The Girl from Chicago

This was almost like watching a home movie. I mean that in a couple of ways, the first of which relating to the things many have pointed out about the film, that its acting is poor, the editing is choppy, the lighting is awful, and simple things like framing a shot without chopping part of a head off is surprisingly challenging. I also mean it in the sense that it was simply not made for me, sitting at great distance from it in every sense of the word, 91 years later. It was representing an audience at a particular time, and I also can't ignore the constraints Oscar Micheaux was under. I feel I should tread lightly in my criticism, but should also be honest to be viewing experience, and how little I enjoyed this.

The highlight for me was a little conversation around a table where one of the characters related a story about a black man being imprisoned on a trumped up charge so that he could be used as free labor, a second form of slavery that was highly relevant to the audience in 1932, and to some extent still true to this day. I also liked the shift to Harlem midway through the film, because the nightclub performances felt so much more authentic and breathed some much needed life into the film, but even they are not of a quality to make me recommend checking them out. It was very slim pickings here, and a tough way to spend 70 minutes.

Having a shoestring budget, The Girl From Chicago could not afford the top black actors and experienced technicians. Nor could it afford the luxury of the directors yelling cut and reshooting scenes. But the film has heart and is entertaining. An important note is that the film must be seen for its historical value as it demonstrates an early black writer and director's struggle and determination to produce exciting black films. I love the positive images of blacks along with its villains. In Girl From Chicago, there are brave black heroes determined to bring the villains to justice. There are charming black women from small towns and gangster's girlfriends from the big city (One of the gangster's girlfriends is a frustrated masochist who can't get sexually aroused unless a man beats her.)

Undercover Secret Service agent Carl Mahon goes down to Mississippi on a case, falls in love with Starr Calloway. When that case is completed, they head to Chicago for his next assignment.

Like most of Oscar Micheaux' sound films, I find it important but not very good. A great deal of its badness can be laid at the feet of a budget too small to sustain a good movie: no money to rent decent equipment, no money to rent studio space for long enough to manage set-ups, no money to take the time for rewrites and rehearsal. So the leads are awful. In fact, when you hear Frank H. Wilson speak, his naturalism gives you hope. But no one else has it. You may, if you wish, use this reason as an escape for its badness. I fear I don't. I'm afraid that people have to spend some time being bad before they can be good. They have to learn their craft, in this case, the craft of moviemaking.

I note that by this time Micheaux was a competent silent film maker. The exterior sequences at the beginning of the movie are well composed. But movie making had moved into the sound era, and Micheaux had to start all over again.

Carl Mahon (Alonzo White) is a Federal secret agent who goes to Mississippi on a case, meets and falls in love with Star Calliway (Norma Sheperd) and rescues her from the evil local bigshot John Everett (Jeff Balinger). They then go to Harlem and get involved in the murder of the Cuban head of the numbers racket (Vano Hernandez as Gomez).

A patchy script and minimal production values can make the movie hard to follow. The sound track is typical of early talkies, with the actors stopping to talk at the camera.

Mainly interesting for the music and dance acts, especially the chorus line and the dance duo in a nightclub and as a view of the black acting style of the period.

After having written almost 16000 reviews on IMDb, I hope you're willing to cut me some slack on this one. This is because try as I might, I was unable to finish watching this film--and I think you'll probably have the same reaction. It is simply horrible.

Now I am not trying to be nasty and I do understand why the acting, direction and production values were horrible. At the time, black movie patrons in the US were often not allowed into white movie houses. So, they went to segregated theaters that either showed mainstream films or they would show black-produced films. BUT, the black productions simply had no funding and no real pool of talent because Hollywood wouldn't allow most of these folks to work as writers, directors and actors. So, historically speaking, this is an interesting film from Oscar Micheaux. But sloppy camera work, bad acting, the most god-awful singing in the history of film and a dull plot make this a serious chore to watch.