In Old Chicago

This is a good, old-fashioned movie featuring brotherly rivalry between Don Ameche's character and Tyrone Power's. Tyrone is the good-hearted scoundrel of the two -- his scenes with Alice Faye have pizzaz despite her not being half as gorgeous as her leading man. The scene where Tyrone ducks objects that Alice throws at him in anger, then wrestles her to the floor and bites her lower lip, is a must-see for Power admirers. The Chicago fire is portrayed so well, this movie won an award for special effects.

The formula for disaster movies that show the killing of scores of people had already been established by the late 1930s. The blueprint for the genre introduces a dramatic personal story oozing with romantic angles before the epic mayhem occurs. The film about the massive fire that consumed the Midwest's largest city in 1871 followed a similar pattern in January 1938's "In Old Chicago," an Academy Awards Best Picture nominee.

Twentieth Century Fox boss Darryl Zanuck loved MGM's 1936's big-budgeted "San Francisco," a movie about the 1906 earthquake. In fact, Zanuck was so inspired by the California extravaganza he looked to Clark Gable and his good friend Jean Harlow to be in "In Old Chicago." MGM's Louis Mayer refused to loan out Gable while Harlow died unexpectedly over the summer. Zanuck then turned to his contracted actors Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Don Ameche and Alice Brady to fill the screen. Just as MGM's hit movie introduced a beautiful female singer, a saloon owner and a moral crusader, Zanuck's studio followed almost an exact line of characters.

Film critic Eric Henderson observed, "Like 'San Francisco,' events sort of just happen and allegiances just sort of shift around to stall time for the grand finale." Despite the opening credits claiming "In Old Chicago" was based on historical fact, the film follows a mostly fictional account of an Irish family who lost its patriarch in a horse-drawn wagon accident while racing a train, an event depicted in author Niven Busch's 1936 story "We the O'Learys." The widow Mrs. Molly O'Leary (Alice Brady) sets up a laundry business while raising three sons. Dion O'Leary (Tyrone Power) is the bad sheep in the family, growing up to become a gambler and a saloon owner, while brother Jack (Don Ameche) is the brains of the family as a reformist lawyer. The youngest brother Bob (Tom Brown) stays at home to help his mother milk her cow. Dion falls for bar singer Belle Fawcett (Alice Fay) while entangled in city political corruption. He sucks in his honest brother Jack to run for city mayor. Jack wins, only to find out Dion got him elected by illegal methods. The two brothers fight, upsetting Mrs. O'Leary so much she leaves her barn's fire lantern alight. Daisy the cow proceeds to tip the lamp over, setting off the Great Chicago Fire.

Historically, blaming Mrs. O'Leary's cow for the fire was one of several stories pointing to its origins, none which have ever been conclusively proven.

O'Leary's bovine tale was fabricated by a news reporter who later admitted it was all made up. The O'Leary's, with their Catholic background, were an easy target since the Irish Catholics were heavily prejudiced. In the summer of 1871 the Midwest was experiencing a severe drought with massive fires raging throughout the region. The Chicago fire started in The Patch neighborhood, southwest of the city's center where the O'Leary barn was located. An ordinary spark from anywhere in the hood could have engulfed the entire area. Its predominantly wooden houses were roofed with highly flammable tar and shingles. The fire killed over 300 people and left more than 100,000, or one-third of the city's residents homeless.

The depiction of "In Old Chicago's" fire was filmed in the 20th Century Fox studio back lot, costing $500,000, and burned for three days as the Los Angeles Fire Department stood by monitoring the situation. The epic film was one of the Golden Age of Hollywood's most expensive films, costing nearly $2,000,000. Henry King directed the dramatic sequences, while contracted Bruce Humberstone directed the special effects fire scenes.

