Ah, a story near and dear to my heart. I love the musical (and have performed in it many times). The silent film (1927) is based on the 1926 play (Maurine Watkins (Maurine Dallas Watkins for the musical)).
Where to begin? The silent film focuses on Roxie Hart (Phyllis Haver) and Billy Flynn (Robert Edeson), but gives a much larger role to Amos Hart (Victor Varconi).
Matron is there, as is an abbreviated Velma Kelly (all based on real people but with different names).
Roxie shoots and kills her lover. Amos stands by her, even offering to take the blame. Billy Flynn gets an acquittal. Roxie is eclipsed by "Two Gun Rosie" (a "Go-to-Hell Kitty" prototype?). But in this version (and the play, too?) Roxie ends up walking down the street, in the rain, seeing her headlines in the papers trampled and washed down the drain. Literally. Amos, who has stood by her throughout the trial, has had enough and throws her out into the street. Not nearly the "ha-cha" of the musical.
It was fascinating to see a property I knew on one level in the guise of its earlier state. I'd love to read the 1926 play. Apparently it was a major breakthrough for George Abbott, as a director. Who knew?
Interestingly, in preview remarks and a few of the post-viewing remarks I heard, Bruce Lawton kept referencing the 2002 film (makes sense, he's a film guy). But that version, even though I know and respect the director, is not my favorite; I vastly prefer the 1975 stage musical. Though, who knows? I might really prefer the 1926 play.
As usual, Ben Model provided a spot-on pianistic soundtrack and Steve Massa's program notes were interesting, as always. Also interesting was the "short." When films were sent to the local distributors, the local censors had thumbs-up/thumbs-down power, and there were snippets of film cut, from place to place. The "short" on the bill was a compilation of those snippets, so you got lots of flappers, some belly dancers, falls that tended to showed too much leg, and lots of stockings being unrolled (shocking, I tell you, shocking!). It was interesting though a little too much same-same. Still, it pointed us at censorship in all of its glories (hah!).
ConcertMeister
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