The movie
Chicago was produced by
Cecil B. DeMille in
1927 and directed by
Frank Urson[?]. It was drawn from a play by
Maurine Dallas Watkins which was in turn based on the true crime story of
Beulah Annan, fictionalized as "Roxie Hart" (played by
Phyllis Haver[?]), her fellow death-row inmate
Belva Gaertner, and their spectacular involvement in the murder of their boyfriends.
The Watkins play was again filmed in 1942 as Roxie Hart[?], starring Ginger Rogers (in the title role), and Adolphe Menjou as Billy Flynn. Notable minor players were Nigel Bruce[?] and Phil Silvers[?]: the movie was directed by William A. Wellman.