Supelice
Dreadfully Boring
Livestonth
I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible
Taha Avalos
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
WarnersBrother
First off I am a big fan of William Wellman who isn't exactly known for Comedy. Here he does a bang up job of it. Second, I am not a big Ginger Rodgers fan but this has instantly become my fav film of hers. I always liked her in her blonde dame days at Warners more than in the RKO Musicals. I think that is one of the problems some reviewers have with "Roxie Hart". The other, apparently, is people who insist on comparing this to "Chicago". What a waste of time. "Chicago" is a modern Musical and "Roxie" is a fast paced, cynical Comedy. When you see this, just forget about "Chicago" and pay attention to this film, because it requires and deserves attention. There is a lot of little "business" going on and a second look is recommended.It isn't a musical yet it has one of the best musical numbers ever, the memorable "Black Bottom" which the entire cast absurdly and marvelously breaks out into in the prison. Probably the only time you will ever get to see Lynn Overman and George Montgomery singing and dancing! It also has a tour de force tap number for Ginger Rodgers on a metal staircase.Ginger is great and is aided by a super cast of dependable actors. The comments about Menjou's age are ridiculous and again stem from comparison with "Chicago". George Montgomery is actually good as well and I am far from a fan of his but like him here. William Frawley is well used here and keep an eye on him, he uses his face and his hands subtly in reaction. One of the great character actors.It isn't "Chicago" nor a Fred-and-Ginger. If you sought it out expecting either you will be disappointed. Sit back and enjoy it for itself and you will love it.
p-eisley
There's still a lot of bite in this adaptation of the play, even some scenes are downright (and refreshingly) nasty. Overall, though, this is an uneven film. They haven't quite made the leap from stage to screen. I understand there were problems with the censors and this shows. The direction wavers from very good to awkward at best. Someone like Preston Sturges in charge would've been awesome. Ginger is miscast. Sorry, fellow reviewers. She's great when she gets to show her dancing feet, but she just can't talk trash and mean it. I think Alice Faye would've pulled it off nicely. She did a lot of girl gone wrong roles and there's talk she was actually a gangster's moll in her early days. George Montgomery is OK as the smitten journalist, but he can't quite pull off the hard-boiled, either. The musical outbursts are fun but also remind us of the wonky tone of the film. Again, probably because of the censors, Roxie's character doesn't make sense a lot of the time. Even her parents disown her, not surprised in the least that she may hang, and she's a pretty cold cookie even with Montgomery. SPOILER. This makes the tacked-on happy ending with Montgomery absolutely ridiculous. In the play she did it and got away with it. That inevitable fact is sorely needed to make this film succeed. Still, the film has its pluses and I wouldn't discount it completely.
Jay Raskin
This is the same story as "Chicago"(2002), and the musical, but without the music. It is done as screwball comedy and has a great deal of energy and fun.The movie is pretty faithful to Maurine Watkins play "Chicago," but due to the Hays Moral Code, Roxie could not be found innocent of a murder she committed. Its ironic that a moral code forced the filmmakers to lie, as in real life Beulah Annan was clearly guilty. Despite being guilty, a great publicity campaign "The prettiest little murderess in Chicago" had gotten her off at her trial. According to the Hays Code, a guilty person had to be punished for their crimes (unlike real life), thus she had to be guilty and punished or innocent and found innocent at her trial.The cast is superb. Adolphe Menjou, may have had despicable politics, but he was a delightful actor. He matches Richard Gere's great performance in "Chicago" as the ultimate shyster-lawyer, Billy Flynn.I think this is the best of Ginger Rogers great performances outside of her legendary Astaire/Rogers musicals. She is better in this than the soap opera "Kitty Foyle" She had won an academy award for "Foyle," just before she did this movie, Here she's at the peak of her career and she's positively glowing and confident, doing some amazing line readings and hilarious bits of business. The moment where she's questioned about what color she saw when she blacked out is amazing. She takes about five seconds to answer - "...Purple." One can almost see the wheels turning in her mind as she tries to figure out the correct answer.Lynne Overman, who plays a veteran reporter, Jake Calahan, was a great comic supporting actor of the 1930's. Unfortunately, he died in 1943, just two years after this picture. He played the second lead in half a dozen Dorothy Lamour movies and also supported four or five Fred MacMurray movies and four or five Ray Milland films. He co-starred with everyone from Cary Grant to W.C. Fields to John Wayne, He also gives a definitive laid-back cynic performance.The supporting cast is delightful. Bruce Cabot (the best Dr. Watson), Phil Silvers (the best Sgt. Bilko)and William Fawley (from My Three Sons) pop up here and there and deliver hysterically funny lines.The first time I watched it after seeing "Chicago," I was a bit disappointed. However, the second and third times, I started to really embrace the style and humor. I have now seen it about seven times and it really holds up well.Incidentally, This is better than the 1927 silent version of "Chicago". That version is not as faithful to the play, less cynical and only has about one-third the gags and laughs that "Roxie Hart" does.
kenjha
This farce about women who kill is based on the play "Chicago," which was successfully filmed as a musical in 2002, It starts off busy, with attempts at broad comedy that don't work. Unlike the musical version, there aren't dazzling numbers to sustain interest when the comedy isn't working, although Rogers does do some dancing. It gets better as it goes along, thanks to the game cast. Rogers seems to be having a lot of fun in the title role. Old pro Mejou is terrific as the flamboyant lawyer who defends Rogers. Although known mainly for Westerns, Montgomery (whose voice is like Clark Gable's) displays fine comic flair as a reporter smitten by Rogers.
