Criminal Adaptations

Chicago

• Criminal Adaptations • Season 4 • Episode 1

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For our season four premier, we take a deep dive into the dazzling world of Rob Marshall's Academy Award winning musical Chicago (2002) and compare it to the gritty crimes that inspired it. Behind all that jazz and glittering costumes lie true stories of scandal, murder, and courtroom drama in 1920s Chicago. We explore the real women who inspired Roxie Hart, played by Renée Zellweger, and Velma Kelly, played by Catherine-Zeta Jones, and learn how American's fascination with female murderers inspired a Broadway play, failed movie adaptation, and Broadway musical before it made its way back to the silver screen.

Primary Source:
Perry, Douglas. The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers who Inspired Chicago. Penguin Books (2010). 

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Remi:

Welcome to Criminal Adaptations, the show where we take a look at some of your favorite movies and the true crime stories that inspired them. I'm Remy. I spent over a decade working in the film and television industry in Los Angeles, California.

Ashley:

And I'm Ashley. I'm a clinical psychologist and forensic evaluator in the state of Oregon.

Remi:

Chicago, chicago. Welcome to season four everyone. I'm sorry for that little bit of musical interlude which probably did not go with our theme music, but welcome to season four everyone. We made it. How are? You doing today, ashley, but welcome to season four.

Ashley:

Everyone we made it. How are you doing today, ashley? I'm doing great. I am stoked to be back to recording and I am even more stoked to be talking about this movie.

Remi:

Chicago. I don't know what gave you that impression that that was the movie that we were covering this week. But yes, we are covering the film Chicago. The Academy Award winning Renee Zellweger, catherine Zeta-Jones, rob Marshall directed film.

Ashley:

Richard Gere, Queen Latifah.

Remi:

John C Reilly. It's got a all-star cast for sure, and I know you said you were a big fan of this film at the beginning, ashley, but had you seen this in theaters when it came out, or did you see it on DVD for the first time? What's your history with Chicago?

Ashley:

I don't remember if I saw it in theaters. I'm assuming I did. I have seen this movie a lot. I know a lot of the songs by heart.

Remi:

Yes, you do.

Ashley:

I have been singing them for the past few weeks. I also owned this DVD at one point. I'm not sure if it's one of the 30. I still have tucked away somewhere, but it would not surprise me in the least if it was, and I also have seen this musical in York. I think it was off-Broadway, though, about 10 years or so ago.

Remi:

And I actually do not have a lot of experience with the musical Chicago, but I did go to film school at Columbia College, chicago, for a couple of years, which is the same school that Kanye West went to and dropped out of and wrote the Dropout graduation album.

Ashley:

I did not know that.

Remi:

I know it's pretty random. That's kind of the school's claim to fame.

Ashley:

When did you find out that this was actually inspired by and based on a true story?

Remi:

Oh my god, I don't even know. I think it was pretty late. Actually, I had no idea this was based on real life events at all. I thought it was just a typical musical, you know, like Wicked Phantom of the Opera, something that was created for a big show, but I really didn't ever think that it was based on a true story.

Ashley:

I remember when I found out, it was when we developed the idea of this podcast and we were Googling around and we saw Chicago on one of the lists. Chicago on one of the lists and I immediately bought the book and have been vying to do this movie every season since season one, which actually same with the next episode we're going to be doing, which we'll talk about at the end. So stay tuned for that. So I'm very excited. The time has finally come. I got you to watch a musical. I know you're not a big fan, but I did it, folks, I did it.

Remi:

Yes, let's talk about musicals just for a second before we dive into this. I am not a huge musical fan. I enjoy the theatrics of it. I think Broadway is very entertaining but on screen I am just not really a fan, unless it's like a cartoon or a Disney movie or something like that. That makes sense to me, but just the idea of people being in a real life scenario and then stopping to break out into song has always seemed weird and distracting to me.

Remi:

However, there are films that manage to figure out a way to do it more organically, and I do think that this is one of the films that does that. Another film that I feel does it well is Dancer in the Dark starring Bjork, and it is a very serious film. It is not shot well, the cinematography is terrible, but it is dealing with very serious subject matter. Yet there are musical interludes that are happening in the lead character's mind, so they are an escape from her depressing reality. So whenever she's in the real world, everything is very dark and dreary, but she will escape into this fantasy world full of color and dancing and music, as a way to cope with the horrible stuff that is occurring in her life, and I didn't realize it at the time, but that is very similar to what Chicago does.

Ashley:

I would also argue Rent.

Remi:

Rent is another one. Again, not a huge fan of Rent. I have seen the movie way back in the day. But yeah, musicals are just not my thing. I think it's weird that Hollywood loves musicals so much and they keep making musicals nowadays, but hiding the fact that they are musicals because they want to make musicals but they know most people don't like musicals so they'll try to disguise that for some reason. The Joker movie that just came out. There was a Mean Girls movie that came out this year. There's been a lot of movies where they're like downplaying the fact that it is a musical because they're almost embarrassed of it. And my sentiment is if you're embarrassed of making it, why are you making it? If it's a musical, just advertise that it's a musical and be honest.

Ashley:

I would say one musical we saw recently, which spoiler alert or, I guess, disclaimer we haven't seen Wicked, which I think is one Remy is going to direct me to watch on my own, probably because they split it into two parts for whatever reason, I don't know yet.

Remi:

They took a two and a half hour play and split it into two two and a half hour movies.

Ashley:

But Amelia Perez. We liked that one on Netflix.

Remi:

Amelia Perez was brilliant and I really did enjoy Amelia Perez. If you can do a unique spin on it, I'm open to it. It's just the stereotypical musicals where you know you're going about your business and there's a song literally about what you are doing, like I'm cleaning my shorts and then I'm gonna walk to school, like that could just be a conversation.

Ashley:

So I take it you did not enjoy Les Mis, which is 98% song.

Remi:

I don't think I have actually even sat through that movie all the way through. I watched the Anne Hathaway performance specifically because she won the award and I heard it was amazing. But yeah, it's just not my thing. And I watched a few scenes from it and I don't know, I couldn't get into it. It's weird that they are just singing.

Ashley:

Well, enough talk about musicals in general, let's get into this musical, the first musical and, honestly, probably the only musical we will ever cover on this show the Great Chicago.

Remi:

Surprisingly, there are not a lot of true crime musicals out there in the world, so this is a rarity for us. And I will say up front I went into this movie with my arms crossed like it's a musical. I am not looking forward to seeing this. I think that I had seen it one other time in its entirety with you because you forced me to, but even then I really wasn't paying attention, in all honesty.

Ashley:

I even offered this to be one of the switcheroos. I was like I will gladly watch and research this movie and you can do the research behind the true story. Do it, let's do it. And you said, no, this is mine.

Remi:

This is an interesting challenge for me because much of this story is revealed through song, so when watching the film you really have to pay attention to the lyrics and everything, and it is a very unique twist on the genre and I will say I did enjoy it in the end, after watching it all the way through, being forced to pay attention from beginning to end. I did enjoy Chicago.

Ashley:

So maybe you will watch Wicked with me after all.

Remi:

I most likely will, because I'm almost positive it's going to be nominated for a Best Picture or something like that, and we always end up watching those movies anyway. But let's get into the movie itself Chicago.

Verdict:

Chicago.

Remi:

Chicago is a 2002 musical film based on a 1975 stage musical which itself was inspired by the 1926 play by the same name.

Remi:

Chicago marks the directorial debut of Rob Marshall, who also choreographed the film from an adapted screenplay written by Billy Condon, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The cast includes Renee Zellweger, catherine Zeta-Jones, richard Gere, queen Latifah and everybody's favorite stepbrother, john C Reilly. The musical Chicago is based on a play by reporter-turned-playwright Maureen Dallas Watkins, who drew inspiration from the 1924 trials of accused murderers Beulah Annan and Belva Gairtner, which Watkins had originally covered for an assignment while working at the Chicago Tribune. Originally covered for an assignment while working at the Chicago Tribune. The 2002 film is based on the 1975 Broadway musical Chicago, which ran for 936 performances and featured music from John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Bob Fosse. I didn't know what a book was, but it's like the screenplay, basically for a musical.

Remi:

Lyricist. Fred Ebb explained that the musical's vaudevillian style was intentional to mirror the story's characters, which were all loosely modeled after real-life entertainers such as Helen Morgan, texas Gunnan, ted Lewis and Sophie Tucker, all of which I have never heard of before but were famous in vaudevillian times. Many of composer John Kander's songs were additionally inspired by vaudeville legends like Eddie Cantor and Burt Williams, further emphasizing the show's vintage style. The original production premiered at the 46th Street Theatre on June 3rd 1975, premiered at the 46th Street Theater on June 3, 1975, earning nominations for Best Musical, best Book and Best Score at the 1976 Tony Awards. Despite its now iconic status, the original Broadway run received mixed reviews and wasn't an immediate hit with audiences. Bob Fosse, who directed and choreographed the original 1975 Broadway production and had won an Oscar for his work on Cabaret back in 1972, had initially planned on directing his own film adaptation of Chicago, with stars like Goldie Hawn, liza Minnelli and Frank Sinatra even announced for the leading roles.

Ashley:

I could see that Me too.

Remi:

I think that actually would have come together pretty well. Tragically, Fosse's untimely death in 1987 ultimately put an end to that particular project. While Fosse's vision never truly materialized, his signature jazz choreography was still a prominent influence on the 2002 film, which also honors Fosse in the closing credits.

Ashley:

Oh, that's a nice little addition.

Remi:

Agreed. I like it when they do things like that in film during the credits. It's just an acknowledgement of this person may not have been involved, but they still help inspire creatively what you see.

Ashley:

Kind of like paved the way.

Remi:

Exactly Fast forward to 1996, where, unlike the mixed reception of the original, the minimalist Broadway revival of Chicago received widespread critical acclaim and became a massive runaway success. With over 10,000 performances to date, the revival currently holds the record for the longest-running musical revival, the longest-running American musical on Broadway and the second-longest-running Broadway show of all time.

Ashley:

I want to note that it's still going on today. So it's been 27, 28 years. Do you know what the number one longest show is on Broadway?

Remi:

I should have included that, but it's not in my notes. I don't know.

Ashley:

Phantom of the Opera.

Remi:

That would have been my guess. If I were to just do a shot in the dark, Phantom of the Opera would have been my guess.

Ashley:

But it is the longest running show still going.

