In Old Chicago Movie Review

You know the O'Learys? Who had the famous cow that started the Chicago fire?

Well, this is not their story.

In Old Chicago imagines the (here, nearly fictional) O'Leary family in the days before the infamous fire, turning Mrs. O'Leary into a widow and giving her two sons (Tyrone Power and Don Ameche) who ply the opposite sides of the tracks. The first two-thirds of the film concerns the O'Leary boys -- one has political aspirations and one is quite the opposite, setting up the machinations that will come to play when that stupid cow kicks over that carelessly lit lantern. Much like the modern-day Titanic, the disaster to follow is just a backdrop for the character study. And unfortunately, In Old Chicago can't hold our interest for much more than five minutes on this account.

Alice Faye won an Oscar playing the head of the O'Leary household, and the film was nominated for Best Picture -- a testament to the nearly $2 million spent on it and its amazing special effects. That's not a CGI fire, folks.