I love ALICE FAYE, TYRONE POWER and DON AMECHE when they have a good script, great tunes and wonderful direction--as in ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND.
But IN OLD CHICAGO is insufferable in terms of story, pacing, acting and any sense of reality until the O'Leary cow knocks over that lantern. Then we're treated to one of the best fire sequences ever shown on screen--long before the aid of computer technology. If only the rest of the picture had been able to match the fire! Faye is given some over-the-top costuming which cheapens her overall appearance to such an extent that it's hard to see why she's the main attraction for Ameche and Power. Power was still at the pretty boy stage of his good looks and his acting had not quite jelled when he did this role. The fight sequence between him and Ameche is well handled though. Ameche simply fades into the background as the good brother.
Faye was said to be pleased with the fact that she was given a more dramatic role for a change. Unfortunately, not much can be said with what she did with this opportunity. Alice Brady is up to the demands of her role as the O'Leary mother who wants her sons to make their mark in the world.
However, the film comes to life only for the final twenty minutes or so of fire. Otherwise, it's got a story as dull as dishwater and provides Alice Faye with one of her least appealing roles. It makes ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND look like a masterpiece. It takes much too long to get to that famous 1871 fire.
But IN OLD CHICAGO is insufferable in terms of story, pacing, acting and any sense of reality until the O'Leary cow knocks over that lantern. Then we're treated to one of the best fire sequences ever shown on screen--long before the aid of computer technology. If only the rest of the picture had been able to match the fire! Faye is given some over-the-top costuming which cheapens her overall appearance to such an extent that it's hard to see why she's the main attraction for Ameche and Power. Power was still at the pretty boy stage of his good looks and his acting had not quite jelled when he did this role. The fight sequence between him and Ameche is well handled though. Ameche simply fades into the background as the good brother.
Faye was said to be pleased with the fact that she was given a more dramatic role for a change. Unfortunately, not much can be said with what she did with this opportunity. Alice Brady is up to the demands of her role as the O'Leary mother who wants her sons to make their mark in the world.
However, the film comes to life only for the final twenty minutes or so of fire. Otherwise, it's got a story as dull as dishwater and provides Alice Faye with one of her least appealing roles. It makes ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND look like a masterpiece. It takes much too long to get to that famous 1871 fire.