Remi:

And Phantom of the Opera is one of the few Broadway shows that I actually did see live on Broadway. It was the first Broadway show I ever saw and it was okay. The chandelier thing was cool. Chicago also set the record for most wins for a revival at the Tony Awards, having won six total, but were eventually dethroned by South Pacific, which claimed seven awards in 2008. I don't know anything about South Pacific, do you?

Ashley:

I don't. I've never heard of it. Chicago also won a Grammy for Best Theater Musical Album.

Remi:

Chicago is highly awarded and decorated, it is astonishingly successful. The 1996 smash hit revival of the 1975 musical was one of the very few instances of a Broadway revival that was far more successful than the original. This revival didn't just reignite interest in the stage production, it also renewed momentum for a long-awaited film adaptation which had previously been abandoned after Fosse's passing. Director Rob Marshall had seen a performance of the original 1975 production when he was just 14 years old and recalled being mesmerized by the show's exuberant mix of glamour, humor, sensuality and darkness. Years later, Marshall was in talks with Miramax Films to direct a screen adaptation of the Broadway hit Rent. But when he arrived at the meeting, Marshall was far more interested in pitching his version of Chicago.

Ashley:

That's another really, really, really, really, really good musical Tick Tick Boom about Jonathan Larson, the guy who wrote Rent, starring Andrew Garfield.

Remi:

Agree 100% on that. Andrew Garfield's performance in that is astounding.

Ashley:

I'm pretty sure we both cried at the end. That movie is so so, so, so good. If you haven't seen it, after you're done listening to this, watch Chicago and then watch Tick Tick Boom.

Remi:

Highest of praise for Tick, tick, boom. It is really, really a brilliant film and one of the few musicals I can say is two thumbs up for me. Back to Chicago. Marshall, in his Meeting with Miramax Films, introduced the concept of framing the Chicago musical as unfolding in Roxy Hart's mind, which immediately captured Miramax's attention, which resulted in the studio shifting their focus to Chicago and putting Rent on hold until 2005.

Remi:

As far as casting goes, sometimes the most unforgettable auditions happen to occur when you're not even trying. When Rob Marshall met longtime friend Renee Zellweger for dinner at the Four Seasons one night, zellweger playfully asked Marshall to teach her one of the songs from the new musical he was working on. Marshall chose Nowadays and the two began singing together quietly at the table. As Zellweger gradually grew more and more confident, she started singing a little bit louder, completely unaware that this impromptu performance was actually her audition for the role of Roxy Hart. By the end of the evening, marshall knew that she was perfect for the role and she had landed the part without ever even realizing it. Some people have all the luck, I guess. Some people have all the luck, I guess. Despite having no formal singing background, zellweger embraced the challenge and later described working on Chicago as an incredibly liberating experience. Charlize Theron had originally secured the role of Roxy Hart, while Nicholas Heitner was attached to direct, but when Heitner stepped down, theron had to re-audition and ultimately lost the part to Zellweger.

Ashley:

I know who you would have picked.

Remi:

Now, personally speaking, I sort of think that Renee Zellweger is just okay in this role and someone else could have really knocked it out of the park if given the chance. But maybe that's just because I've never really been the biggest Renee Zellweger fan. I mean, she's fine, but are there any other actresses that you think could have possibly played this character?

Ashley:

This might be too early and I don't know if she can sing, but Beulah, who Roxy Hart is based on, is actually a redhead, so if she can sing I don't know if she can she probably can't Amy Adams but this might have been way too early.

Remi:

I could see that, but yeah, that could have been a little early. I cheated and I looked up actresses who were around in 2002 when this came out.

Ashley:

The other person I think of is Nicole Kidman, but that's only because of Moulin Rouge, and I don't think she would have done as good of a job as she did in Moulin Rouge.

Remi:

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Brittany Murphy as my pick for this. Now, she had very, very mild singing experience from what I saw, but so did Renee Zellweger, and I think Brittany Murphy fits the character a little bit more than Zellweger does. I don't know, I think maybe I'm being harsh on Renee, but she just doesn't really have it for me, and someone that seemed a little bit more I don't know damaged and innocent and had that aspect to her. I think Brittany could have done a really good job if, given singing training and all of that sort of thing.

Ashley:

I could see that too, because the real Beulah was like 23, 24 when all of this was happening, and the character of Velma was in her 30s, so she's a little older. So I think casting Brittany Murphy, who would have been much younger than Renee Zellweger at the time, would have been more of a starker contrast between who these women were supposed to be and represent in society.

Remi:

When it came to casting the role of Velma Kelly in Chicago, several big names were considered, including Toni Collette, neve Campbell, angelina Jolie, madonna, jennifer Lopez, julia Roberts, gwyneth Paltrow and Winona Ryder.

Ashley:

I feel like, of all of those I like, catherine Zeta-Jones the best.

Remi:

Hard agree on that. Catherine Zeta-Jones is my favorite part of this film. She kills it. She is beautiful, she is stunning, she nails every performance. I cannot picture another actress taking on the role of Velma. So, as I was just saying, in the end it was Catherine Zeta-Jones who landed the role of Velma after producer Martin Richards noticed her singing talent at a family Christmas party in Bermuda, where she and her husband Michael Douglas lived.

Remi:

Impressed by her performance of Holiday Carols, richards approached Jones about joining the film. Initially, richards had her in mind for the part of Roxy Hart, but Jones had her sights set firmly on the character of Velma Kelly. Although she wasn't particularly familiar with the original Broadway show, jones knew one thing, and that was Velma Kelly sang the iconic song All that Jazz and insisted on playing Velma because she specifically wanted to sing that song. And she fucking kills it. Rob Marshall initially wanted Catherine Zeta-Jones to wear her naturally long hair in the film, but, as Jones would later explain in an interview with People magazine, she successfully lobbied for the iconic short bob hairstyle to ensure that her face stayed visible during the dance scenes, leaving no room for anyone to doubt if she had actually been performing all of the choreography herself.

Ashley:

And her long, luscious locks are just not 1920s jazz.

Remi:

And we were just watching a rehearsal performance of Catherine Zeta-Jones for the film Chicago and she has her normal hair in the performance, but it just isn't the same. I think the bob really captures that era perfectly.

Ashley:

Did she really cut it or was it a wig?

Remi:

It was a wig. One challenge that arose from Jones' casting was that she became pregnant by the time of filming. As her baby bump began to show, the production team had to get creative by utilizing a body double for certain shots from behind or framing Jones from the waist up during other scenes. The role of Chicago attorney, billy Flynn, had quite the casting journey as well. Believe it or not, rob Marshall's original choice was none other than the king of pop himself, michael Jackson, but executive producer and horrible human being Harvey Weinstein objected to the idea, arguing that Jackson's star power would overshadow Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger in the film, and Michael Jackson would also be a terrible, terrible choice for this role.

Ashley:

It would have been incredibly distracting.

Remi:

Would you buy Michael Jackson as a Chicago attorney?

Ashley:

No, A Chicago scumbag attorney, no.

Remi:

I can't envision him just playing a normal human being walking the streets, let alone a Chicago attorney. Supposedly, Hugh Jackman was offered the role at some point, but turned it down because he felt that he was too young for the part, and I would agree 2002, he was probably mid-twenties.

Ashley:

That I could see, but I also do like Richard Gere, so it worked out in the end.

Remi:

Meanwhile, John Travolta was approached multiple times, but repeatedly declined, something he would later admit to deeply regretting.

Ashley:

I could also see John Travolta. Grease is another iconic musical.

Remi:

Which is, I think, the reason why Rob Marshall was pursuing him for this role, and I do think that John Travolta could have nailed this part. Funnily enough, this marks the fourth time Travolta passed on a role that ended up going to Richard Gere, following American Gigolo in 1980, days of Heaven in 1978, and An Officer and a Gentleman in 1982. So a big part of Richard Gere's early career was based on John Travolta turning down roles, it seems. As for Gere, he dove headfirst into the role and took tap dancing lessons for three months leading up to his big tap solo, which ended up taking only about a half a day to actually film. Kathy Bates was director Rob Marshall's first choice to play matron Mama Morton, but her scheduling conflicts with 2002's About Schmidt meant that she had to pass on the role, which would eventually go to Queen Latifah.

Ashley:

I really like Queen Latifah in this, but I would have really, really, really liked to see a version of this with Kathy Bates.

Remi:

All of the director's first choices beyond Michael Jackson seemed like they could have still worked, in my opinion. When Queen Latifah was asked why she thought she got the part of Mama Morton, she confidently responded I'm black, I'm sexy and I pack a mean wallop of a voice.

Ashley:

She's not wrong.

Remi:

Impressively. In 2003, both Queen Latifah and Kathy Bates earned Oscar nominations in the Best Supporting Actress category for their performances in Chicago and About Schmidt. John C Reilly was the only cast member of Chicago who is actually from Chicago and grew up performing in musicals from the age of eight and continued all throughout high school. While he had done plenty of theater throughout his career, re Riley hadn't been in a musical since he was a teenager. Taking on the role of Amos Hart was Riley's way of reconnecting with an important art form that he described as a direct way to communicate with the audience. Reflecting on the experience Riley shared with Rob Marshall, I came into this thinking it would be a laugh, but I walked away thinking it was the defining moment of my entire career. After the film's release, riley had a memorable encounter in New York City with Joel Grey, the original Amos Hart from the Broadway production. Grey took his hand, looked Riley in the eyes and said you were incredible, you owned that part, you made it your own and it was a joy to watch. Congratulations.

Ashley:

That's so sweet.

Remi:

In the interview I saw, Riley said it's probably the best acting compliment he has ever received in his entire life.

Ashley:

I feel like every time you think, especially if you haven't seen this movie and you hear like John C Reilly is in it he has his own song you're probably thinking this is going to be terrible. But he's really good in this movie and he's not a bad singer.

Remi:

He is an amazing actor. He was in all of the Paul Thomas Anderson movies, like Boogie Nights and Magnolia, and he segued over into comedies with Will Ferrell and Talladega Nights and kind of found his niche. But he is an amazing actor and every time he's brought into one of these films I think he really proves how good he is. He's hilarious, but he also is really talented as a dramatic actor and singer. Riley's passion for clowning played a role in his portrayal of Amos, as he designed his own clown makeup for the song Mr Cellophane, and it was his idea to show Amos applying the makeup to add another layer of vulnerability to his character.

