A fictional, semi-plausible story about Chicago's O'Leary clan precedes the main event ... the real-life Great Chicago Fire, which consumes the final twenty-five minutes of the film's plot. Mrs. O'Leary (Alice Brady) overlords her three grown sons who set up shop and endeavor to make names for themselves in the bustling city, in the 1867 to 1871 time period.
The plot focuses mostly on two of the sons: Jack (Don Ameche) who strives to be a lawyer in the conservative, moralist mode; and Dion (Tyrone Power), a conniving, dishonest opportunist and master manipulator. These two are at odds on most things, but as O'Learys, they sometimes manage to act as bonded brothers. The dialogue line: "We O'Learys are a strange tribe" recurs often. Belle Fawcett (Alice Faye) is the story's love interest. She's a glamorous, talented singer and showgirl who performs on-stage at the Senate, a high-priced show palace, complete with chandeliers and top hat wearing VIPs.
As we would expect for a film in the disaster genre, all this character hubbub contains lots of dialogue, and an underlying sense of doom, since viewers know ahead of time that the melodrama is getting ready to end, courtesy of Mrs. O'Leary's cow.
In point of fact, the idea that the fire began because a cow kicked over a lantern in a straw filled barn is patently false. However, the fire did indeed start in or near the O'Leary residence at 137 DeKoven Street which today, interestingly, houses the fire department's training school.
Almost all buildings plus sidewalks, at the time of the great fire, were made of highly flammable wood. There hadn't been rain in months. And a strong wind propelled the spread of the fire. Special effects for the fire sequence are quite good, given the era of filmmaking. There are lots of close-ups in this sequence, probably because the whole affair was filmed on studio back lots; there are a few long shots, but not many. Overall, the film's B&W photography is okay. But it seems grainy by today's standards.
My main complaint is that the film spends too much time on the O'Leary family melodrama, and not nearly enough time on the fire disaster. Would like to have seen the interior of the Senate as it burned. As I recall, all of the camera shots of the fire were exterior shots.
As a disaster film, "In Old Chicago" parallels the film "San Francisco", about the great 1906 earthquake. I think I like "San Francisco" better. But "In Old Chicago" is worth viewing, mostly for the final twenty-five minute fire disaster sequence.
The plot focuses mostly on two of the sons: Jack (Don Ameche) who strives to be a lawyer in the conservative, moralist mode; and Dion (Tyrone Power), a conniving, dishonest opportunist and master manipulator. These two are at odds on most things, but as O'Learys, they sometimes manage to act as bonded brothers. The dialogue line: "We O'Learys are a strange tribe" recurs often. Belle Fawcett (Alice Faye) is the story's love interest. She's a glamorous, talented singer and showgirl who performs on-stage at the Senate, a high-priced show palace, complete with chandeliers and top hat wearing VIPs.
As we would expect for a film in the disaster genre, all this character hubbub contains lots of dialogue, and an underlying sense of doom, since viewers know ahead of time that the melodrama is getting ready to end, courtesy of Mrs. O'Leary's cow.
In point of fact, the idea that the fire began because a cow kicked over a lantern in a straw filled barn is patently false. However, the fire did indeed start in or near the O'Leary residence at 137 DeKoven Street which today, interestingly, houses the fire department's training school.
Almost all buildings plus sidewalks, at the time of the great fire, were made of highly flammable wood. There hadn't been rain in months. And a strong wind propelled the spread of the fire. Special effects for the fire sequence are quite good, given the era of filmmaking. There are lots of close-ups in this sequence, probably because the whole affair was filmed on studio back lots; there are a few long shots, but not many. Overall, the film's B&W photography is okay. But it seems grainy by today's standards.
My main complaint is that the film spends too much time on the O'Leary family melodrama, and not nearly enough time on the fire disaster. Would like to have seen the interior of the Senate as it burned. As I recall, all of the camera shots of the fire were exterior shots.
As a disaster film, "In Old Chicago" parallels the film "San Francisco", about the great 1906 earthquake. I think I like "San Francisco" better. But "In Old Chicago" is worth viewing, mostly for the final twenty-five minute fire disaster sequence.