Chicago Calling

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.

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.

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.

This is a movie I never forgot, nor the actor Dan Duryea. Every time I see Dan Duryea in a movie, I always remember the movie "Chicago Calling". If I remember correctly, I first saw the movie in the late 50's; and being ten or eleven years old, was very sad to see a father trying so hard to get his phone back on so as to be able to get word from his wife, that she and their son were going to be okay after a car accident. The accident with the little dog made it even sadder. It's nice to know, though, that there are good people working for the telephone company, as was the character that played the part of the telephone man sent to disconnect the phone, but is nice enough to make sure a man waiting for a call from a loved one that was involved in an accident, is given an an opportunity to connect and not be disconnected, like what happens to many of us when we are late in paying our telephone bill. Gee, I really would like to see this movie again.

I saw "Chicago Calling" sometime in the 1950's. I was a kid at the time. I have seen this movie only that one time; it left an indelible impression on me. I really FELT for this man who was waiting for a phone call to find out the status of his wife and child -- who were in a car accident. Whenever I hear the name of the actor, Dan Duryea, I recall his amazing, heart-wrenching performance in this film. And I remember the ANXIETY Duryea's character endured; that his telephone -- while waiting for this crucial call -- was going to be disconnected for non-payment. Since that first and only time of seeing this movie, I have had a desire to see it again -- as an adult. I'm curious to see if it will still affect me so strongly. Fifty years of living since seeing it -- no doubt -- will make it a different viewing experience. It's been a few years since I checked to see if it's available now in any format. I hope it will someday be available . . . HOLD THAT THOUGHT! I just Googled it and see that it IS now available in VHS or DVD format!!! WOW! I am going to order it as soon as I post this message! I'm very excited about this! I'm not kidding. This is a sincere post!