The Girl from Chicago (1932)
46KThe Girl from Chicago (1932). 1h 10m
“The Girl from Chicago (1932) u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e* 1/2 (out of 4) u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSecret Agent Alonzo White (Carl Mahon) finds himself in Mississippi where he meets a woman named Norma (Starr Calloway). The two hit it off but the only problem is that a local gangster is also after the woman. After some drama Alonzo and Norma run off to Harlem where more trouble waits for them.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOscar Micheauxu0026#39;s THE GIRL FROM CHICAGO is a complete and utter failure. Thereu0026#39;s really no other way to look at it but you can certainly understand because, letu0026#39;s face it, the 30s just werenu0026#39;t a good time for race films. Most black filmmakers were working on extremely low budgets and more times than not they had to use non-actors for the roles. This here will explain why this film has some of the worst performances that youu0026#39;ll ever see and also some of the worst cinematography that youu0026#39;ll ever see.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are many shots in the film where the actoru0026#39;s heads are cut off. The awful framing is something that I thought might have been an issue with the print I was viewing but I compared two different prints and it was like that on both. As I said, the performances are beyond bad and itu0026#39;s so bad at times that it almost feels like the actor is trying to ruin the film by making their performance so bad. Apparently Micheaux knew it as well as there are a couple times where you can actually hear him directing the cast members? Look around the twenty-two minute mark and you can hear him off camera directing. Thereu0026#39;s also another sequence where you can see him in a mirror directing.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs I said, THE GIRL FROM CHICAGO is technically very poorly made and the performances are awful. This here pretty much kills any chance for a good movie. The story itself is your typical mystery and itu0026#39;s not overly bad but thereu0026#39;s just not much Micheaux could do.”
