Synopsis
The story of a serial killer known as "Georgie Porgie." The Chicago turnpike is threatened over a three-day period as the police try to catch him by blocking the whole area.
1964 Directed by Robert Altman
The story of a serial killer known as "Georgie Porgie." The Chicago turnpike is threatened over a three-day period as the police try to catch him by blocking the whole area.
Notable not only for being an early entry in Robert Altman's career, but also for being one of the earliest produced made-for-TV movies period. Nightmare in Chicago appears to be a rudimentary crime thriller on the surface, covering an entire night of the police tracking down a killer of blondes who wears sunglasses at night known only as "Georgey Porgey." In splitting the focus down the middle between law enforcement and exploring both the method and madness of the murderer, Altman imbues this otherwise basic story with a hypnotic vibe that left me feeling like I just pulled an all-nighter myself. You know that sensation when you end your day at the crack of dawn? That exactly, but in a…
The first one of Altmans films i've liked. A fun little detective story split between the murderer and the cops trying to find him (and something about a military convoy which seemingly just doesn't matter) and like with The Delinquents theres some strong promise here but unlike The Delinquents its not held back by being more or less a PSA about the dangers of juvenile delinquency. Instead this is held back mainly by the fact that its an early example of a TV movie and one that hasn't been kept all too well and as far as I can tell this was only aired a handful of times and what you can find online are uploads of VHS recordings that are probably pushing 60. But this is a fun little time that makes me excited to see for myself where Altman goes.
You can see glimpses of greatness throughout this film, and it's evident by watching it that the filmmaker would one day be a real talent.
I Watched This In 144p But Believe That I Saw More Clearly Than The Killer Who Wears Thick Black Sunglasses At Night Time
Incredibly straight forward killer on the run film. The voices in the killers head was a nice touch but for the most part the movie was repetitive and extremely dragged out. The cheesy glasses gimmick was also pretty dumb and resulted in an underwhelming finale. Not the best Altman film but definitely not the worst, so glad I am on the verge on getting into the good Altman films.
The score was annoying, a few slick camera moves couldn’t salvage this Altman for me.
Solid, average "TV Movie," is really just an episode of an anthology show Robert Altman did during his television days padded out to barely feature-length.
Has an interesting Hitchcockian premise, and an inspired murder sequence in public. As well as some quite racy (for the time) moments of women scantily dressed putting on a show in a strip club. Also a very jazzy (and near Bernard Herrmann-Esque) score from a young John Williams (billed as "Johnny Williams.")
Basically for completists of Altman's work. Since he was a Director for hire good luck trying to find his inimitable style here.
Love the setup for this one (by William P. McGivern, The Big Heat): a serial killer of "cheap blondes," nicknamed Georgie Porgie by the police, is roaming around Chicago at the same time that the state cops have their hands full ensuring the safe passage of a top secret government convoy on the tollway. The SAME tollway that the killer has been tracked to! If it's 1964 and the Interstate Highway system was designed and built for the cold war, you can bet that the convoy is carrying nukes.
Great score by "Johnny" Williams. There's a Star Wars-y theme he develops for the convoy, and puts some great swinging jazz in the strip club murder scene. Altman layers sound on…
Happy Birthday Mr Altman. Early made for TV movie, raggedy YouTube stream.
Music "Johnny Williams"
We all gotta start somewhere.
Nightmare in Chicago, the second feature film from Robert Altman, is notable for a few reasons. First and most obvious, it's the second feature film from Robert Altman. Second, it's the first collaboration between Altman and a young John Williams (credited here as Johnny Williams, much to my delight). And thirdly, it's one of the first made for TV movies, in fact created and broadcast originally under the title Once Upon a Savage Night, an episode of the television serial Kraft Suspense Theatre, before being expanded from 60 to 80 minutes for a later airing.
It's also perhaps notable for being a serial killer story right on the cusp of the age of the American serial killer. Just as this…
Kind of crazy to think in 1964, TV viewers might have tuned in to a middling crime thriller without any clue that it's director would become *Robert Altman* and it's composer would become *John Williams*.
Solid early Altman effort that is not particularly Altmanesque. Released 6 years before MASH, Nightmare in Chicago demonstrates a solid workmanship that betrays Altman’s beginnings in industrial films. There is a lot of nice location shooting, and the killer’s behavior/motivation is surprisingly perverse given the year of release.