Chicago (1927)

Based on a play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, this one is obviously not a musical (Bob Fosse was actually born the year it came out). Instead it focuses more on the melodramatic aspects, such as Roxie's husband Amos sinking to new depths and suffering to protect his wife, and also some sharp comedy, such as Roxie's performance in the courtroom. It's actually a fairly unique mixture of comedy and drama, which -- aside from specialty items like Charlie Chaplin's The Kid -- was little seen at the time. It was also something of a groundbreaker in that Roxie is a self-propelled female character, even if she's not exactly a role model, and Haver projects a perfect blend of selfishness and exuberance.

Perhaps the biggest difference between this and the 2002 version is that the Velma character was expanded for Catherine Zeta-Jones (who won an Oscar for her work), whereas here, she's more of a punchline to a dark joke. Frank Urson is credited as director, though some sources claim that supervisor Cecil B. DeMille might have had a strong hand in the production.

Though the film was restored in 2006, Flicker Alley has released a new DVD for 2010; it features a gorgeous, clean, rich picture and a score by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. On a second disc, we get two featurettes, The Golden Twenties (1950), a compilation of newsreel footage, and The Flapper Story (1985), which interviews some of the original flappers. There are also photos and information about the real "Roxie Hart."