Remi:

Surprisingly, Chicago kept its use of CGI to a bare minimum and the only digital effects in the entire film were used to erase the harnesses worn by some of the reporters during the. We both reached for the gun scene. And finally, Chicago was cited as one of the movies responsible for influencing the MPAA's decision to include smoking as a factor in their. That's hilarious. I just had to throw that in there because we were talking about that a little while back. And, yeah, we never really understood why cigarettes became a deciding factor in film ratings, but this is one of the movies that kicked that off. Enough pre-production. Are you ready to dive into the singing and dancing world of Chicago?

Ashley:

Yes, take me back to the 1920s. Five, six, seven, eight, take me back to the 1920s.

Remi:

Five, six, seven, eight. Our story begins in a swinging jazz club during the roaring 20s as Velma Kelly, played by the strikingly beautiful Catherine Zeta-Jones, enters through a back alley door. With effortless confidence, she strides past the other performers backstage and heads straight to her dressing room. Once inside, she pulls out a tiny pistol from her handbag, quickly hides it in a dresser drawer and thoroughly washes her hands. Moments later, she slips into a flapper dress and makes her way to the stage, ready to dazzle the crowd with her electrifying performance of All that Jazz.

Verdict:

I move my knees and know my stocking's down and all that jazz.

Remi:

Though Velma is singing solo this evening, she is still introduced as the Kelly sisters, despite the notable absence of Velma's sibling on stage. Watching, awestruck from the audience, is Roxy Hart, played by Renee Zellweger, who imagines herself on stage performing the musical number in Velma's Place. Roxy is abruptly snapped out of her fantasy by her sleazy boyfriend, fred Casely, played by Dominic West, who signals that it's time for their departure. Fred and Roxy stumble back to Roxy's place exceedingly drunk and exceptionally frisky, as the two get down to some hardcore hanky-panky within moments of walking through the door.

Remi:

Back at the jazz club, velma is just wrapping up her musical number as the police arrive to arrest her for the murder of her husband and sister. Returning to post-coital Fred and Roxy, it soon becomes apparent that Fred is not really Roxy's husband, but rather a furniture salesman whom she has been having an affair with for the past month. Though Roxy dreams of becoming a star someday and had hoped that Fred would introduce her to one of his connections down at the jazz club, fred repeatedly brushes off her aspirations as he gets dressed and prepares to leave Undeterred. Roxy persists until Fred finally snaps and delivers a harsh dose of reality to our girl Roxy talent with skinny legs.

Verdict:

I'm just a furniture salesman, yeah, but you've got connections. You know the guy down at the club. There is no guy. Yeah, that night it was the first time I set foot in that joint. I was collecting on a bet from the trombone player, so you never told anyone about me. Sugar, you were hot stuff. I would have said anything to get a piece of that. And now, now we had some laughs. Let's just leave it at that. Fred, you can't do this to me.

Remi:

And you can't Distraught.

Remi:

And in tears, roxy removes a pistol from the top drawer of her dresser and shoots Fred dead on his way out the door.

Remi:

Later that evening, the police have arrived at the scene of the crime and we learn that Roxy's husband, amos Hart, played by John C Reilly, has confessed to the murder. According to Amos' claim, fred had been a burglar whom he shot after catching him in the act of preparing to assault Roxy as she lay sleeping in bed. As the police continue their line of questioning, it slowly begins to dawn on Amos that the so-called burglar had actually been a man who sold Amos and Roxy their furniture a month prior. As the pieces continue falling into place, amos comes to the crushing realization that Roxy had been fooling around on him all along. Feeling utterly betrayed, amos changes his story and admits that Roxy had convinced him to go along with the burglar ruse after promising it would lead to a lighter sentence for him than it would for her. Is that the case, ashley? Is that something that would have happened? Like would they go easier on a man for murder than a woman?

Ashley:

In 1920s, chicago 100%. No, I have a whole part about how female murderers, or at least those accused of murder, were portrayed by the media and the astonishingly high acquittal rate.

Remi:

Well, a taste of things to come. And to make matters worse, it is also revealed that Fred had been a married man with five children of his own. Despite Roxy's protest, she is promptly arrested for the murder of Fred Casely, carrying with it a potential sentence of death by hanging. Roxy is taken to the Cook County Jail where she's interrogated, booked and meets the formidable head guard, matron, mama Morton, played tough yet shrewd authority figure with a savvy business sense, who keeps order throughout the cell block by utilizing a system of mutually beneficial exchanges between her and the other prisoners. Momma Morton proceeds to escort Roxy to her new home, away from home, in a section of the jail known as Murderer's Row, which, coincidentally, is also where Velma Kelly is being held. After crying herself to sleep, confined between the cold, dark walls of her jail cell, roxy is awoken in the dead of night to the melodic rhythm of the cell block tango.

Verdict:

Six Squish Uh-uh.

Ashley:

Cicero Lipschitz.

Remi:

During the Cell Block Tango, we are introduced to six other female prisoners being held on murderer's row Liz or Pop, who shot her husband twice in the head with a shotgun for chewing bubblegum. Annie or Six, who poisoned her husband with arsenic after finding out that he was really a Mormon with six wives. June or Squish, who stabbed her husband ten times with a knife after he accused her of cheating on him with the milkman. Hanyak or uh-uh, an innocent Hungarian woman wrongfully accused of decapitating her husband. Velma or Cicero, who killed her husband and sister in a blackout rage after catching them having an affair together. And last but certainly not least, mona or Lipsch, who murdered her philandering artistic lover and is being played by the ghetto superstar herself, maya, who I just saw in concert last year and she was phenomenal.

Remi:

Side note here during the cellblock tango each woman reenacts her crime using a red silk bandana to represent the bloodshed that occurred during each murder. But when the Hungarian woman tells her story, she holds up a white bandana instead of a red one as a symbol of her innocence. Sometime later, roxy overhears a private conversation between Velma and Mama Morton, where she learns that Mama Morton is using her connections to reduce Velma's sentence and, in return, mama Morton will act as Velma's manager once she is released. Due to her newfound infamy, velma has become a hot commodity across Chicago, with clubs all over town eager to book her and willing to pay top dollar.

Ashley:

Upon release.

Remi:

They are betting on her release. Everyone seems to think that Velma is going to get off for this pretty easily. No one seems to be anticipating her conviction.

Ashley:

Keep this in mind. This will tie in to what I had mentioned earlier about how female murders were viewed.

Remi:

Moments later, roxy is called in for her own meeting with Mama Morton, who offers to connect Roxy with a high-profile hotshot attorney named Billy Flynn, under the condition that Roxy pay Mama Morton $100 up front for the favor. We are next introduced to the charismatic attorney Billy Flynn, who comes with an undefeated track record in court and is being played by Richard Gere. Through song, we learn that Billy is also representing Velma and proclaiming her innocence by offering a reward for any tips leading to the quote-unquote real killers of Velma's husband and sister. During the scene we also meet a gossiping reporter named Mary Sunshine, played by Christine Baranski. Side note here a notable difference in the portrayal of Mary Sunshine in the stage version of Chicago is that Mary Sunshine is traditionally played by a male actor in drag, appearing as a large, matronly woman singing in falsetto.

Remi:

The audience only discovers Mary's true identity in the second act when the wig and dress are dramatically removed, revealing the truth For the film. Christine Baranski took on the role and later expressed her regret in an interview with Genre Magazine about taking a part that historically had been performed by drag artists. To honor the spirit of the role, baranski decided to reimagine Mary Sunshine as a gay woman, saying that was my little secret. I was one of those fabulous 1920s lesbians. Billy agrees to represent Roxy for the hefty fee of $5,000, which is far beyond her financial means.

Ashley:

And keep in mind people. This is supposed to be 1920, so that's a lot of money.

Remi:

Desperate, amos schedules a meeting with Billy to discuss his wife's legal fees, but only manages to scrape together $2,000 of the full amount owed. Surprisingly, billy still accepts the case at a reduced payment and eagerly begins plotting out Roxy's defense strategy. Step one of Billy's master plan is to manipulate the public's sympathy towards Roxy by ensuring that Billy's version of Roxy's story is spread across every newspaper in town, branding her as the sweetest little jazz killer ever to hit Chicago. Billy also organizes an auction of Roxy's personal belongings to the highest bidder in order to raise the additional funds needed for her defense.

Remi:

During his next meeting with Roxy, billy outlines all the details of how he intends on spinning Roxy's story into a much more positive light. By fabricating such details as her being raised in a nunnery, billy and Roxy continue rehearsing her backstory for several days until Billy finally feels that she is ready to face the press and assures Roxy that, with his help, an acquittal is all but guaranteed. Meanwhile, velma has been growing increasingly jealous of Billy shifting the majority of his attention over to Roxy's case, causing an increased intention between the two women. Not long after, with Billy by her side, roxy makes her first public statement to the press. Do you think a strategy like that would work nowadays. Liquor and jazz was the reason that someone murdered somebody.

Ashley:

I think there might be a little apprehension about that defense nowadays.

Remi:

Billie continues by painting a sympathetic picture of Roxy's background by claiming that she came from a wealthy Mississippi family that tragically passed away when she was a young girl.

Ashley:

Especially with social media. Any lies like this would be revealed if it was a high profile case.

Remi:

Any lies like this would be revealed if it was a high profile case, revealed so quickly, and it would look so bad. The amount of lying that this attorney does is pretty staggering, I must say, and, like you said today, all of this would be easily disproven After Roxy's parents passing. This, of course, led to Roxy being raised in a convent before eventually moving to Chicago in 1920, where she met Amos, fell in love and they eloped. According to Billy's version, fred had been an ex-boyfriend of Roxy's, who became enraged when she ended their affair out of guilt for her husband. The story culminates in Fred grabbing a pistol from Roxy's dresser, leading to a struggle that ended with the accidental death of Fred. Predictably, the press eats up Billy's story like ants on an everything bagel, just as he had planned, causing Roxy to become an overnight press darling, and famous to boot.

Ashley:

Ants on an everything bagel.

Remi:

I thought it was good at the time, Reading it out loud now probably not the best metaphor, but I'm sticking to it.

Ashley:

It's clever, it's clever. I'll give you that.

Remi:

The auction of Roxy's personal items for her defense fund is additionally a rousing success.

Remi:

As a result, roxy's newfound fame continues to blossom as she also starts receiving bouquets of beautiful flowers from her adoring fans, which she proudly displays alongside her growing collection of press clippings adorning her jail cell walls.

