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Get a bite-sized history of Hollywood censorship and Chicago's role in the matter Almost since film began, church and community leaders, Chicagoans included, have been leery of its existence—not to mention its blatant depictions of sex and violence. In this 30-minute virtual program with Chicago Movie Tours, you'll get a bite-sized history of Hollywood censorship and Chicago's early role in the matter. This program was streamed live on our Facebook Page . Watch Excerpt This is an excerpt from our virtual program Chicago, Movies, and Censorship. In the clip, we explain why middle-class church and community leaders disliked early movie theaters (i.e., nickelodeons or "cheap theaters") and fought to have them closed down. Watch Full Video Join our movie club to access the full 30-minute video below (1080p HD) and other Chicago- and movie-based content! Browse upcoming virtual events .

Float virtually with us down a Louisiana bayou and learn why movies are filmed on these mystical bodies of water

(This Bonus Features guide accompanies our mini course Editing and Chaos in The Untouchables .) If you completed our mini course Editing and Chaos in The Untouchables and want to dig in to the 1987 gangster film even more, have a look at these two behind-the-scenes accounts.

Use the most famous sequence in a Chicago gangster film to master a disorderly editing style The staircase sequence in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1980) takes place on location in Chicago's Union Station. The 9-minute-long segment is filmed methodically, using Hollywood's classical editing style. It makes you, the moviegoer, feel grounded in the story. But the Soviet film to which The Untouchables is paying homage here uses a vastly different style of editing—chaotic and disorienting in nature—leaving you feeling jarred and confused. In this mini course with Chicago Movies Tours, you will walk virtually into Chicago's Union Station and learn: why Hollywood employs a continuous editing style and how to recognize it onscreen why and how filmmakers diverge from this style how The Untouchables and its Soviet predecessor tackle these two editing systems This mini course is part of Chicago Movie Tours' series Film 101, Chicago Style . Ready to Watch? Join our movie club to access the full course , Editing and Chaos in The Untouchables (approx. 21 min.) Watch a sneak peek of this course. Browse upcoming mini courses .

Go on location in Chicago to learn what what low-angle shots signify in The Dark Knight — and in Hollywood movies in general. In The Dark Knight , Heath Ledger's Joker encourages a bedridden Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to "introduce a little anarchy" into the established order. Themes of anarchy and power are reiterated throughout The Dark Knight in Ledger's performance, yes. But we also see both in the film's low-angle shots. In this mini course with Chicago Movie Tours, you'll take to the streets of downtown Chicago , where The Dark Knight filmed in 2007, to learn: what low-angle shots are how to recognize them onscreen what they may signify in The Dark Knight — and in Hollywood movies in general Ready to "Get Low?" Join our movie club to watch the full course (approx. 20 min.), or get a sneak peek here .

I don't like The Dark Knight , but if you run a business called Chicago Movie Tours, then you must submit to the superhero movie at some point. When I saw The Dark Knight in the theater in 2008, I repeatedly looked down at my watch. “Surely, this is almost over,” I thought to myself no more than 20 minutes into the picture. “The masked guy will take down the clown-faced guy shortly, won't he, so I can go eat dinner?” But, no, the movie dragged on (for me) for another 2 hours. In short, I dislike The Dark Knight —and most superhero movies for that matter. And that’s okay. I’m guessing you might dislike movie musicals and Shakespeare film adaptations, both of which served as my bread and butter for many a year . That’s cool. We all like different genres and characters and stories for different reasons. I’ve studied this stuff long enough to know that I can come to appreciate a film like The Dark Knight without legitimately liking it. Vertigo , Dr. Strangelove , and Taxi Driver function similarly for me. I don’t care for any of these movies. However, I can appreciate what they’re doing in terms of genre-bending, cinematography, and characterization. All this to say: if you live in Chicago and run a small business named Chicago Movie Tours , as do I, then you must defer to The Dark Knight at some point, in some way. And I have with at least 5 events: Chicago and Movies Highlights (walking tour) Batman, Route 66, and The Berghoff (YouTube video) The Dark Knight : Chicago and Movies in 60 Seconds (TikTok) Low-Angle Shots and The Dark Knight (online mini course) The Dark Knight and Chicago’s Millennium Station (virtual tour) With each of the above ventures, I will admit this: I have come to respect aspects of The Dark Knight that I did not in that darkened movie theater in 2008. For example, the film’s practical effects , stuntmen, and makeup should impress any viewer—as should the way Chicago functions as the seedy but mesmerizing Gotham City. But don't get too excited: I still have my watch handy.

