This is probably the only movie during the Hays Code where a killer gets away with murder.Ginger Rogers is so much fun; no shirking violet she. You may want to watch it several times just to catch the little bits of comedy business laced in every scene, from the jury leering to .the catfight in prison scene.

This delightfully funny original version of the late 1920's Broadway hit "Chicago" is a surprise to those who thought that "Chicago" started as a movie musical starring Little Miss Alice Faye. While Elizabeth Taylor was definitely wrong when she quoted that line in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", she was definitely looking into the future as less than 10 years later, Broadway would be taken by storm with a musical of the same name, songs by Kander and Ebb, and a delightful "Forbidden Broadway" quote by an actor portraying Jerry Orbach who indicated that he starred in the flop production of "Chicago" which ran for two years.Roxie is here on her own, no sidekick in Velma Kelly, although there is a character named Velma here, she is apparently no relation to the murderess from Cicero. Absent here also are a lot of the dirty one-liners that made Ginger Rogers wince when she heard of what the book of "Chicago" included. Also gone is that infamous line, "I Gotta Pee!", which Broadway legend Ethel Merman raised her eyebrows over. Yet, this slightly cleaned up "Chicago" is funny enough on its own without all the sexual insinuations, still potent with its publicity loving characters who shine when their names are on the front pages, even if their address is the Cook County Jail.Adolphe Menjou, disheveled with hair a mess, is far from his dapper tuxedo wearing usual self as he plays publicity thriving attorney Billy Flynn. It is made clear to the audience that Roxie isn't a murderess, only pretending to be so she can get some publicity. In other words, this is sort of a "Nothing Sacred" type scam, and one that still holds up even though its been re-done in a more famous way as an extremely long Broadway musical revival and an Oscar Winning Best Picture.Also extremely memorable is Sara Allgood in the role of the matron, calmly reading her movie magazine as Roxie and another inmate have a catfight (with actual cat screeches in the background), and her sudden movement to stop it. Allgood even gets in on the action, dancing along when reporters show up to watch Rogers do an impromptu musical number ("The Black Bottom") which also includes "sob sister" Mary Sunshine (Spring Byington) who obviously doesn't have the same plot twist as the musical. Milquetoast extroardinaire George Chandler is picture perfect as Rogers' unappreciated husband. A ton of other characters not part of the much altered musical appear, played with comic perfection by such talents as Nigel Bruce, Lynne Overman, William Frawley and Phil Silvers.Then, there's the addition of a love interest for Rogers, played by handsome George Montgomery, another character eliminated from the musical. There's enough here to make this stand alone from the musical, and Rogers' gum-snapping floozy is certainly one of her best parts, a throw-back to the characters she played a decade before, and far from those elegant sequined dressed ladies she played when dancing with Fred Astaire.Who better to direct such a sharp look at society and the need for attention than William A. Wellman who could take on a woman's picture with ease as he could a men's action film. This speeds along at a breakneck pace and is practically excellent in every department. So if you feel like rollin' your stockings down and buying some aspirin at United Drug, just remember, all you jazz fans, that long before Kander and Ebb got their hands on Roxie's garter belt, somebody else had been there first. Whatever happened to class? It used to be trash with class, and these teachers will give you a lesson you'll not soon forget.

At first it's hard to conceive of Ginger Rogers as a brunette, with a wad of gum in her mouth, talking like she came out of Brooklyn, New York. Nonetheless, you will get used to her and she gives quite an amazing performance as the damsel up on charges for murder.This movie is a tribute to sensationalism and that even accused murderers will do anything to keep themselves viable in the news.A year after her gut-wrenching Oscar nominated performance in the memorable "How Green Was My Valley," Sara Allgood is reduced and wasted in the role of Mrs. Morton. The part was greatly lengthened for Queen Latifah.Highlights include Ginger and George Montgomery dancing to the Rock Bottom. Sara and Spring Byington, as the lady reporter, Mary Sunshine, try to keep up with the tapping. Byington never looked younger than in this film.William Frawley looks like a younger Fred Mertz here and does some pretty good scene stealing as the bartender and juror member.

The corn is definitely more than green in this uninspired farce which is broadly played by every member of the cast except GEORGE MONTGOMERY.Based on the same story that CHICAGO was based on, ROXIE HART has GINGER ROGERS, chewing gum and batting her eyes while on the witness stand when she gets caught up in a murder trial in rowdy '20s Chicago. Rogers is too cute for words, emerging as a caricature throughout.Hers is not the only overly flamboyant performance. ADOLPHE MENJOU is a bit over-the-top as her lawyer, but GEORGE MONTGOMERY gives one of his most natural, effortless performances as the man who narrates the story and takes part in the screenplay.Someone else has cited him as "that guy George Montgomery that I never heard of" and says he's the reason the film fails to succeed. Not true. Actually, it's the Ginger Rogers role of a tootsie type of hoofer who prevents the film from becoming the comedy it aspires to be. That plus heavy-handed direction from William Wellman, a man usually associated with heroic male action films and not comedy or satire.Definitely belongs among those films from Rogers that failed to reach their potential--chiefly because of a misguided performance on her part. This came shortly after her Oscar-winning role as KITTY FOYLE, so it's an example of how she vacillated between good and bad roles during this phase of her screen career. She seems to be enjoying herself enormously as the center of attention, but it's all to no avail.As for GEORGE MONTGOMERY, he was far from being a sub-standard leading man as the other commentator suggested. His star was on the rise in the early '40s and he was also well-known as the husband of the legendary singing star and TV personality, DINAH SHORE.