Alice Brady's performance as Mrs. O'Leary earned her an Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actress. She was the first in Academy history in the acting category nominated back-to-back; her first was for "Our Man Godfrey." A controversy occurred soon after awards night when it was reported a stranger had stolen the plaque (not the well-known Oscar statue since the Academy didn't hand them out for Best Supporting Actor or Actress until 1943) since Brady wasn't at the ceremonies. In point of fact, Henry King accepted the award and took it to Brady's home so she could have it engraved the next day at the Academy. Someone spotted Brady exit the Academy building with the plaque and thought the organization was giving her a replacement for the one stolen.

"In Old Chicago" proved pivotal for Alice Fay's career, one that saw her transition from a Harlow-type blonde to a more relaxed, velvety-voiced singer actress. It was quite an ordeal to film the concluding fire scenes for the three days Alice and Tyrone had to dart in and out of the dangerous blazing fires. Besides Brady's win "In Old Chicago," Robert Webb won an Oscar for Best Assistant Director while the movie was nominated for Best Picture, Best Music Scoring, Best Sound Recording and Best Original Story.

"In Old Chicago" is an entertaining 1930s movie that focuses on the adventures of two brothers who live in the Windy City during the latter portion of the 19th century. One of them runs for mayor of Chicago; the other finds love with a showgirl. The brothers' mother is Mrs. O'Leary, a headstrong woman who makes a living in the laundry business. And it is Mrs. O'Leary's cow that kicked over a lantern in the barn that started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. That scene is recreated here in brilliant fashion. The special effects are excellent (by 1930s standards), and the sets are marvelous. 19th century Chicago has never looked as good as it does here. The late Don Ameche (Oscar winner for the 1985 fantasy "Cocoon") stars in one of his early film roles as the brother who becomes a candidate for mayor of Chicago. "In Old Chicago" is an old movie that's classy and realistic.

***1/2 (out of four)

This was the first of three films that teamed Tyrone Power and Alice Faye, the others being Alexander's Ragtime Band and Rose of Washington Square. In Old Chicago and Alexander's Ragtime Band also had Don Ameche in it. And it set a pattern, no way was Ameche going to get Faye when Power was on the scene.

Ty Power's roles in his Fox days fell in two Categories. He was either the total romantic hero or he was a hero/heel. In In Old Chicago he's the latter although Power usually has the heroic side win out in these parts, he's not above a little scheming. Power's Dion O"Leary both double crosses Brian Donlevy and marries Alice Faye not just because he loves her, but so she can't testify against him. But Ty's always a charming likable cuss and Ameche is always the straight arrow, but slightly dull rival and in this case, brother.

However the film is known for two things. It gave Alice Faye her first real notice as actress. Up to this point, she'd been a Jean Harlow wannabe right down to the platinum blonde hair. Here Faye gets those period costumes that she wore so well. It was the first of many successes in that genre.

The second thing is the grand special effects showing the burning of Chicago. Even almost 70 years later it's a spectacular sight.

This is the fictional story of the O'Leary family and the birth of the Great Fire of Chicago.

Big budget, big stars and a completely big production, In Old Chicago may be deemed as a Zanuck cash in on the previous years MGM eye opener, San Francisco, it is however a wonderful picture that features two differing halves of worth. Casting aside historical accuracy (lets really not go down that road in cinema history), this Henry King directed piece firstly engages us as a jaunty family character piece, only to then pull the rug from underneath us to let in political intrigue, deception, down right ugliness and a near $2 million fire besieged Chicago!

Tyrone Power, Don Ameche, Alice Faye, Alice Brady (Best Supporting Actress Academy Award) and Brian Donlevy all line up to entertain the viewers, all possibly aware that they are merely the starter course for the extravagant main course that will be the 20 minute final reel of panic and burning disaster. Yet to focus merely on the fire itself, and the effects that some 70 years later still impact smartly, is to do the first half a disservice, characters are formed and the story is fully fleshed to make the wait for the fire completely worth our time. It's no history lesson for sure but the devilment of some characters, and the ineptitude of some others, more than make this an essential watch for fans of 30s cinema. 7.5/10