buildings and narrow streets of the city from being too stark. You could also see King's approach as being a build-up to the fire sequence, in which the claustrophobic shot composition really enhances the sense of panic. Overall however, this is a somewhat lacklustre effort from a usually ace director, lacking the iconic look he brought to State Fair (1933) or the sublimely relaxed pacing of Jesse James (1939).Like San Francisco before it, In Old Chicago fared well at the box office. Power was gaining in popularity, and the sheer scale of the fire scenes counted for something. However, compared to the earlier movie (a bit of a neglected masterpiece, by the way), which it deliberately set out to better, it fails on every level. As always, a timely bandwagon hop can reap quick financial rewards, but it takes more than a simple formula to make a great motion picture.

Supachewy The historical drama In Old Chicago is directed by Henry King and stars Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, and Don Ameche. The film takes place in 1870s Chicago.The film starts out with a family heading to Chicago in 1854. On the way to Chicago the father decides to race a train after his children ask him to do so and he loses control of the cart and ends up badly injuring himself, so much so it leads to his death. When the remainder of the family enter Chicago two of the children accidentally dirty a woman's dress and the mother offers to clean it for her. The mother is so good as cleaning she starts a business and then it is cut to 1870. All the boys are grown up one is a lawyer, one is involved with gambling and other frowned on affairs, and the final one does not really have that much of a part so it doesn't matter. The son that is a lawyer, Jack (Ameche), is convinced to run for mayor and Dion (Power) is one of the heads of a somewhat crime organization. The two are rivals, but then the great fire starts burning...The writing for this film is decent. It is an interesting concept having the two brothers pitted against each other, I like that part a lot. But every relationship involving a woman of romance just seemed so unnatural and forced. It was just like if anyone talked to a woman in a few minutes they would be in love. I liked towards the end everything that had to do with the fire, I thought that was very interesting and kept my attention. After the film ended though not much was very memorable.Henry King's direction for this film was quite good. One shot in particular I liked was when it was in the bar and the camera dollied backwards and I saw all the bartenders serving beer to the large crowd of people. This shot was so much more efficient than just an overhead shot displaying the large amount of people because it felt like I was actually there. Also King directed everything with the fire brilliantly as well. He got solid performances from all his leads as well.The editing for this film was equally as good as the direction. One thing I liked in particular was when the mother was washing the clothes and all the years passed by over her washing. I thought that was much smarter than just going to the next shot and putting 1870 on the bottom of the screen. Again with the fire scenes everything was edited perfectly, especially involving the special effects.The acting was solid by most of the cast. I thought Tyrone Power played his part very well, he was likable even though his character was devious. I did think the parts where he was with any woman besides his mother were ridiculous, but that wasn't his fault it was the writers and director. Alice Faye did not give that great of a performance but I thought her role was somewhat useless so it was hard for her to be good. Don Ameche basically just read his lines and furrowed his brow during the whole film so nothing remarkable. Alice Brady won an Oscar for her role as the mother and she deserved it. She was basically a caring mother that did not want her sons to be running around and being with women who were not of class. She played the part perfectly and really could not have improved.Overall I give this film a very weak 7/10. My main issue is that after the film I almost immediately forgot it but during the film it was quite an experience. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys historical dramas.