Remi:

With her increasing ego, brought on by the potential likelihood of her acquittal, roxy starts to fantasize about life after the trial, envisioning herself achieving the highest levels of superstardom as a celebrated stage performer. With Roxy hogging all the attention, velma becomes desperate to regain the spotlight, so pitches the idea of teaming up for a double act with Roxy once Billy gets them both released. They are both so confident that they are getting off for these murder charges. Unfortunately for Velma, roxy dismisses her idea and is unwilling to share any of her newfound popularity. Little does Roxy realize that at that very same moment, a wealthy pineapple heiress named Kitty Baxter, played by Lucy Liu, has just caught her husband in bed with two other women and, in a fit of rage, murders all three of them. Naturally, billy Flynn is the first person Kitty calls to handle her defense, diverting his focus away from Roxy and her trial. But Roxy still has a few tricks up her sleeves and has just the idea to swing everybody's attention back in her direction.

Verdict:

Mr Flynn, someone open this door please. Oh my God, roxy, what is it, sir? Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't worry about me. Oh, I only hope the fall didn't hurt the baby.

Remi:

I never noticed how many people Kitty Baxter kicks in the balls on her way to her jail cell before watching that clip with you just now.

Ashley:

She's a little firecracker.

Remi:

She's feisty, yeah, works like a charm. And after a doctor examines Roxy and agrees to testify that she is indeed pregnant, the media frenzy only intensifies. This leaves reporters speculating about the true identity of the baby's father, Blissfully unaware of Roxy's indifference towards him. Amidst the press chaos, roxy's husband, amos, assumes that the child is his and is gullibly overjoyed to hear the good news. Amos then sings a song called Mr Cellophane, where he slowly realizes that he and Roxy hadn't been intimate in the three months leading up to her arrest. Infuriated by his wife's deception, amos vows to divorce Roxy for fathering another man's baby.

Remi:

And I just want to say here I saw an interview with John C Reilly where they asked which character he has played was the dumbest, and he said without question, amos Hart is the dumbest character he has ever played. With all the fame going to Roxy's head, she is steadily transformed into a full-blown diva, resulting in Billy Flynn resigning as her attorney. Around this same time, caitlin Helinski, aka Honyak or Uh-Uh from the Cell Black Tango, loses her final appeal and is sentenced to death by hanging. The following week, caitlin Holinsky would go down in history as the first woman to ever be executed in Chicago. Not long after Roxy goes crawling back to Billy, humbled and desperate for his help. After taking Roxy back, billy skillfully tap dances his way through the entire trial using a bit of the old razzle dazzle if I'm an act with lots of slash in it and the reaction will be passionate.

Remi:

On a personal side note here, this song got me thinking that if opening and closing statements were performed musically during a trial, then jury duty would be a lot more entertaining. Then jury duty would be a lot more entertaining For our next act. Roxy Hart takes the stand to testify in her defense, recounting the events of January 14th, from the night Fred Casely was murdered. Roxy claims that she acted in self-defense after ending their relationship to focus on raising her unborn child with Amos, who is now being presented as the baby's father. In turn, Roxy's defense is met with rave reviews by both the courtroom and the media, earning glowing praise for her and her defense. The drama intensifies when Velma Kelly is called as a surprise rebuttal witness, armed with Roxy's diary which is entered into evidence. Velma theatrically reads excerpts from Roxy's log, with the goal of painting Roxy in an unflattering light. But Billy Flynn is still able to masterfully dismantle Velma's testimony by proving that the diary is a forgery.

Ashley:

Wait, so they called Velma to testify against Roxy. Kind of like a jailhouse snitch type situation here.

Remi:

Yes, Okay, Personal side note here. I've never really been a big Richard Gere fan, probably because I hate the movie Pretty Woman, but I'm really enjoying his performance here. I also think that he was great in the 1996 film Primal Fear, which I guess just means that I really like seeing Richard Gere playing a sleazy attorney for some reason.

Ashley:

And in movies where he isn't alongside Julia Roberts.

Remi:

Roxy is ultimately found not guilty and set free. Found not guilty and set free, just as the press shifts their attention over to the latest sensational female murderer to hit the Chicago news scene. Roxy also learns that the entire series of events with Velma and the Diary had been carefully orchestrated by Billy all along. Oh, and there was also really no pregnancy either, but I'm pretty sure that everyone but Amos had managed to figure that out by now. The film ends with Velma being released from prison months later and her and Roxy teaming up for a dazzling duet performance of Nowadays being performed live on stage to a sold-out audience.

Verdict:

And that's good, isn't it grand, isn't it great? Isn't it swell? Isn't it fun, isn't it? But nothing stays.

Remi:

And that's Chicago. What do you think, Ashley?

Ashley:

I just am taken back to the last time I saw this movie, which has been a long time ago, and I just love it. I love Chicago.

Remi:

And I do have to admit it was a pretty enjoyable experience overall. I had all of the big songs stuck in my head afterwards. All that jazz was in my head for days. Mr Cellophane was in my head for days Razzle, dazzle, cellblock, tango I was basically humming these and singing these out loud while making sandwiches for the past week or so. They are super catchy and they're good songs and I like the fact that they approached this film in a way that I said to you but you said that was not what the movie was doing, but that the musical numbers are in Roxy's head I like that.

Remi:

That doesn't shatter the reality. What shatters the illusion of the film and the reality that's been created for me is when they stop what they're doing and start to sing and dance. This movie doesn't do that. This movie will show the musical numbers, but it will be in contrast to something that is going on in the real world, to accompany it in a way, and I think it's really effective and I think that, even though I'm not a Renee Zellweger fan, I think she did great. I think all of the actors did great. Catherine Zeta-Jones specifically. This is like probably her best performance in my opinion. She gave it her all. It shows, and normally I'm someone who can very easily think of who else could have played this part, but with this role, velma Kelly, catherine Zeta-Jones, they are one in the same. She fucking rocked it. Are you ready to hear about the release of Chicago? And I'll give you a hint it did pretty well.

Ashley:

It did do pretty well. I do know that.

Remi:

Chicago currently has an approval rating of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a critical consensus that reads A rousing and energetic adaptation of the Broadway musical Chicago succeeds on the level of pure spectacle, but provides a surprising level of depth and humor as well.

Ashley:

That is a really in-depth critics consensus.

Remi:

It depends on the amount of people who reviewed the movie, and I assume this had a lot of reviews, because it is a Best Picture winner. It is a Best Picture winner. The film went on to gross over $306 million at the Global Box Office, which at the time was the highest grossing live action musical of all time, before that record was utterly obliterated by Mamma Mia in 2008, which earned just shy of $700 million worldwide.

Ashley:

It's just because of ABBA.

Remi:

There's no comparison on that. I mean $700 million, my God.

Ashley:

But people love Mamma Mia.

Remi:

After watching this, I will take the music from Chicago over Mamma Mia any day. I'm not a big ABBA fan. Maybe call me biased, but the music in Chicago is very, very catchy.

Ashley:

But no one from Chicago has won Eurovision.

Remi:

Chicago is also credited with ushering in a reemergence of the musical film genre in the 21st century, along with Moulin Rouge and 8 Mile.

Ashley:

Was this before both of those?

Remi:

Moulin Rouge came out the year before and 8 Mile came out the same year.

Ashley:

Moulin Rouge is good. We watched that not too long ago. I think you fell asleep during it, but I enjoy Moulin Rouge.

Remi:

I'm not as into Moulin Rouge. It's a jukebox musical, which means it's all songs from other things, and I think if you're going to make a musical, write your own songs for the musical. Just my opinion.

Ashley:

Maggie agrees.

Remi:

The film additionally received 13 nominations at the 2003 Academy Awards, walking away with six statues, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress, for Catherine Zeta-Jones. To date, chicago is one of 11 other musicals to win the award for Best Picture, which include the Broadway Melody in 1929, the Great Ziegfeld in 1936, going my Way in 1944, an American in Paris in 1951, gigli in 1958, not the Ben Affleck version, West Side Story in 1961, my Fair Lady in 1964, the Sound of Music in 1965, oliver in 1968, and Amadeus in 1984.

Ashley:

in 1968, and Amadeus in 1984. Okay, so a lot of them seem to be in the 40 to 60s range.

Remi:

So musical had not won in got 30 years Since Amadeus. So yeah, it had been quite some time. And, like I said earlier, chicago reignited interest in the musical genre. It was kind of dead by this point. Growing up in the 90s I don't really remember any musicals outside of like the South Park musical.

Ashley:

Or Disney, which I don't really count. I count those in a different category of their own, but I do remember after Chicago there was just a blow up of live action musicals.

Remi:

I also have a bit of an inkling that a little film called Wicked just might be joining those ranks in the not too distant future. But time will tell. I'm rooting for Anora.

Ashley:

I don't think Wicked is going to win Best Picture, but we haven't seen it yet, so who knows? But we did just watch Anora yesterday and it's my favorite oh, it's tough to say that. Or the Substance are my favorite movie of this year.

Remi:

The Academy loves musicals, so I feel like Wicked will win some stuff. Maybe not Best Picture, though Comparatively, only one horror film has ever won Best Picture. Can you guess what that was?

Ashley:

Silence of the Lambs.

Remi:

Yep, and that was all the way back in 1991. And personally I would classify that as more of a thriller than a horror movie and I think Hereditary really should have been nominated for some awards a few years back but got snubbed because it was a horror film. For some awards a few years back, but got snubbed because it was a horror film. Surprisingly, Chicago did not win an Oscar in the Best Song category, which, I have to point out, needs to be an original song, so any of the songs that appeared in the 1970s musical would be ineligible for this award. Can you guess what song won this award instead of Chicago?

Ashley:

Was Chicago nominated for a song?

Remi:

This may be a bit of a cheat, but Chicago was nominated for the song I Move On, which only played during the closing credits of the film.

Ashley:

Okay, so that's why it didn't win. I have no clue what won, so I'm going to need a hint, because I just can't think off the top of my head of what movies came out in 2002. Lose Yourself.

Remi:

Yes, Lose Yourself by Eminem won Best Song in 2002, rightfully beating a song that was played during the closing credits.

Ashley:

I do remember that he wrote Lose Yourself for 8 Mile, and it was everywhere for so long.

Remi:

And he didn't even show up to the ceremony because he thought what are the odds I'm going to win an Oscar. But yeah, eminem is an Academy Award winner, though the film's director, rob Marshall, would never reach the same heights as he did with Chicago. He has gone on to direct several other major musicals throughout his career. Other major musicals throughout his career, including Into the Woods, mary Poppins Returns and Disney's live-action remake of the Little Mermaid.

Ashley:

Oof Um.

Remi:

I have not seen Mary.

Ashley:

Poppins Returns. I did not like Into the Woods, despite my obsession with Meryl Streep, but we didn't mind the Little Mermaid.

