Comments on: Beulah and Belva, Roxie and Velma

By: Jimmy Otto

Jimmy Otto — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:22:18 +0000

another excellent blog, Suzi!!!

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:58:18 +0000

Beulah was my great great aunt :-)

By: flapper

flapper — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:33:38 +0000

Chicago is defintely a great movie. The 1920-30 is definitely a glamorous decade. Not to mention it had a lot of drama as well and the crim was souring high because of the mob and all. But despite that, I think the era is great

By: flapper

flapper — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:44:05 +0000

Way to go CHICAGO… I am a great fan of Roxy. Renee Zelweger was damn good in the movie.

By: Suzi Doll

Suzi Doll — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:06:54 +0000

I appreciate everyone’s comments.

Al: You are right, Two-Gun Gertie is the character who stands in for the Velma character from the silent version, but (no offense to Iris Adriann), she didn’t have the same sexual menace, so I really didn’t think of her as Velma. Thanks for mentioning Nunnally Johnson. Coincidentally, I have seen his name on several movies I have watched recently, and I am a big fan. By the way, Ginger Rogers had a third dance number in ROXIE HART, but it was cut. You can see it on You Tube. I think it was a very lively Charleston. Go Ginger.

By: Al Lowe

Al Lowe — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:08:58 +0000

I LOVE the 1942 version, which is fast and funny and employs many phenomenal characters. All of them deserve a Morlock bio some day. George Chandler (as Amos Hart), Adolphe Menjou (as Billy Flynn), Sarah Allgood (She is a prison matron here and is best known for her role in How Green Was My Valley), Nigel Bruce, Lynne Overman, Phil Silvers, Spring Byington and William Frawley.
And who can forget Iris Adrian who plays Two-Gun Gertie, who steals Roxie’s limelight?
Well, apparently you did, Suzidoll. I figure this character is closest to Velma in the Broadway and Rob Marshall movie version. (I had to mention Marshall’s name; he is from Pittsburgh.)
Adrian’s time on the screen is brief but memorable and she is not billed in the opening credits. She often played small but showy parts, such as a showgirl who contended with the Marx Brothers in Go West and a glamorous movie star in the Jerry Lewis film, The Errand Boy.
The screenplay, based on the play, is by Nunnally Johnson, known off-screen as one of Hollywood’s greatest wits. (Legend has it that Johnson was playing cards with other writers when a new member of the group asked if it were true that some famous star was a nymphomaniac. Johnson mulled it over and responded in his slow Southern drawl, “I guess you could describe her that way, that is, if they could get her quieted down a little bit.”)
I say the movie is much more a hilarious comedy than a romantic comedy and I think you’ll agree with me on that. And there IS some bite in its criticism of journalism and society.
It opens withs this: The picture is dedicated to all the beautiful women who have shot their men full of holes out of pique.
Pauline Kael raved about the scene where Amos calls Roxie’s rural parents to ask for financial help in defending Roxie. “They’re liable to hang her,” Amos tells her father via phone. “Good!” the father says and slams the receiver down. He sits beside his wife on the porch. “They’re going to hang Roxie,” he says to her. “What did I tell you?” she responds.
When Two-Gun Gertie steals public attention away from Roxie she pretends to be pregnant to get it back. Billy Flynn coaches her on her testimony. “Yes, Daddy,” Roxie answers him. “Perhaps you ought to call me something else.”
During the trial a photographer gets ready to shoot a photo. But before he does, the judge (George Lessey) stands up and poses.
This is another great William Wellman film. Another Morlock (I forget who) wrote recently about Battleground. Remember, Wellman also directed Public Enemy, A Star Is Born, Ox Bow Incident, Story of G.I. Joe, Island in the Sky, Beau Geste, Wild Boys of the Road, Wings – and some rarely seen 30s films recently released on DVD.

By: debbe

debbe — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:37:13 +0000

wow. I had no idea about the history of “chicago”, one of my favorite plays and movie.
This was a fascinating blog suzidoll…. the information was amazing. I had seen the original play with Jerry Orhbach etc. and I remember thinking this play was a little ahead of its time. The movie I thought was sensational- in all ways and I was a but dubious with Renee playing Roxie Hart, but I thought she was great. This was a great topic this week. I listen to the music on siriius and now when I hear it I will know the whole story. thanks for including cell block tango.

By: Shadow And Act

Shadow And Act — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:09:15 +0000

I too recall Jerry Orbach’s performance as Billy Flinn. Bob Fosse’s near-heart attack one week into rehearsals put a morbid spin on an already morbid production. He recovered from his bypass surgery, but many of his colleagues noticed serious changes in his creative persona.

Apparently, after his operation, he became increasingly cruel, dark, and vulgar. A number of his colleagues tried unsuccessfully to persuade him to change “Razzle Dazzle.” Fosse wouldn’t budge until Orbach convinced him otherwise, highlighting his lack of serious theatrical training.

By: john august smith

john august smith — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:51:26 +0000

I was lucky enough to see Fosse’s Chicago pre Broadway in Philadelphia. Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera were sensational! Jerry Orback played the lawyer and the actor that played the husband stopped the show with his solo. Going all the way back to the original South Pacific which I saw in 1949 up to today I would put Chicago in the top 10 musicals of all time.