Ever wonder what inspired the movie CHICAGO? Oh that's right...the Broadway musical. But did you ever wonder what inspired the Broadway musical CHICAGO? Well here's the true story. Yup, you heard me, its all based on a true story that took place in the 1920s. Kinda scary, isn't it?

     The year was 1924. "The War to end all Wars", World War I, was over. Between 1914 and 1918 soldiers had been giving their lives over in Europe. But now the suffering was over. The "Roaring Twenties" was the new era and there was cause to celebrate. Everything was changing, so it seemed, for the better. Music, radio, and motion picture had become widely popular at the start of the decade, and their popularity only grew as time went on. People stopped taking life so seriously. It seemed that the saying "You only live once" became the anthem of the times. The music of the time was jazz, which seemed to inspire a new take on every aspect of then-modern society. Most women became what you call "flappers" -jazz loving girls with short skirts and wavy bobbed hair. Many women also began to drink, smoke, and wear makeup. They danced "The Charleston" and rebelled against the parent generation. Actions that were once considered immoral by Victorian standards, became the norm of the average 20s' woman. And the men…well, most didn't complain. Vaudeville acts were at the height of their popularity along with a new form of entertainment…talking movies, or "talkies".

     Life was good. It really did seem as though the good times would never end. People were becoming more liberal, changing their appearances, living longer, and partying harder. No one could foresee the stock market crash of 29' that lead to the "Great Depression" nor did they have a clue that confessed lady-killers would walk away from courtroom trials, vindicated by all-male juries just because they were pretty celebrities.

     By the 1920s, Chicago was second to New York in popularity and prosperity. No longer just the place of a fort near the coast of Lake Michigan, Chicago had quickly become a doorway to the country's undeveloped wilderness. For many adventuresome young people, the "windy city" was often the last stop to buy supplies…or drink illegal liquor.

      Prohibition came into effect in January of 1920. Starting then, by law, no one could authoritatively make, sell, buy, or transport alcohol in the United States. However, this new ban did not stop people from drinking alcoholic beverages. So now the method of production and marketing had to change. In Chicago, like other cities such as New York and Boston, bootlegging flourished and was largely run by organized crime.

      Trial lawyers became celebrities along with their clients, largely due to extensive newspaper and tabloid publicity. In the days before television, when people were prosecuted for all different types of crimes, especially murder, their trials provided entertainment for the local population.

      During these times of deviant celebrated crimes, The Chicago Tribune hired a young reporter, Maurine Dallas Watkins, to cover the trials from a "feminine perspective." Watkins, a budding playwright studying at Yale, had decided to take a break from college so she could get some real-life experience. Her position as a journalist at the Tribune gave her just the seasoning she needed…and more.

      Watkins turned two of the cases she reported into a play, for a class assignment when she had resumed her studies at Yale. Her classroom assignment still lives on today as the basis of Bob Fosse’s highly praised musical Chicago. And the story line of her play, including some of its unfathomable to grasp concepts, is the basis for Chicago, the movie. Yes, though it may be hard to believe…"Velma Kelly" and "Roxie Hart" were real-life murderesses.

      Beulah Annan, (Roxie Hart) a gorgeous young Chicago flapper, was married to Albert Annan, (Amos Hart) a devoted garage mechanic. Unfortunately for Albert, it seemed that he wasn't enough for her, and in the spring of 1924, unfaithful Beulah shot her lover, Harry Kalstedt, when he had informed her that he was ending the affair. After fatally firing the gun, Beulah played a recording of "Hula Lou" on her Victrola phonograph as Harry lay lifeless on the floor in a puddle of blood. The headline in the paper read:

"Woman Plays Jazz Air as Victim Dies"

      After shooting Harry, Beulah phoned her husband to say that she had shot a man, in self-defense, who had attempted to rob them. But soon after, she began to drink consistently, and by the time the police had arrived Beulah was completely drunk. Loyal Albert initially backed his wife's claim, but Beulah was so intoxicated when recounting the events to the police, that she ended up confessing to the crime. In jail, the night of the murder, Beulah met Belva Gaertner, (Velma Kelly) another lady jazz killer imprisoned for shooting and killing her lover. By April 6th, the two women were posing together for press photos.

      Not long after being incarcerated, Beulah announced that she was pregnant. Upon hearing this, the prosecutor attempted to delay the trial. But luckily for Beulah, her shrewd lawyer, W.W. O'Brien, (Billy Flynn) objected. He knew that with the sympathy of the press, and the public behind her as well, his client was better off going on trial while she was expecting a baby. The Tribune's headline read:

"Beulah Annan Awaits Stork, Murder Trial"

      But knowing that it would take more than good press to win the case, O'Brien needed to come up with a winning theme of defense. What a more perfect claim than…

"We Both Reached for the Gun"

      Although everyone knew Beulah was guilty, that didn't stop her from gaining national attention. Her trial literally became one of the most acclaimed media circuses in history. The beautiful accused murderess received increasing amounts of support mail as a result of all the publicity, which was mostly phony, that was generated by O'Brien. Pictures of her appeared in newspapers throughout the country. Flowers, gifts, letters of adoration, and even marriage proposals flooded the Cook County Jail. Much like Roxie, Beulah seemed to view her role as that of a performer with matching makeup and wardrobe. Sly and quick-witted to the very end, O'Brien carefully picked a jury of all young good-looking men, of which four were bachelors.

      When Beulah took the stand, she told the jury that "there had been a gun on the bed." And when Harry and she had reached for it together she had gotten to it first and it had just "gone off." The prosecutor then pleaded with the jury not to believe her, and not to let her off just because she was beautiful...of course to no avail. Just fifty-three days after the murder of Harry Kalstedt, and after only two hours of deliberation, the jury found Beulah Annan not guilty. After being set free, she walked away from the Cook County Courthouse hand-in-hand with her husband. Beulah's "baby" was never mentioned again.

      By the end of 1923, Belle Brown Overbeck Gaertner (A.K.A. Belva Gaertner), a chic 38-year-old cabaret singer, had been divorced twice. Her young boyfriend Walter Law, who was almost 10 years her junior, was a car salesman. When Walter turned up missing one day, the police found him dead in the car that Belva had bought from him. All evidence clearly pointed to the performer herself as the shooter. She was found, drunk, with Law's blood on her body, and the gun used in the shooting in her possession. When the police questioned Belva, her response was, "I don't know, I was drunk." Later she was also quoted as saying, "It's silly to say I murdered Walter. I liked him and he loved me--but no woman can love a man enough to kill him. They aren't worth it, because there are always plenty more."

      W.W. O'Brien was not Gaertner's lawyer but her sharp legal team reshaped the facts to craft an iron-clad defense. Belva had drunk so much gin that she hadn't a clue of what had taken place that night. Belva's case went to trial one month following Beulah's. On June 6th, 1924, Belva was set free by an all-male jury. After being acquitted, she laughed, hugged her attorneys, and thanked the jury. Another woman inmate on "murderesses' row" at the Cook County Jail commented on Belva's release: "The place ain't the same without her. She was the best dancer and card player." Also, like Velma, Belva hired other women to wash and iron her clothes.

-UNDER MAJOR CONSTRUCTION-