Remi:

It was fine. That's the best I can say about it. I love the original with all of my heart and soul. I was raised on it. It's my favorite Disney movie, so I don't think there was any possible way that live action version could have satisfied me, but he did what he could with it. But yeah, I sort of feel that Chicago was his high point of his career, which is surprising because it was also his first movie.

Remi:

Kind of sucks when you start out on top, there's nowhere to go but down. But if you think that's bad, screenwriter Bill Condon would later make the successful transition into directing with such films as the Twilight Saga, breaking Dawn, part 1 and 2, and the 2017 live-action remake of the Disney musical Beauty and the Beast. So they both found their way to a Disney musical remake eventually. That's where you go if you're a musical director, apparently. Last but not least, in a DVD featurette, director Rob Marshall was asked about a fan theory suggesting that the ending, where Roxy and Velma achieve massive fame and success after their release from prison, had actually just been a delusional fantasy of Roxy's. In response, marshall simply smiled and gave a subtle nod, and that was Rob Marshall's Chicago.

Ashley:

He could have also said Google, the true story.

Remi:

There was no mention of the true story in any of the research that I did for this film. This film is based on the musical and this is like a weird telephone game of a story, of a story that got passed down. That passed down, and I'm curious what the first version of that story was.

Ashley:

honestly, version of that story was honestly Well. You mentioned it at the very beginning that it was Maureen Watkins who wrote this play, based on her reporting of two women, and that's true. But how much of that did she incorporate into her play Chicago and did it get muddied along the way?

Remi:

Well, that's what I'm here to find out, Ashley. Why don't you tell me?

Ashley:

The end of World War I and the Great Migration, which was the movement of African Americans from the deep south to Chicago and other northern cities, transformed Chicago into the jazz capital.

Remi:

Do you like jazz Ashley?

Ashley:

I appreciate it, but it's not something I go out of my way to listen to.

Remi:

When I was in LA writing screenplays it was always good to have some jazz on. It's not distracting.

Ashley:

Modern life in Chicago was fast-paced Think smoky nightclubs and cabarets filled with flappers, bootlegged booze and jazz music. While many were drawn to this easygoing lifestyle, doctors warned it caused quote severe internal derangement and general ill health.

Remi:

Wait jazz.

Ashley:

Yes, the jazz prohibition, alcohol party lifestyle.

Remi:

That prohibition flapper era lifestyle yeah.

Ashley:

In response, school boards across the country put the hammer down on their female teachers by issuing contracts requiring them to be home by 8 and disallowing skirts above the ankle, bobbed haircuts and smoking cigarettes. Additionally, the number of murders perpetrated by women in Chicago jumped over 400% from 1880 to 1920. This led people to speculate that something about this new Chicago was destroying the feminine temperament, as violence is obviously not a natural act for women. 102 women were tried for murdering their husbands during this time, but only 16 were convicted. At one point, the DA lost 35 consecutive cases in a row involving female killers, a streak that was broken in 1919 when a middle-aged Swedish immigrant was found guilty.

Ashley:

Things got so bad that many papers claimed it was just impossible to convict a woman of a violent crime in Chicago. Those acquitted were always young and pretty, while the convicted were viewed as undesirables poor, ethnic or old. Whether it was emotions, booze or something else entirely, the women in Chicago seemed to have gone mad, but many were considered savable. There's a few explanations, or possible explanations that I thought of, for this trend of the young and pretty to be acquitted of violent crime.

Remi:

I would assume sexism has a little bit of a role to play in there, because people were like how could a woman do such a thing?

Ashley:

Well going off on that at this time. So in the 20s, only men were allowed to serve on juries in Illinois, and many of them just couldn't wrap their heads around how a woman could be responsible for killing someone without a reasonable explanation. Second, everyone was fascinated with Chicago's female killers, an obsession news reporters capitalized on. Not only were the crimes and trials of these women covered extensively, but so were their outfits, demeanors and day-to-day jail lives, since reporters were essentially allowed to interview the women at their jail cells with little to no restrictions, the reporters could basically come into the jail, stand outside of these barred cells and just conduct their interviews. Also, a lot of high-profile trials like are still covered by the media, but in these ones back in the day they would bring their cameras. After certain hearings, the defendants would be able to have press appearances. It was a show.

Remi:

Which it still can be to this day.

Ashley:

And like in this day and age, if reporters came into the courtroom and were snapping photos, they'd be kicked out. But in 1920s, Chicago, reporters would be snapping photos, a court hearing would be over and the defendant would be like escorted a couple feet away and then like give a whole press hearing right then and there, which is not something that's done today. Newspapers profited by creating glamour out of the crimes and the alleged perpetrators. This wasn't only done through articles, but with photographs that corrected the physical imperfections, by buffering out wrinkles, eyebags and double chins.

Remi:

Old school Photoshop.

Ashley:

This was the status quo of all Chicago newspapers when 27-year-old Maureen Watkins walked into the Chicago Tribune in early February 1924. She wasn't interested in selling ads or working the switchboards, the roles most often sought by women. She wanted to be a police reporter. Despite having no prior newspaper experience at all, she was hired on the spot.

Remi:

Is there any reason why?

Ashley:

In the book I read which is in our show notes, it alluded to the fact that the hiring person for the newspaper thought she was pretty and thought she would bring a unique perspective to it. The Chicago Tribune actually had one other female police reporter the only other female police reporter and then they hired Maureen. So it was kind of like can this woman bring a unique spin to this type of reporting that every other single newspaper is reporting on? So it was basically he thought she could sell more papers.

Remi:

It's a little insulting, but I'm glad she was given the opportunity, obviously.

Ashley:

Maureen was a frequent visitor on Murderous Row, the dorm housing about a dozen women accused of violent crimes, mostly murder, at the Cook County Jail. The first major case she covered was Belva Gartner, who the media dubbed the most stylish woman on the cell block, and this is Velma Kelly in the film. At 14, belva's mother surrendered her to a state orphanage after her husband died and she could no longer care for her daughter. At age 25, she met William Gairdner, who was two decades older. While she was married to another man and working as a cabaret dancer, william was one of Chicago's most eligible bachelors. Given his career successes, he was a millionaire scientist and businessman who successfully built a giant camera able to take pictures of the canals and polar caps on Mars in 1907.

Remi:

That is pretty impressive for the early 1900s to be able to photograph Mars.

Ashley:

William was immediately captivated by Belva, despite several red flags, primarily involving her frequent address changes and use of aliases when settling delinquent accounts. But none of this was known to him when they married in 1917, so she would have been about 33 at this point. William hoped Belva would settle down after they married, but she continued her partying ways, often not coming home until 3 in the morning. In her defense, she she continued her partying ways, often not coming home until three in the morning. In her defense, she always invited him out with her, but he rarely joined. As Belva spent more and more time out of the house, william hired a private investigator to follow her.

Ashley:

In early 1920. Her infidelity was confirmed a few months later when he walked in on her in bed with another man. He threw a fit, walked out, but the next morning Belver returned home like nothing ever happened. Once William obviously did not let her inside. She just went downtown, got a muscle man, forced her way into the house and moved her things into a smaller room where she stayed until William's divorce petition was granted in May.

Remi:

She found a muscle man.

Ashley:

She worked at the cabaret so I assumed it was some sort of like security someone down there.

Remi:

Like a bouncer or something. Okay.

Ashley:

After the divorce, Belva got a job as a taxi driver, a scandalous career choice for a woman, since driving was unladylike. Come March 1924, William was in the process of trying to get Belva back, showering her with expensive clothes, jewelry and even a new car. Although he was more successful than ever, Belva wasn't sure if she wanted to reconcile, as she enjoyed her fast-paced lifestyle, which she knew. Her former husband, who was now pushing 60, wasn't really into. Plus, she was now seeing Walter Law, a married car salesman, 10 years her junior for the past three months.

Ashley:

Girl liked to party 38-year-old Belva and Walter were sitting in her car outside her apartment during the first hour of March 12, 1924. The couple had been drinking for hours when he told her she should act better when they were out in public together. At some point she exited the car and went upstairs to her apartment. Two officers patrolling the area saw a woman get back into the car around one o'clock in the morning. Shortly after they heard a gunshot and discovered a man dead from a bullet wound to the head. But the woman was nowhere to be found. An automatic pistol and empty bottle of gin were left behind in the car. It wasn't long until the officers located Belva and her residence. They knocked on her door about an hour later. There was blood on her clothes, a bruise on her cheek and the face of her watch was shattered, stopping the time forever.

Ashley:

At 1.14 am At the police station, belvis said the two spent the evening drinking and then she heard a gunshot, but she didn't know what happened or where it came from because she was drunk. Instead of tending to Walter's injuries, she ran home because she was scared and couldn't remember anything more. After her initial police interview, reporters were allowed into the room to ask more questions. This is when Belva's story changed. She said the couple were joking about robbers and who was a better shot. While they were sitting in the car that night, belva claimed she sarcastically suggested they play a game to settle the argument. This game involved each person just taking a shot at the other until someone was hit.

Remi:

What do you mean taking a shot at the other until someone was hit? What do you mean taking a shot?

Ashley:

Like, one person would take the gun, try to shoot the other, and if they missed, the other person would take the gun and shoot the other, and if they missed, so on and so on until someone was shot.

Remi:

Wow Okay.

Ashley:

That's a crazy game. How would you?

Remi:

miss. You're right next to the person.

Ashley:

Spoiler alert Belva never mentions this again, probably because after she got an attorney he was like that's a ridiculous claim. Anyway, belva never said if he agreed to the game, but she did say she saw him just collapse onto the steering wheel before she ran home. She didn't know who shot him and she didn't know what to do because she was drunk and afraid for her own life.

Remi:

These are all terrible excuses.

Ashley:

William hired Thomas Nash to represent Belva, as he desperately wanted to marry her again.

Ashley:

Nash was a highly sought out lawyer, particularly among mobsters, one of whom was Al Capone.

Ashley:

At the next day's inquest, which is a hearing to determine if a crime occurred, walter's wife testified that she didn't think Belva shot her husband, since he was devoted to her and he would never cheat.

Ashley:

In addition to testimony from law enforcement outlining the evidence against her, one of Walter's co-workers said Walter recently told him he was going to take out a bigger life insurance policy since Belva threatened to kill him twice in the past month. In the end, belva was unsurprisingly indicted for murder and lodged to the Cook County Jail. She adapted easily to her new surroundings, as the high-profile nature of the case led to others vying for the privilege of doing her bidding, being seen with her and even making her bed. In addition to frequent interviews and photo ops, william visited her nearly every day and gave her enough cash to make sure she could buy whatever privileges she needed, including extra access to beauty products for her frequent press appearances. Belva wasn't the only publicized woman on Murderous Row by March 1924. There was Big Anna Piculon, the largest woman to ever be jailed on a murder charge who killed her husband after he said he'd prefer a slimmer lover. Next up is Moonshine Mary Wesenick, the first woman to be tried in Cook County for selling poisonous whiskey.

