''Don Chicago'' is a 1945 British second feature ('B')

crime comedy film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but als ...

directed by

Maclean Rogers Maclean Rogers (13 July 1899 – 4 January 1962) was a British film director and screenwriter. Selected filmography Director * ''The Third Eye (1929 film), The Third Eye'' (1929) * ''The Mayor's Nest'' (1932) * ''Up for the Derby'' (1933) * ...

and starring

Jackie Hunter Ann Jacqueline Hunter CBE FMedSci FBPharmacolS FRSB is a British scientist who is a board director of BenevolentAI. Hunter is also a visiting professor at St George's Hospital Medical School and Imperial College. She is Chair of the Truste ...

Joyce Heron Elizabeth Joyce Heron (6 November 1916 – 1 April 1980) was a British stage, film and television actress. She was a West End stage star from 1937, and was married to the actor Ralph Michael. Filmography * ''Premiere'' (1938) - Dancer * '' Wo ...

and

Claud Allister Claud Allister (born William Claud Michael Palmer, 3 October 1888 – 26 July 1970) was an English actor with an extensive film career in both Britain and Hollywood, where he appeared in more than 70 films between 1929 and 1955. Life and ...

. The screenplay was by

Austin Melford Austin Melford (1884—1971) was a British screenwriter and film director. He was the older brother of actor Jack Melford. Partial filmography Director * '' Car of Dreams'' (1935) * ''Oh, Daddy!'' (1935) * '' Radio Lover'' (1936) Screenwriter * ...

based on the 1944 novel of the same title by C. E. Bechhofer Roberts.

Plot

Don Chicago, and aspiring but timid gangster, is forced to leave the United States after crossing the wrong people, and on arrival in Britain he is treated as a dangerous criminal. He steals the

Crown Jewels Crown jewels are the objects of metalwork and jewellery in the regalia of a current or former monarchy. They are often used for the coronation of a monarch and a few other ceremonial occasions. A monarch may often be shown wearing them in portra ...

from the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

, and infiltrates the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

to make various announcements.

Cast

as Don Chicago * Eddie Gray as Police Constable Gray *

as Kitty Mannering *

as Lord Piccadilly *

Amy Veness Amy Veness (26 February 1876 – 22 September 1960) was an English film actress. She played the role of Grandma Huggett in '' The Huggetts Trilogy'' and was sometimes credited as Amy Van Ness. Veness was born Amy Clarice Beart in Aldeburgh, Su ...

as Bowie Knife Bella *

Wylie Watson Wylie Watson (6 February 1889 – 3 May 1966) (born John Wylie Robertson) was a Scottish actor. Among his best-known roles were those of "Mr Memory", an amazing man who commits "50 new facts to his memory every day" in Alfred Hitchcock's film ' ...

as Peabody *

Don Stannard Don Stannard (10 September 1915 – 9 July 1949) was a British actor. Born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, Stannard trained at RADA, graduating in 1935. He is best remembered for playing the secret agent Dick Barton in three Hammer films: '' Dick B ...

as Ken Cressing *

Charles Farrell Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor whose height was in the 1920s and 1930s and the Mayor of Palm Springs from 1947 to 1955. Farrell was known for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...

as Don Dooley *

Finlay Currie William Finlay Currie (20 January 1878 – 9 May 1968) was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television.McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. pp. 175-176; He rec ...

as Bugs Mulligan *

Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a British Liberal Party and Liberal Democrat politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochdale from 1972 to 1992. Smith was first active in local politics as ...

as Flash Kelly *

Ellen Pollock Ellen Pollock (26 April 1903 – 29 March 1997) was a British character actress who mainly appeared on stage in London's West End. She also appeared in several films and TV productions. The second child of Hanover merchant Adolf Meyer (1890-? ...

as Lady Vanessa *

Moira Lister Moira Lister Gachassin-Lafite, Viscountess of Orthez (6 August 192327 October 2007) was a South African-British film, stage and television actress and writer. Early life Born in Cape Town to Major James Lister and Margaret (née Hogan), Liste ...

as telephone operator *

Wally Patch Walter Sydney Vinnicombe (26 September 1888 – 27 October 1970), known as Wally Patch, was an English actor and comedian. He worked in film, television and theatre. Biography Vinnicombe was born in Willesden, Middlesex and began working on th ...

as sergeant * Inga Andersen

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "This film has some amusing moments, but script and production as a whole lack the slickness and pace which will turn an improbable story into a first-class farce. Jackie Hunter bears the main burden of the acting in the title role and shows promise as a film comedian, but the rest of the cast are given few opportunities to provide him with effective support." ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' wrote: "Exuberant gangster burlesque, with bright vaudeville intermissions ... The biggest laughs, and fortunately, these are very plentiful, come when Jackie Hunter and Monsewer Eddie Gray are permitted to improvise and introduce their well known radio, cabaret and music hall acts. In effect a two-man show." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Possibiities of comedy defeated by quality of the material."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Don Chicago 1945 films Films directed by Maclean Rogers 1945 comedy films British crime comedy films British black-and-white films Films set in London Films set in Hampshire Films scored by Percival Mackey 1940s British films