Having seen Roxie on Broadway back in the 70s it took me quite a while before I saw Roxie Hart finally. It was worth the wait as Ginger Rogers gets to display her comedic and dancing talents with a bit of drama thrown in. The dance was not often seen any more since she and Fred Astaire parted cinematic company and she won that Best Actress Oscar for Kitty Foyle.Told in flashback by newspaperman George Montgomery the film harkens back to Prohibition and the lawless town of Chicago in the Roaring Twenties. As a publicity stunt manager Lynne Overman persuades burlesque queen Ginger Rogers to confess to a murder she really didn't commit.With flamboyant Adolphe Menjou defending her and Cook County juries being what they were and some maintain still are he's sure of acquittal. But there are a few unexpected bumps along the way.Besides Rogers, Adolphe Menjou had a real flair for roles like defense attorney Billy Flynn where he could ham it up and it not looking out of place. Spring Byington has a few good scenes are sob sister Chicago columnist, a far cry from her usual motherly or grandmotherly roles.The one I remember best is George Chandler who got a career role for himself as Roxie's nebbish of a husband. He's such a schnook he practically deserves Roxie cheating on him. I think you'll remember him best as well.Roxie Hart in those dark days of the first full year of America in World War II was a real winner for 20th Century Fox and for star Ginger Rogers and the entire cast that supported here in this nostalgia driven film.

'Wild Bill' Wellman's ROXIE HART gets off to a somewhat slow start but soon settles into rollicking hilarity that reaches a peak in its climactic courtroom scenes (hands down the funniest courtroom scenes that I have ever watched, beating out the Three Stooges' 'Disorder in the Court' for the honor). For those who require more than laughter in a comedy, we may note the movie's broad and biting satire against the news media and American legal institutions, but the film seems more a burlesque than a think piece, and that's just fine by me. The actors are uniformly superb, playing to the rafters in just that fashion that makes for wonderful farce. Special kudos should go to George Chandler (Wellman's personal good luck charm) as the wimpy Amos Hart, and Lynne Overman as the underplaying yet unscrupulous reporter who is more responsible than anyone for this whole charade. Phil Silvers, Spring Byington, Sarah Allgood and Nigel Bruce are all perfect in small roles (which likely were originally bigger roles as it seems that quite a few prison scenes wound up on the cutting room floor). Critically, Adolphe Menjou's Billy Flynn, the shyster lawyer to end all shyster lawyers, is a constant riot of what might be called 'innocent' greed and dishonesty, innocent in that he really does not appear to wish harm upon anyone but merely wants to put on a show for the edification of anyone who may be listening. Indeed, the concern he shows for Roxie near the end of her trial is rather touching. Menjou's performance is a classic of comedic acting that deserves comparison with the great turn by John Barrymore in TWENTIETH CENTURY.For Ginger Rogers, her Roxie was something of a return to pre-Astaire days. If 42nd STREET had given her famous Anytime Annie character a good deal more attention than it did, she might have come out very much like Roxie Hart. Ginger had also played in the similarly raucous PROFESSIONAL SWEETHEART, written by Maurine Watkins, the authoress of the original play CHICAGO upon which ROXIE HART is based. Rogers manages a character sassy, likable, greedy, vain, cheerful, naive and streetwise all at the same time. It was a step away from the more reality-based comedies that she'd recently been working on. She was an actress who excelled within many comedic forms.ROXIE HART is not a musical, but it contains two delightful dance numbers and would have had a third (Ginger's Charleston) if it had not been cut. Where would that Charleston have fit in? If it was the original ending of the movie then it would seem to have provided it with pretty much the same conclusion as the filmed musical CHICAGO, one featuring Roxie ironically triumphant. As it stands, we are left with Roxie having gotten the opposite of what she'd wanted, probably a more realistic irony.

Dancer Ginger Rogers (Roxie Hart) agrees to confess to a murder in order to further her career. Female murderers are always getting off in Chicago and dodgy lawyer Adolphe Menjou (Billy Flynn) knows how to milk the situation for maximum publicity. Does the plan work? Reporter George Montgomery (Homer) tells the story in flashback.The film starts well but it soon becomes clear that it is going to continue in a rapid-fire dialogue manner which I find grates. So, that's what the film does. Everyone talks too quickly and the whole film seems to only have one joke. It never really develops. Add to that a pretty annoying cast and watch things drag on. It's a pity that the story didn't dwell more on Iris Adrian as "Two-Gun Gertie" whose story seemed like it could be far more interesting. Also, the rivalry between Ginger and socialite criminal Helene Reynolds as "Velma" wasn't developed. To the detriment of the story. The best parts of the film are when Ginger dances and she only does this twice.I notice that on YouTube there is a clip of her dancing the Charleston in a scene that was cut from the film. What!! It's precisely what the film needed more of and would have been the film's best bit. Who on earth decided to cut it? It's a gem. The film is OK if a little irritating.

This is the same story as "Chicago"(2002), and the musical, but without the music. It is done as screwball comedy and has a great deal of energy and fun.The movie is pretty faithful to Maurine Watkins play "Chicago," but due to the Hays Moral Code, Roxie could not be found innocent of a murder she committed. Its ironic that a moral code forced the filmmakers to lie, as in real life Beulah Annan was clearly guilty. Despite being guilty, a great publicity campaign "The prettiest little murderess in Chicago" had gotten her off at her trial. According to the Hays Code, a guilty person had to be punished for their crimes (unlike real life), thus she had to be guilty and punished or innocent and found innocent at her trial.The cast is superb. Adolphe Menjou, may have had despicable politics, but he was a delightful actor. He matches Richard Gere's great performance in "Chicago" as the ultimate shyster-lawyer, Billy Flynn.I think this is the best of Ginger Rogers great performances outside of her legendary Astaire/Rogers musicals. She is better in this than the soap opera "Kitty Foyle" She had won an academy award for "Foyle," just before she did this movie, Here she's at the peak of her career and she's positively glowing and confident, doing some amazing line readings and hilarious bits of business. The moment where she's questioned about what color she saw when she blacked out is amazing. She takes about five seconds to answer - "...Purple." One can almost see the wheels turning in her mind as she tries to figure out the correct answer.Lynne Overman, who plays a veteran reporter, Jake Calahan, was a great comic supporting actor of the 1930's. Unfortunately, he died in 1943, just two years after this picture. He played the second lead in half a dozen Dorothy Lamour movies and also supported four or five Fred MacMurray movies and four or five Ray Milland films. He co-starred with everyone from Cary Grant to W.C. Fields to John Wayne, He also gives a definitive laid-back cynic performance.The supporting cast is delightful. Bruce Cabot (the best Dr. Watson), Phil Silvers (the best Sgt. Bilko)and William Fawley (from My Three Sons) pop up here and there and deliver hysterically funny lines.The first time I watched it after seeing "Chicago," I was a bit disappointed. However, the second and third times, I started to really embrace the style and humor. I have now seen it about seven times and it really holds up well.Incidentally, This is better than the 1927 silent version of "Chicago". That version is not as faithful to the play, less cynical and only has about one-third the gags and laughs that "Roxie Hart" does.