Remi:

Why did they change these women in the film? These are very interesting backstories.

Ashley:

We'll get into it later. I don't really know what the original play was like, but a lot of these characters in the play that Maureen wrote there was aspects of them that were taken.

Remi:

I kind of think of this story as like a game of telephone, where this person tells a person, who tells a person, and you get a very different story in the end.

Ashley:

And this isn't like a lot of the ones we've done. This isn't like the first adaptation that has been made of this movie. This is like the fifth, so things have warped across the years, but anyway. Next up is Elizabeth Junkinaffer, accused of murdering her lover after her husband collapsed with grief when he discovered her infidelity. Until Belva. The two women who received the most coverage were Catherine Kitty Malm and Sabella Nitti, belva's 19-year-old cellmate, kitty, nicknamed Wolf Woman or Tiger Girl by the press for no reason other than to sell papers.

Remi:

That is quite the nickname given to her for absolutely no reason.

Ashley:

For no reason. It was just to generate headlines, but she dominated the headlines just two weeks before Kitty and her illegitimate husband Otto robbed a sweater factory and killed a young security guard in November 1923.

Remi:

What is an illegitimate husband?

Ashley:

She married him before another divorce was finalized. Otto immediately confessed to the crime, but Kitty went on the lam for a month, eventually surrendering in hopes of saving her man and seeing her two-year-old daughter again. Her lawyer was so confident that she would be acquitted that he rejected a plea offer involving 14 years in prison. Two to three weeks before Belva's arrest, kitty was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, probably because she wasn't like other acquitted murderesses. She was poor, uneducated and not considered to be particularly beautiful, and thus she was deemed a danger to society. The last key player sitting in jail with Belva was Sabella Nitti, a 40-something immigrant woman convicted of killing her husband with a hammer.

Ashley:

Sabella reported her farmer husband Frank, missing in July 1922. Less than a year later, she married the farmhand Peter Crudel. Two months after that, police found the badly decomposed body of a man, believed to be Frank, in a sewer drain. Sabella and her 15-year-old son, charlie, were brought in for questioning and after a long interview, charlie said Peter murdered his dad on his mom's orders and made him help dispose of the body. Sabella, not understanding a word of what her son was confessing to in English, told officers that whatever he was saying was true.

Ashley:

Sabella and Peter were convicted of murder in the summer of 1923. Charlie's charges were dismissed after he testified against his mom. Not only was Sabella convicted, she was sentenced to die via hanging in 95 days, making her the first woman to ever receive the death penalty in Illinois. Since she didn't understand a word of English, not only throughout her trial, but when the verdict was read, she didn't even know what her sentence was until someone translated it to her back in jail, she was so distraught that she tried to commit suicide by ramming her head against the wall.

Remi:

It seems in this situation that she did commit the crime. There's not much of a doubt in that area. Did?

Ashley:

commit the crime. There's not much of a doubt in that area. Well shortly after her conviction, a female defense attorney took Sabella's case and filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court. The arguments involved that the trial lawyer was incompetent, since attorney and client couldn't communicate or understand each other throughout the whole defense process. She also poked holes in the reliability of the evidence against Sabella. For example, there was reason to doubt that the dead body was even Frank's, if you think about it. They found him two years after two years-ish after he was missing, and this is long, long, long, long, long before DNA.

Remi:

So there was reasonable doubt.

Ashley:

That's how it seemed in the book. Regardless, this woman needed a lot more services to be able to stand through a whole trial, not understand a fucking single word of what was being said, especially when it involves someone being sentenced to death. That's insane.

Remi:

Something that the film, and I would assume the musical, does as well, is that the Hungarian inmate. None of her dialogue is subtitled or translated in any way and it is all in Hungarian. And I actually had to go online and look up what she was saying in all of her scenes, because it's in another language and everything she is saying is pleading her case, but nobody can understand her.

Ashley:

I do remember that about the movie. The only words she speaks in English the whole time are not guilty, not guilty. But yeah, the key takeaway is I mean, she was sentenced to death in three months and had no clue what was going on until someone bothered to tell her after the fact. And just imagine sitting there and it's like your 15 year old son and she's like, yeah, whatever he says goes. And it wasn't like. I don't know how long the interrogation was and I don't know if this woman did it or not, who knows but it did say in the book that it was a lengthy interrogation. And this is a 15-year-old kid who's a son of an immigrant mom who doesn't understand a lick of English, and he's being asked about the disappearance of his dad. What a vulnerable situation both these people are in disappearance of his dad.

Remi:

What a vulnerable situation both these people are in. I think this was around the time when the big immigration was going on in America, where a lot of other people from countries and families were migrating to the States, and I could not imagine A how incredibly terrifying that would be. Coming on a boat and then into this country that you know nothing about. You're basically going on word of mouth and getting into some sort of crazy legal situation like this where you don't understand a word anybody is saying to you, but you know something serious is going on. I would be terrified. I just couldn't imagine being in that sort of situation.

Ashley:

And she didn't have money, like Belva did, to hire an attorney. She wasn't young and pretty and educated, so she didn't have lawyers who were trying to latch themselves onto her case for publicity, so she had an attorney who didn't even bother to try to communicate with her in any way.

Remi:

Yeah, you would just be at their mercy.

Ashley:

So, in addition to those last two facts, her new attorney also claimed that the testimony and confession given by Charlie was coerced. To help Sabella's case on appeal, the lawyer hired a stylist, dressed her in a nice suit and taught her some English. And this transformation worked. In early 1924, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the verdict and remanded it back to the lower court for retrial. And that brings us to the final player in our cell block tango, beulah Anon. She was born in Owensboro, kentucky, on November 18, 1899. When she was 15 years old, she traveled to Indiana to marry a boy she grew up with. They had a son together a year and a half later. Beulah didn't take to motherhood and went out whenever she could. As a result, her husband filed for divorce and told her to leave the town for the sake of their son, since he didn't think she could be a good mom. Viola complied. She moved to Louisville where she met Al-Anon. Shortly after she settled in Chicago where Al joined her two weeks later. So this is Amos John C Reilly's character.

Remi:

Al-Anon.

Ashley:

Al-Anon. Yeah, maybe that's where AA comes from Alcoholics Anonymous.

Remi:

I didn't even catch that before but yeah, yeah, sorry, that stood out to me a little bit.

Ashley:

The couple quickly married and Al took a job as a mechanic. Although they weren't rich by any means, al worked hard to provide for his wife and gave her virtually every cent he made, growing tired of their modest means and being stuck at home all day with little to do. 23-year-old Beulah started working as a bookkeeper at Tenant Laundry in November 1923, which is where she met 29-year-old delivery driver Harry Kudstalt. Their affair began in February 1924. Most of their excursions centered around drinking. Although Beulah was infatuated with Harry, she became increasingly perturbed by the fact that he never seemed to have any money to spend on her, despite his promises to take her to fancy places and buy her expensive things. Her frustration boiled over the afternoon of April 3rd 1924. Beulah heard a knock on her door around noon that afternoon. It was Harry asking for money to buy them alcohol, even though it smelled like he started drinking much earlier. He took the dollar she had to give and returned with two quarts of wine. If only a dollar could buy two quarts of wine these days, that would be nice.

Remi:

Two-buck chucks aren't that far off.

Ashley:

The two listened to records while they drank, until Beulah voiced her frustrations about his stingy spending habits. As the argument escalated, she called him a jailbird, knowing this would upset him, as he was very sensitive about his legal history.

Remi:

Could you imagine if someone got like really pissed off being called a jailbird today?

Ashley:

I know we're so much more sensitive nowadays. It was about 5pm when Al got a frantic call at work from Beulah telling him she shot a man who tried to rape her and that she needed him to come home. The first thing he noticed when he arrived was another man's coat and hat hanging on the back of a kitchen chair. The second was the body of a deceased man shot in the back in their bedroom.

Remi:

It must have been a stylish coat and hat.

Ashley:

Beulah was sobbing as she explained how she fought her assailant off. Beulah was sobbing as she explained how she fought her assailant off. Police arrived around 6.20 and Al handed over the gun he said was always kept in a dresser drawer. He initially tried to take blame for the murder, but Beulah interjected and admitted fault. Like Belva, Beulah's story slightly changed when she got to the station. Instead of portraying Harry as an unknown intruder, she admitted she was having an affair with him and invited him into the house while her husband was at work. She recounted how they were drinking together, but he got angry and started putting on his jacket to leave when she suggested ending their relationship. At that point she became so distraught that she shot him and held him in her arms, crying for hours before calling her husband for help.

Remi:

Hours.

Ashley:

Hours. Despite her infidelity and precarious legal situation, Al loved Beulah and was willing to spend all of his money helping her. This led him to William Stewart and WW O'Brien, two attorneys who made their initial reputations as highly successful prosecutors. About two years prior, they teamed up and opened a defense-based law firm. The lawyers typically demanded cash up front, but sometimes accepted partial payment with an acceptable explanation for how the rest would be raised. Although Al didn't have one, the duo took Beulah's case after seeing her picture in the morning paper. During the inquest two days after her arrest, the prosecution highlighted discrepant evidence that didn't quite match Beulah's story. In my opinion, the biggest bombshell was the coroner, who estimated that Harry died just 30 minutes before the cops arrived, meaning she did nothing to help him as he slowly died on her floor for hours. Now that she had lawyers, elements of Beulah's story changed yet again. Not only was Harry not leaving her, but he got so angry when she called him a jailbird that he rushed into the bedroom for the gun he spotted on the bed.

Remi:

It's funny how, back in the day, you could just switch your story repeatedly without even batting an eye.

Ashley:

It's really crazy officers that arrested her at the house once she got to the jail and to the reporters who interviewed her right after she gave her confession. So now this is her fourth story. They're all essentially have the same elements, but very important things that speak to her culpability are the things that are changing O'Brien, the more animated of the two lawyers, who this is clearly Richard Gere's character loudly declared during this inquest. They both went for the gun. He also said Beulah got to it first and shot Harry in self-defense, setting the stage for what would be said when the case inevitably went to trial. Beulah posed for photos after the inquest and was dubbed from then on quote the prettiest woman ever accused of murder in Chicago. Beulah posed for photos and spoke to reporters every chance she got in jail, even going as far as cutting out and saving the best published pictures of herself. Fan mail flooded in, sometimes accompanied with flowers, and once even a steak dinner, which I don't even know how is possible.

