Filming In Chicago, Circa 1973
Dig through the archives of the Chicago Tribune, and you’ll always find some interesting gems. Here’s one from 52 years ago today on October 14, 1973, when a young reporter laid out exactly why Chicago was a terrible place to make a movie. That reporter’s name? Gene Siskel . Years before his famous on-air sparring with Roger Ebert, Siskel could be a sharp-eyed arts reporter, and in his article “Filmed in Chicago,” he painted a bleak picture. (Click on the image below for the full article). Back then, if you wanted to shoot a film here, you’d face a mountain of red tape and a City Hall that viewed cameras with deep suspicion. Siskel highlighted the 1973 crime film "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" —a story set in Chicago that was filmed in Boston simply because it was easier and cheaper. The city, he wrote, just didn't know "what part of its face to put before the movie camera." The main reason for the cold shoulder came from the top: Mayor Richard J...