The Girl from Chicago

This was almost like watching a home movie. I mean that in a couple of ways, the first of which relating to the things many have pointed out about the film, that its acting is poor, the editing is choppy, the lighting is awful, and simple things like framing a shot without chopping part of a head off is surprisingly challenging. I also mean it in the sense that it was simply not made for me, sitting at great distance from it in every sense of the word, 91 years later. It was representing an audience at a particular time, and I also can't ignore the constraints Oscar Micheaux was under. I feel I should tread lightly in my criticism, but should also be honest to be viewing experience, and how little I enjoyed this.

The highlight for me was a little conversation around a table where one of the characters related a story about a black man being imprisoned on a trumped up charge so that he could be used as free labor, a second form of slavery that was highly relevant to the audience in 1932, and to some extent still true to this day. I also liked the shift to Harlem midway through the film, because the nightclub performances felt so much more authentic and breathed some much needed life into the film, but even they are not of a quality to make me recommend checking them out. It was very slim pickings here, and a tough way to spend 70 minutes.

Oscar Micheaux tried to be realistic in his films. He tried to show Blacks could act and could have emotions and feelings. He wanted to show that Blacks could tell stories too. You can tell Micheaux did his homework. At first you might think its boring like I did, but I rewind it back and watched it again and I understood it better and was moved by the acting. These actors, actresses, and entertainers weren't able to crossover and make it in Hollywood or on the White-Time. But thank God for these films because we get to see black entertainment that we would have never seen if wasn't for these black cast productions. These actors and entertainers were known in the Black community and were featured in The Black Press. But sadly these people are forgotten. For a while these films were lost, but their being found again and are selling like hotcakes. But, they were very good and people are starting to see that. Whites didn't view these films much, but now their the main ones watching now. These films also shows Black that Blacks did try to do their own and make their own movies. Beautiful women, handsome man, good acting. Don't expect Hollywood lighting and filming. Its not the best in some of these Black cast films. But their watchable. Enjoy these and others films by Spencer Williams and Ralph Cooper and many others. These movies are great Black entertainment. Hollywood did black cast films but they wouldn't allow certain things. These black cast films hold nothing back, they show what Black Life was and all about.

The Girl from Chicago (1932)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Secret Agent Alonzo White (Carl Mahon) finds himself in Mississippi where he meets a woman named Norma (Starr Calloway). The two hit it off but the only problem is that a local gangster is also after the woman. After some drama Alonzo and Norma run off to Harlem where more trouble waits for them.

Oscar Micheaux's THE GIRL FROM CHICAGO is a complete and utter failure. There's really no other way to look at it but you can certainly understand because, let's face it, the 30s just weren't a good time for race films. Most black filmmakers were working on extremely low budgets and more times than not they had to use non-actors for the roles. This here will explain why this film has some of the worst performances that you'll ever see and also some of the worst cinematography that you'll ever see.

There are many shots in the film where the actor's heads are cut off. The awful framing is something that I thought might have been an issue with the print I was viewing but I compared two different prints and it was like that on both. As I said, the performances are beyond bad and it's so bad at times that it almost feels like the actor is trying to ruin the film by making their performance so bad. Apparently Micheaux knew it as well as there are a couple times where you can actually hear him directing the cast members? Look around the twenty-two minute mark and you can hear him off camera directing. There's also another sequence where you can see him in a mirror directing.

As I said, THE GIRL FROM CHICAGO is technically very poorly made and the performances are awful. This here pretty much kills any chance for a good movie. The story itself is your typical mystery and it's not overly bad but there's just not much Micheaux could do.

Having a shoestring budget, The Girl From Chicago could not afford the top black actors and experienced technicians. Nor could it afford the luxury of the directors yelling cut and reshooting scenes. But the film has heart and is entertaining. An important note is that the film must be seen for its historical value as it demonstrates an early black writer and director's struggle and determination to produce exciting black films. I love the positive images of blacks along with its villains. In Girl From Chicago, there are brave black heroes determined to bring the villains to justice. There are charming black women from small towns and gangster's girlfriends from the big city (One of the gangster's girlfriends is a frustrated masochist who can't get sexually aroused unless a man beats her.)

Carl Mahon (Alonzo White) is a Federal secret agent who goes to Mississippi on a case, meets and falls in love with Star Calliway (Norma Sheperd) and rescues her from the evil local bigshot John Everett (Jeff Balinger). They then go to Harlem and get involved in the murder of the Cuban head of the numbers racket (Vano Hernandez as Gomez).

A patchy script and minimal production values can make the movie hard to follow. The sound track is typical of early talkies, with the actors stopping to talk at the camera.

Mainly interesting for the music and dance acts, especially the chorus line and the dance duo in a nightclub and as a view of the black acting style of the period.