Remi:

People that send out fan letters to potential murderers have some pretty severe emotional problems of their own.

Ashley:

It wasn't long until she became convinced that her popularity meant a career in the entertainment industry was in her near future. Al also got the saint treatment in the press, which annoyed her, since she couldn't help but think this whole mess was all of his fault. He basically made her cheat because he never wanted to take her out dancing and spend all of his time at work With Beulah earning the role as Chicago's murdering darling. Belva knew she needed to ride her coattails to stay relevant. She assumed the papers would lump the two women together if they were in enough shared photos, and she was right. Belva and Beulah were the stars of Chicago's murderous row, at least for the next few weeks, until 23-year-old Wanda Stopa took over the headlines.

Remi:

What did Wanda do?

Ashley:

Well, before we get into what Wanda did, let's talk about who Wanda was. Wanda was a brilliant Polish woman who graduated from John Marshall Law School and became the first female attorney to work for the Chicago District Attorney's Office, seemingly as a trial assistant. Sometime in the early 1920s she met 37-year-old advertising executive Yerma Smith. What we know about their relationship comes directly from his statements to police, so it is likely one-sided, although I'm not sure exactly how they met. Smith said he liked Wanda because of her brain and offered to put her up in a city apartment so she could get away from her ex-husband. This generosity wasn't really uncommon for Smith and his wife, as they often offered lodging to young artists in need. Even after she moved in, though, smith continued to spend nights at the apartment when he had to work late nights in the city. He adamantly denied that they were anything more than friends. However, I suspect there is more to the story, setting aside the age difference of a 23-year-old woman and a 37-year-old man who's putting her up for low rent in his apartment and sleeping there on the reg. In July 1924, wanda just abruptly moved to New York. After her desperate attempts to get Smith to leave his wife failed, she love-bombed him with letters pleading him to leave his wife. Once his responses stopped, she started using drugs and even mailed the couple a box of poisoned chocolate which thankfully neither recipient ate. And after all of this went down, all of her friends and co-workers were like we would have never suspected this of her. This was very outside of her character. Wanda hosted a party at her house in Greenwich Village the night of April 23, 1924. When everyone was good and liquored up, she announced she was going to Chicago in the morning to kill a woman and maybe a man, because the wife wouldn't give up the guy Wanda loved. Her confession was met with nothing but laughter. Once alone, wanda called Smith to tell him she was coming to Chicago for a final showdown. After he hung up, she headed to the train station for her trip to the Windy City. The train pulled into Chicago around 7 in the morning. Wanda hailed a cab to Smith's house and arrived about an hour and a half later. She asked the driver to wait, since her visit wouldn't take long and she had a return train to catch. Wanda pushed past the smith's maid and found his wife in bed recovering from the flu. She yelled at the woman to divorce her husband, while the handyman stood between them trying to defuse the situation. Once she refused to file for divorce, wanda pulled out a gun, shot and killed the handyman and fired several more rounds as the wife leapt through the window to run and get help. The taxi driver didn't hear a thing, since she was deaf, and drove Wanda back to the train station, blissfully unaware of what had just transpired inside. She then took a train to Detroit and checked into a hotel under a different name Descriptions of Wanda and the cab driver went out immediately after the shooting. A businessman recognized her the next day and alerted the authorities. However, she was never arrested, as she committed suicide that morning by drinking potassium cyanide.

Ashley:

Wanda's body arrived in Chicago Sunday morning. A group of reporters were waiting at the train station and pooled their money to deliver the casket once it became clear that there was a mix-up with the family about where the body was getting dropped off. This is like the one thing the reporters do, nice in this whole story For the next three days, which included a viewing of the body and the funeral, thousands of people and I'm talking upwards of like 10 to 15,000 people. It was so big that there were peanut vendors selling peanuts outside of these grieving parents' homes, with reporters going all in on coverage of Wanda Beulah, decided to do something drastic.

Ashley:

During the second week of May she called a press conference and announced she was pregnant and claimed Harry attacked her after she told him she was having Al's baby. Maureen Dallas Watkins was the only reporter who casted doubt on this story. Biela's trial started on May 23rd, not even two months after her arrest. This blows my mind, because murder trials now are like years and years and years out. She's going to trial less than two months after the murder.

Remi:

It seems like things moved a lot quicker back in the day, for whatever reason. It probably was at the detriment of the people on trial, but the system moved a lot quicker back then.

Ashley:

As expected, O'Brien argued self-defense, sticking to his they both reach for the gun story.

Ashley:

Bula was the sole witness for the defense, and she was a good one. She denied or said she didn't remember when cross-examined about her initial confessions, never wavering from the story she stuck to since she got representation. The two-day trial ended with a jury deliberation that lasted less than two hours. To Maureen Watkins' dismay, she was acquitted. After thanking each juror and posing for pictures, beulah shared her plans of returning to her quiet life with Al. Two days later, she announced she was considering moving to Southern California to pursue an acting career and divorcing Al because he quote doesn't want me to have a good time, he never wants to go out anywhere and he doesn't know how to dance. I'm not going to waste the rest of my life with him, he's too slow.

Ashley:

Belvis' trial started a few weeks later. It also lasted two days, but she didn't testify. Her defense involved her supposed lack of memory for the murder, painting the evidence against her as circumstantial and pointing the finger at other potential suspects. After seven hours of deliberation, she too was also acquitted. Maureen Watkins became a well-known criminal reporter two weeks after she started working at the Chicago Tribune. By the end of Belva's trial, she had grown tired of the job and transitioned to societal pieces, killing time. Before she started classes at Yale's newly established drama department, she also started working on a play based on Beulah's case. It was initially titled Brave New World and focused on the criminal justice system, sensational journalism and the corruption in both fields.

Remi:

Horrible title.

Ashley:

It is a really bad title. The goal was to expose how lawyers and reporters were more interested in their own goals rather than truth and justice. Before the end of 1924, she resigned from the Chicago Tribune, moved to New York, accepted a job as a junior editor of a city-based magazine and took the train into Connecticut for class. Maureen's professor required all students to read drafts of their primary projects out loud in class for feedback. Everyone loved Brave New World as it was shocking, hilarious and, most importantly, original.

Remi:

But they hated the title.

Ashley:

It was finished by the end of the term and renamed Chicago.

Remi:

There you go.

Ashley:

At the end of each year the professor also picked a play from the workshop and helped place it with professional producers. For 1926, he chose Chicago and introduced Maureen to New York agents. In fall 1926, a renowned playwright and producer signed on as the director and rising stage actor, Francine Larimore, was cast as the lead role, Roxy Hart. Chicago's Broadway opening was December 30, 1926.

Remi:

Nearly 100 years ago.

Ashley:

And her professor chose this play at the end of the year, the school year of 1926. So let's put that at about May and it's opening on Broadway by the end of the year.

Remi:

Things moved a lot quicker back in the day. I don't know if it was because of a shorter lifespan, but it just seemed like life moved faster.

Ashley:

I think it also showed how much people really thought that this play was something. She was a Yale drama student who wrote the first play she ever wrote, and in half a year it's on Broadway.

Remi:

It is very impressive.

Ashley:

There was some initial concern, however, about how it would be received, as three recent plays were slammed for, quote, corrupting the morals of youth and Chicago had both drinking and sex. Fortunately, critics and audience recognized the ambitious production and immediately embraced it. It was a smash hit, almost always planning to sold out houses and getting the green light for a national tour.

Remi:

There is no footage online that we could find of the original play and I would be really interested to see what it was like before it was turned into the musical, but there's like nothing that we could find on it.

Ashley:

Despite its success, maureen kept the true inspiration behind Chicago Quiet. Roxy and Velma were obviously based on Beulah and Belva, including their physical descriptions. Elements of Sabella, nettie, kitty, mom Moonshine, maggie and Elizabeth Uncafer were also incorporated into the supporting characters. Maureen even included elements of herself in the female reporter character who didn't buy into the sham public personas of the female leads.

Remi:

Wait, is she the drag queen character?

Ashley:

In the original production, the sole female reporter. Yes, this was supposed to be her.

Remi:

Mary Sunshine.

Ashley:

I don't know when it came to be a drag queen character. I'm assuming maybe once it came into the musical. But it sounds like in the original production there was this big reporting audience that were all males and there was one female and she was supposed to be the one female. But like I said, I don't know if they kind of incorporated the drag queen after it became a musical some 50 years later. Interestingly, some snippets of the dialogue came straight from Beulah's trial, hence the they both reach for the gun. Many key plot points of her crime were unchanged and some of the stage direction and scene descriptions were taken nearly word for word from Marine's articles.

Ashley:

The play arrived in Chicago in the fall of 1927, after running for 172 performances on Broadway and movie rights being sold to Hollywood. Roxy's attorney and Belva saw the show in October. Both loved it and publicly announced the real identities of the leads. Maureen kept an active role in the production, often starring as background characters or understudying for minor roles. In addition to the tour, she continued to contract for newspapers covering high-profile criminal and civil trials. She started working on two follow-up productions in the spring of 1927. Neither was well-received, possibly because of the controversial topics a recently deceased president and a down-on-her-luck prostitute. Or maybe it was because she was stretched too thin and she publicly admitted that she didn't give either project the attention it deserved.

Remi:

I really respect Maureen and that she accomplished all of this.

Ashley:

She loved this play. It was her baby, so she was promoting it. She was touring around the country with it and she was still doing freelance articles. And then she, after less than a year after this was released, while she was still doing all this, she tried to write two more plays at the same time and she just couldn't do it.

Remi:

It seems like this play was more personal to her because she had been assigned to it from the Chicago Tribune and she had that firsthand experience with it. Had that firsthand experience with it and it doesn't seem like she necessarily had that with the other two plays.

Ashley:

So her strength- was working from source material that she had known or lived through in some capacity. The movie adaptation of Chicago opened in late December 1927 to mix critical reviews, but it still did well at the box office.

Remi:

There was a 1927 movie of Chicago, really.

Ashley:

Not a musical version of it, but yeah. Apparently her play was adapted into a movie the next year. Although Chicago was chosen as one of the best plays by the New York Daily News, maureen gave up playwriting and moved to LA to pursue a career as a screenwriter. She co-wrote Liable Lady in 1936, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

Remi:

I am not very well versed in my 1930s, 40s and 50s Academy Awards.

