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. Daley. His caution was forged by films like 1955’s "The Man with the Golden Arm", which depicted drug addiction, and cemented by 1969’s "Medium Cool", where Haskell Wexler controversially filmed amidst the unrest in the streets during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
After "Medium Cool", the unofficial policy at City Hall was that almost no narrative filmmaking would be permitted. Every script was viewed as a potential political liability.
And then, there were the payoffs.
Siskel talks to director Norman Jewison, who in 1969 was trying to film an adaptation of playwright Ben Hecht’s memoir Gaily, Gaily here in Chicago. The memoir was about Hecht experience as a reporter in Chicago in the 1910s, hence Jewison interest in shooting here.
Jewison to Siskel: “I had to give a copy $10 for him to let me do one thing, and then the next copy would hit me for $20 for permissions to do another … It started to get expensive, so I left … and I have not intention of ever again making a movie in Chicago”.
But as Siskel’s article hints, a change was in the air. Daley was beginning to soften his stance slightly in his final years, allowing productions like 1975’s "Cooley High" to film here (though not without headaches).
The real sea change, however, came after Daley. It was Mayor Jane Byrne who kicked the door wide open in 1980 by giving John Landis the keys to the city for "The Blues Brothers". That iconic, over-the-top car chase through Daley Plaza was a message to Hollywood: Chicago was finally open for business.
It’s fun to contrast the Chicago of Siskel’s article with the city today. What would he think now? Today, Chicago is a bona fide production hub. The city boasts massive soundstages at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios in North Lawndale, which has been the home for blockbuster movies and long-running television series like "Chicago Fire", "Chicago P.D.", and "The Bear". The Illinois Film Production Tax Credit, established in the 2000s, has made the state financially competitive. The Chicago Film Office is now a robust, professional operation that streamlines the very processes Siskel described as a nightmare.
What makes this 1973 article particularly special is its author. Gene Siskel joined the Chicago Tribune in 1969 and quickly became its film critic. This was two years before he would first team up with the Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert for a local PBS (WTTW) show called "Opening Soon At A Theatre Near You". The iconic Siskel & Ebert, was still in the future.
But in this piece, Siskel shows off his reporting skills. It’s not a review; it’s an investigative feature, complete with multiple sources, financial data (a film could drop an estimated $10,000 a day into the local economy), and sharp analysis of municipal policy.
On the eve of the 61st edition of the Chicago International Film Festival, Siskel’s 52-year-old article is more than just a fascinating piece of history. It’s a time capsule that shows just how far Chicago has come—from a city that chased movies away to one that embraces them with open arms.
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. Daley. His caution was forged by films like 1955’s "The Man with the Golden Arm", which depicted drug addiction, and cemented by 1969’s "Medium Cool", where Haskell Wexler controversially filmed amidst the unrest in the streets during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
After "Medium Cool", the unofficial policy at City Hall was that almost no narrative filmmaking would be permitted. Every script was viewed as a potential political liability.
And then, there were the payoffs.
Siskel talks to director Norman Jewison, who in 1969 was trying to film an adaptation of playwright Ben Hecht’s memoir Gaily, Gaily here in Chicago. The memoir was about Hecht experience as a reporter in Chicago in the 1910s, hence Jewison interest in shooting here.
Jewison to Siskel: “I had to give a copy $10 for him to let me do one thing, and then the next copy would hit me for $20 for permissions to do another … It started to get expensive, so I left … and I have not intention of ever again making a movie in Chicago”.
But as Siskel’s article hints, a change was in the air. Daley was beginning to soften his stance slightly in his final years, allowing productions like 1975’s "Cooley High" to film here (though not without headaches).
The real sea change, however, came after Daley. It was Mayor Jane Byrne who kicked the door wide open in 1980 by giving John Landis the keys to the city for "The Blues Brothers". That iconic, over-the-top car chase through Daley Plaza was a message to Hollywood: Chicago was finally open for business.
It’s fun to contrast the Chicago of Siskel’s article with the city today. What would he think now? Today, Chicago is a bona fide production hub. The city boasts massive soundstages at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios in North Lawndale, which has been the home for blockbuster movies and long-running television series like "Chicago Fire", "Chicago P.D.", and "The Bear". The Illinois Film Production Tax Credit, established in the 2000s, has made the state financially competitive. The Chicago Film Office is now a robust, professional operation that streamlines the very processes Siskel described as a nightmare.
What makes this 1973 article particularly special is its author. Gene Siskel joined the Chicago Tribune in 1969 and quickly became its film critic. This was two years before he would first team up with the Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert for a local PBS (WTTW) show called "Opening Soon At A Theatre Near You". The iconic Siskel & Ebert, was still in the future.
But in this piece, Siskel shows off his reporting skills. It’s not a review; it’s an investigative feature, complete with multiple sources, financial data (a film could drop an estimated $10,000 a day into the local economy), and sharp analysis of municipal policy.
On the eve of the 61st edition of the Chicago International Film Festival, Siskel’s 52-year-old article is more than just a fascinating piece of history. It’s a time capsule that shows just how far Chicago has come—from a city that chased movies away to one that embraces them with open arms.
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