The Earl of Chicago

I really enjoy Robert Montgomery and his suave, sophisticated onscreen persona. I've tried to watch all of his films over the years and have enjoyed most - until I saw "The Earl Of Chicago". He was miscast here as a gangster who inherits an Earldom in England. The plot line was lame and not believable, but he tried too hard to be crude and unpolished and was clearly out of his element. In his pictures he is the personification of sophistication and the reversal just doesn't work here.

Too bad, because he was surrounded by A list character actors, such as Edward Arnold, Edmund Gween, Reginald Owen and several others. It must have sounded better in the planning stage as there were some plot holes apart from the absurd plot, which does not work for Montgomery. Perhaps they needed a different actor because this was not his cup of tea. Can't recommend it.

**** 4 stars. Website no longer prints my star rating.

Robert Montgomery plays a gangster named Silky who framed his lawyer Doc Ramsey (Edward Arnold) seven years earlier. When Doc is released from prison he finds he is disbarred and can't work as an attorney, so he has to go back to work for Silky as his general manager. But Doc is bitter and waiting for a chance to get his revenge. A chance that comes when Silky is discovered to be the heir to an English title.

Uneven blend of comedy and drama. The comedy works well. The drama not so much. Montgomery's hammy gangster persona just doesn't jive with Arnold's angry man hell-bent on revenge. Edmund Gwenn is good as Silky's butler. The ending is pretty bad and makes you wonder what the point of the whole movie was. Still, top stars make it worth watching.

Despite all the miscasting and other plot gaucheries complained of by everyone, and with which I agree, there remains something very quirkily unique about this movie. Certainly my wife and I couldn't take our eyes off it till it was over. Besides the wildly satirical send up of those British ceremonial upper-crust ways which so amuse us whenever the present queen and her various entourages make those occasional appearances on public television, the very undeniable miscasting of Montgomery which rubbed so many the wrong way left us with a high admiration of those acting skills of his which enabled him to portray so well a character very much against his normal type. And his last lengthy monologue from the accused's dock was positively Lear-like in its crazed insanity. Despite all its flaws the chance to see Montgomery, Arnold, and Gwenn all acting their heads off in the same movie make this a rare and worthwhile 86 minutes.

to have Robert Montgomery's gangster character, Silky, talk like a cross between Bugs Bunny and somebody on helium? Other than that one eyebrow raising observation though, I really liked this weird little film.

Silky was a bootlegger in prohibition days, and now he uses that knowledge to legitimately manufacture and sell his own liquor. His car is waiting the day Doc Ramsey (Edward Arnold), his former attorney, gets out of prison. Ramsey was framed for the crime he served seven years for, and he presumes that framing was done by Silky, his former client. Doc wants Silky to make a statement to the D.A. admitting guilt because the statute of limitations has long run out on the crime, and by admitting what was really done, Doc will be cleared and can regain membership to the bar. Silky says he knows nothing about it in a way that says he knows everything about it but intends to do nothing. Then he asks Doc to be general manager of his liquor business - he thinks Doc is an honest man which is just about as close as an admission of guilt as you are going to get out of Silky. Doc agrees to take the job.

Now "The Godfather" always said to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but for this to work you need to be smart enough to know the difference between the two, and Silky just does not seem that bright. Plus Silky is afraid of guns, even the sight of them. This makes you wonder why he is still alive and kicking as a gangster with his right hand man in jail all of these years.

Then something from left field appears. Silky's uncle has just died, he had no children, and Silky is the sole heir to the uncle's earldom in England. Doc sees his chance for some revenge. Silky isn't interested in this at first, but Doc tells him about all of the land and money that comes with the title, getting Silky to leave for England. Doc goes along, but gets Silky to sign power of attorney to him since Silky will be busy grabbing what he can in England. Honestly, how did Silky not win the Darwin award before the age of 12? Well the rest of the film just illustrates what we have known all along - that Silky has no redeeming qualities as a human being whatsoever. Yet as Earl he is expected to display "noblesse oblige". Edmund Gwenn is perfectly cast as Munsey, Silky's butler in England, who explains the term as "The earl's subjects never let him down, but likewise the earl is expected to never let his subjects down." It is quite a job for someone like Silky to shoehorn himself into such a role that he didn't want in the first place. Meanwhile, Doc is out using Silky's power of attorney to bankrupt Silky and his American businesses, knowing that because of taxes and the laws of the land, it would be years before Silky could get one farthing out of the estate.

It all boils down to a big showdown between Silky and Doc where Silky gets an education in business - which is where a man with money (Silky) meets a man with experience (Doc). The man with the experience gets the money, and the man with the money gets the experience. How will somebody with Silky's violent temper react when he realizes he has so stupidly misjudged somebody? Especially when he is afraid of guns? Well, let's just say that Munsey has succeeded in teaching Silky that he is more than he thinks he is and he shows this trait at two unexpected points in the film, the second point being the very end of the film.

Most people think that "Night Must Fall" was Robert Montgomery's best performance, but I have to say I think he acted exactly the way you'd think a serial killer would act straight down the line in that film. This one really shows that Montgomery can surprise you. You think he's going to react one way, because everything he's done has set you up to believe he is a certain kind of person, and then he does something that is a polar opposite of that expectation, yet it is entirely believable. Highly recommended.

Silky (Robert Montgomery) is a dim crook who made his fortune selling bootleg liquor. The film begins, inexplicably, with Silky meeting Doc Ramsey (Edward Arnold) as Doc is released from prison. This is confusing because Doc was sent there thanks to Silky....and you'd think they would want nothing to do with each other. However, Silky knows Doc is actually an honest man and trusts that Doc will be an able assistant in his 'business ventures'.

Silky's life is about to take a huge turn in another direction...and it comes as quite the shock. It seems that Silky is the heir to a title and property in England...though he never knew it since he was raised in an orphanage. Not surprisingly, Silky is quite lost in his new position and Doc is counting on this so he can repay him for his former 'kindness' and plans on relieving Silky of his American holdings while Silky is busy playing an Earl. This is going to come as a shock, as Silky's English estates are not exactly flush with money. What's next? See the film to find out for yourself.

It is quite enjoyable watching Robert Montgomery playing such a coarse and dim-witted criminal...mostly because the role was so unlike most of his others. Unfortunately, this didn't last, as about 3/4 of the way through the film Silky realized what Doc was doing and the film became very, very dark. In fact, I'd give the first 3/4 an 8 (it was really very good) and the last portion a 2....as it was too dark and left me very unsatisfied.