Ashley:

Well, and she did write many other screenplays, but from what I read, all the movies were kind of forgettable. Chicago was remade in 1942, but with several changes, the most important being that Roxy didn't commit the murder. This change was due to the Hays Code, which stated quote no picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it, meaning criminals couldn't get away with murder on the silver screen.

Remi:

I do remember going over the Hays Code back in film school.

Ashley:

Do you know any more about that, other than you couldn't portray anything that could be viewed as like super immoral?

Remi:

I don't know a lot of the rules off the top of my head. I just know that there were restrictions issued on what could be portrayed in film, Like showing someone flushing a toilet was forbidden. I think showing two people in the same bed, a man and a woman even that was forbidden. They had very, very strict moral guidelines.

Ashley:

So I just googled it. It prohibited profanity, obscenity, racial slurs and graphic violence. It was repealed in 1968 and replaced with the film rating system.

Remi:

The MPAA.

Ashley:

It was around the time of this remake that Maureen quit screenwriting and moved to Florida to be closer to her parents. She devoted her later years to promoting and funding college scholarships and repeatedly turning down offers to turn Chicago into a musical, likely because she was upset about how her play was adapted in 1942. She died from lung cancer in 1969 at the age of 73. Following her death, her family sold the rights of Chicago.

Ashley:

The music adaptation opened in 1975, went on tour and, as we discussed at the beginning of this episode, became a worldwide smash hit sensation, even though this is not what she wanted, because she fought so hard to have this not be the case. From what the author of the book I read his perception of it is, she would have been happy with the musical adaptation because her primary qualm about the 1942 movie was because of the Hays Code. They had to change so much to make it work and it reverted back to her original writing in the musical adaptation. So who knows if she would have liked it, but it's the second most popular Broadway play to ever exist, so that says something.

Remi:

It makes me think of the woman who wrote Mary Poppins. I cannot remember the author's name, but she was very against it being made into a silly animated musical. I can fully understand someone being apprehensive turning something so personal to them into a musical of all things. Like I said, to a musical of all things. Like I said, musicals are divisive. A lot of people don't like musicals. If you hear that your project is being made into a drama or something else, it's just different.

Ashley:

The acquittals of Beulah and Belva ignited a debate about whether it was time for women to serve on Illinois juries. Women's groups and female lawyers actively lobbied for the right to be included. Voters actually passed a law allowing women to be on juries in 1931, but it was reversed by the state Supreme Court. Finally, in 1939, illinois allowed female jurors. An immediate and unexpected benefit was the percentage of men asking for jury exceptions substantially dropped, with no other clear explanation other than they now had female companions to stare at, both on the stand and to their left and right.

Remi:

That's funny.

Ashley:

Both Beulah's attorneys had their own legal problems. After her trial, william Stewart was sentenced to three months in jail for contempt of court after attempting to prevent a state's witness from appearing in 1929. He continued to represent mobsters throughout the 1930s, which took its toll on his personal life. He died of a heart attack in 1964. He died of a heart attack in 1964. Ww O'Brien, who, in my opinion and I think it's pretty clear that this is Richard Gere's character was disbarred after trying to remove evidence from the state attorney's office in 1936. And then he just disappeared after facing new legal charges in 1944, and there is nothing else about this man.

Ashley:

Kitty Mom Velva's cellmate was a model prison inmate. She became proficient in typewriting and shorthand with hopes that her new skills would benefit her if she was ever granted release, even though the board repeatedly declined her request for parole. She was only 28 years old when she died from pneumonia in December 1932. Only 28 years old when she died from pneumonia in December 1932. Sabella Nettie was released on bail a few weeks after Belva's June 1924 trial, remember. Her appeal was granted. She returned to her farm home to await the retrial that never came, since her charges were dismissed in December of that same year, so she was supposed to have been the first woman to be hanged in Illinois, but she was not.

Ashley:

Belva remarried William in May 1925, but it wasn't long before she returned to her old ways. He filed for divorce after again walking in on her with another man in July 1926. They reconciled and moved to Europe in 1930. Following his death in 1948, she moved to Pasadena to be closer to her sister and died of natural causes at the age of 80 in May 1965. Poor Cellophane Al was alone and left with Beulah's legal bills after she filed for divorce, but he vowed to love her always. Ten years later, he was convicted of manslaughter after he beat a woman to death during a drunken argument in their shared Chicago apartment. He never ended up serving any time, though, since his petition for retrial was granted with the help of William Stewart and the judge dismissed the case due to lack of evidence.

Ashley:

As for our leading lady, Beulah Anon, her popularity with the press predictably dropped immediately after her acquittal. There was no evidence she was ever pregnant. She moved to Indiana and married a 26-year-old boxer in January 1926. The marriage lasted four months. She then returned to Chicago and lived with her mom. She never saw the play, as she was bedridden on and off for weeks. By the time it arrived in the Windy City In early 1928, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and admitted to the Chicago Fresh Air Sanitarium. She died a few weeks later, on March 10, 1928, at the age of 28. And that is the true story of Rob Marshall's Chicago. What did you think, remy?

Remi:

I think this is a very interesting and unique case, originating from the 20s, and, as we said before, it's like a game of telephone, where it's passed on from person to person to person and the story is altered a little bit here and there throughout the years. I really would have loved to hear the reactions from anyone that was involved in the original trial of how they felt about the musical, because it seemed like even the writer was very adamantly against it and never saw it. So no one involved with the original ever saw the version that is the most well-known today.

Remi:

And I'd be curious to know what they thought of it.

Ashley:

So this is just my gut. I have nothing to back this up, other than complete speculation Based on how good and how beloved this production both the movie and the play are, that it would be something she would be proud of.

Remi:

I think that, even though there were a lot of changes made, the essence of the story is captured in the musical. Again, a lot of liberties taken, but the spirit of the original story was kept intact and certain elements were even enhanced through song.

Ashley:

Let's pause that and save that discussion for our verdict. But first let's get into our objection of the Week, your, Honor.

Remi:

I object. And why is that, mr Reed?

Verdict:

Because it's devastating, to my case, overruled, good call.

Ashley:

All right, remy, I want you to start this For our Objection of the Week. What is your most pointless change that was made from the true story to the movie version?

Remi:

Well, this is an interesting one, because there's been so many little changes here and there throughout the years, but the most superfluous change that came to mind for me during all of this was the fact that Fred in the movie life series of events was a delivery driver, but in the film they changed it to a furniture salesman, for no reason at all.

Ashley:

That is the one I picked. Damn it.

Remi:

He could have been what he really was in real life, but furniture salesman.

Ashley:

Why. I agree that was the big, big one that came out to me. The only other one I thought of was that, the Sabella character in the movie she decapitated her husband, but in real life she was accused of shooting him in the head. I think we're going to tie for that one, because that was my first one by far. I had like two stars by it.

Remi:

All right, we're kicking season four off with an agreement on our objection for the week, but what about our verdict for the film Chicago At the conclusion of each?

Verdict:

episode, our hosts will deliver a verdict based on the film's accuracy. If the film is an honest portrayal of the events. Based on the film's accuracy. If the film is an honest portrayal of the events, then it will earn a not guilty verdict. If the adaptation is mostly factual but creative liberties were taken for the sake of entertainment, the film will be declared a mistrial. But if the film ultimately strays too far from the truth, then it will be condemned as guilty and sentenced to a life behind bars, guilty and sentenced to a life behind bars Since I started last time.

Remi:

I will let you, ashley, begin.

Ashley:

For me when I'm going about my verdict. In this film I'm taking into account. There's obviously a lot that has been changed. I'm assuming there's a lot that had been changed from real life to the play marine rogue, but I think it is so noteworthy that you can clearly tell who these two main women are, especially with roxy hart's character. There's a lot of similarities between her and beulah. It is so clear who it is. So, because of how true it has been kept in almost a hundred years from the crime to when we're recording this today, I'm saying mistrial.

Remi:

I agree with you. I think that this film has all of the key points and framework of the original story from 1920. Things have been changed. This was never going to get a not guilty verdict, but as you were telling the story, ashley, you could pick out almost where the songs would be in certain parts. So it seems like the spirit of the true story is there. Everything else has been changed, but I do still think the essence of the original is intact.

Ashley:

And even with everything else that has been changed, really the big main things that are changed is Belva's murder. She didn't kill her husband and sister, it was her lover. That's a big, big, big, big, big change.

Remi:

It's hard to describe, but there have been a ton of changes, but it still feels like the original is in there and everything is being based off of that original story. It's not just being made up. Well, I think that concludes our season premiere of our season four episode. Yay us, we did it. I cannot believe we have continued on this far and I am excited to continue on from here. Ashley, would you like to tell our listeners a little bit about what we will be getting into next week?

Ashley:

Sure, I'll take that bullet, as I dropped at the beginning of this episode when I said Chicago was one we had been talking about doing, or one I guess I had been pushing about doing since the conception of this whole podcast started. We're following it up with another episode and movie that was also on our very, very, very short list of episodes and movies to cover in our season one, but we didn't, and we'll get into why we didn't and why we have waited until season four to do it in two weeks. But the movie is called the Death of Dick Long and it is about a case that is actually the case that made bestiality illegal in the state of Washington.

Remi:

I don't think I have much to elaborate on that, but the film is directed by an Academy Award winning director of a recent Best Picture winner picture winner. It is a graphic story and a dark comedy film. Stay tuned for a little trailer for the film we will be covering next week, but until then, court is adjourned.

Verdict:

Murderer? Who the fuck's a murderer? We're the fucking murderers.

Ashley:

Yes, we got a little carried away last night.

Verdict:

Once I had a secret love. You know what dude? What are they doing in Pulp Fiction?

Ashley:

Call Anthony Kiedis. You think I'll hardly tell. Anthony Kiedis is the dude from Red Hot.

Remi:

Chili Peppers, shut the fuck up.

Verdict:

You were with Dick last night.

Ashley:

Yeah, I mean not really. I mean not really. I mean yeah, but like just for like a little while I left early.

Remi:

He didn't come home.

Verdict:

The S has hit the fan what the? S I don't know what you're spelling dude Um, excuse me, police lady.

Ashley:

Dick's dead. What Dick is short for Richard? Oh yeah, how did he die? He fell on a table, saw he got shot by a hunter Alcohol poisoning. How did he die, zeke, tell me the truth.

Verdict:

And my secret love's no secret anymore,

People on this episode

Contributor

Ashley

Host
Contributor

Remi

Host