Chicago Calling

Prior to viewing Chicago Calling, I saw Dan Duryea in supporting roles in Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, and Winchester '73 to name a few. Those were all unlikable villains with no redeemable qualities. With him as the star of Chicago Calling, I was skeptical if he could carry a film, particularly as a character I could sympathize with.

Duryea, however, proved he is far more dynamic than I previously thought. The premise is simple: a man who lost everything with only himself to blame needs money to receive a phone call that will tell him the condition of his daughter after a serious car accident. Duryea's character grieves, pities himself, and has periods of self-reflection all with compelling sincerity. Paired with him is the child actor Gordon Gebert, who has good chemistry acting alongside Duryea.

Chicago Calling will probably always remain an obscure film noir, but it is arguably the best of Duryea's career. I expected a typical film of the genre, and it exceeded my expectations. Duryea may not have the star power of Humphrey Bogart or Robert Mitchum, but do yourself a favor and watch a performance that greatly raised my opinion of him.

This obscure super-low budget sleeper starts like a million b-movies with a small setback and a minor overreaction. However, as noir emeritus Dan Duryea slowly navigates the ensuing fall of dominoes and swirls and eddies of fate and temptation, CHICAGO CALLING gradually, inexorably pulls itself up by its boot gathers to become nothing less than one of the most touching takes on morality and desperation I've ever seen. It's going to be hard to find (not on DVD and rarely on TCM) but this startling, heartbreaking character study is a must see for any noirist. It's that good.

A lot of the credit must go to Dan Duryea. He so convincingly played such a long line of abusive creep boyfriends and irredeemably scummy thugs, one would have been tempted to take a swing at him on the street. In this case, however, Duryea is cast as the protagonist and it is a revelation. Given the chance to emote, Duryea reveals heretofore hidden depth of emotion and angst as he struggles to find his integrity and hope as the world falls down all around him. His performance is subtle and carefully modulated so that we are forced to wait a long time for the powerful payoff, which is his ultimate emotional reveal and Duryea's best moment in forty five years on film. The young boy also deserves a lot of credit... his unlikely friendship with Duryea is believable and powerful precisely because the boy's reactions make it so. There is almost a BICYCLE THIEF quality to their relationship, and Duryea's transformation is beautifully motivated (and tested) by the boy. I defy you not to tear up at the boy's train yard scene at the end.

The Bunker Hill location photography by De Grasse is striking and evocative. The score is effective.

Look for this one, fans. Duryea's touching performance is one for the ages and the movie will handsomely reward your effort to find it.

Dan Duryea gives a chilling performance in John Reinhardt's "Chicago Calling" as a man whose world has come crashing down around him. His desperation reels a number of people into his life as he tries to gather enough money to continue a call with his wife after learning that their daughter has been in a car crash. Among the film noir genre, this is not the most readily available movie, but that doesn't mean that you should blow off trying to see it. This is one of the most impressive movies that I've seen, and one of the most devastating. I don't know of any other movies that Reinhardt did, but if this is indication then he must have been a very good director.

More than anything, "Chicago Calling" shows why film noir was probably the best genre to arise in the post-war years. Gritty with minimal violence, chilling without being corny, and always thought-provoking. I've liked ever film noir that I've seen, and that includes this one. Really good.

Dan Duryea needs $52.00 to get his phone turned back on, to hear about his daughter, injured in an accident. When it is CHICAGO, CALLING on his phone, will Dan hear what happened to his wife and child, or is Duryea just as doomed to misery as any other noir protagonist.

It seems like every b&w movie made circa 1950 that doesn't have Abbott and Costello or Martin & Lewis gets labeled a noir by somebody. In this case -- the label is simply wrong, as there is no real crime, or fatalistic resignation to fate. Instead, this is a character study in which Duryea has what, one hopes, is the worst week of his life. Fate and surprises do play a role, but chance in this one flings both good and bad surprises, and provide hope and despair. There are some really lousy people, but good ones too.

Duryea, himself, plays a well-rounded character, who really is the author of his current despair, but also the author of the circumstances that might just bring about his own redemption. And Duryea, given a truly good role, responds with the sort of subtle, well-rounded performance that is supposed to earn an actor an Oscar. No such luck, alas -- the independent film that played the art houses had not been invented yet, and this out of step cheaply made story of the downwardly mobile was not the sort that got bookings -- even as the second part of a double feature.

This film is sort of semi-rediscovered. Film blogs have noticed it. IMDb rates it highly. There is a DVD, I believe. But I wonder if it will ever get the respect it deserves. The director made a few cheap noirs for Monogram, and not much else. Duryea is respected as an actor, but beloved for his villainy in westerns and noirs, rather than his occasional star turns, in which his flawed heroes suffer for their flaws. This is a brilliant film. But it does not fit a category, and its world view is perhaps not as bleak as intellectual fashion would prefer.

So, find this movie and see it. And spread the word. While the cinematic and critical sins of 1951 cannot be fixed, our view of the past and what it has to offer us can always evolve.

I wrote my review and then it didn't "submit' so I lost it. I am going to attempt writing it again because I really stand by what I wrote.

Firstly, as far as this type of noir -- they are often stressful and bad news every turn -- Chicago Calling has ups and downs along the way. So it was far less mundane as similar style noirs. An overall good story.

I always knew Duryea was a wonderful actor, but many films I have seen him in were smaller roles or as one of his slimy heavies. So to see this performance, playing in the sole star role and as a caring and kind fatherly figure, was very believable and moving.

The story moves along with good acting, and appropriate scene lengths, timing, settings, relevance, and fine acting all around. The kids held their own with the adults, particularly Gordon Gebert as Bobby.