On this virtual walking tour, learn about The Marx Brothers' Chicago connections Did you know The Marx Brothers comedy team lived in Chicago for more than a decade? And were you aware the films they created spoke directly to the experiences of early 20th-century immigrants? Let's get the scoop! On this virtual tour, you'll walk with Chicago Movie Tours to the Marx Brothers' Chicago home and learn about a subgenre of film called anarchic comedy. You'll also take a quick ride down a slice of historic Route 66 and see where the Marx family once owned a chicken farm. (Yes, really, a chicken farm.) To watch the full virtual walking tour (approx. 25 min.), join our movie club ! Or get a sneak peek here .

The short video below is about a road off Route 66 in the western suburbs of Chicago where the Marx Brothers comedy team once owned a chicken farm. Minnie Marx , the matriarch of the family, bought the farm in April 1917 to avoid her sons being drafted during World War I, as farmers were exempt from the draft. Before becoming successful in Hollywood, the Marx family raised chickens, rabbits, and guinea pigs on this farm.

Shot on location in Chicago, Ferris Bueller's Day Off breaks the fourth wall, but it's not the first film to do so Many filmgoers think Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is the first movie to break the fourth wall, i.e., when a character looks at the camera and interacts with the viewer. But narrative films as early as 1903, like The Great Train Robbery , use this device to engage with audiences, albeit not quite the same way. For example, the medium close-up in The Great Train Robbery of the outlaw pointing his gun at the audience is not a part of the story. (Fast-forward to the end of the video below to see what we mean. Or watch the whole film; it's worth a look!) Unlike Ferris Bueller's ongoing conversations that guide us throughout his day off, the outlaw's gunfire in The Great Train Robbery has no bearing on the rest of the 12-minute silent movie. Instead, it serves as a warning of sorts. Here's film historian Pamela Hutchinson on what The GreatTrain Robbery 's final shot could mean: "It's an especially violent act, both in real terms, and cinematic ones. [...] Placed at the opening of the film, it might act as a trailer for the shoot-'em-up action to come. As a coda, it’s a warning to the audience that it's a wild world out there, and the violence continues even after the train robber case has been closed." Life comes at you fast. You've been warned. More Fun with Ferris Bueller's Day Off

A suburban Chicago movie theater takes movie marketing to a realistic and unnerving level Picture it. It's 1930, and you have just purchased your 25-cent ticket to MGM’s prison drama The Big House , now playing at Aurora’s brand-new Tivoli Theatre . You walk into the clean, lavish lobby and are greeted with ⁣⁣ two sawed-off shotguns⁣ two riot guns⁣ a convict suit⁣ a straight jacket⁣ a warden’s uniform ⁣ But wait, there’s more! ⁣ ⁣ Behind these terrifying items sit images from the movie you’re about to see, all of which are surrounded by makeshift prison bars and highlighted with an eerie green spotlight. Yikes.⁣ ⁣ In its September 1930 issue, Exhibitors Herald World reports that the Tivoli’s manager, Edwin Lewis, asked the warden of Old Joliet Prison if he could borrow the above equipment “to exploit in an effective way” MGM’s new moving picture The Big House . ⁣ The warden obliged, and in return for “the courtesy,” he and some buddies scored free tickets to the movie. ⁣

Born in Chicago, Charmian Carr made many young girls believe a Hollywood dream was attainable Today is International Women's Day , a global day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. ​ Dozens of talented and successful women in film and TV call Chicagoland home, including Marla Gibbs Joan Cusack Kim Novak Shonda Rhimes Gillian Anderson Bonnie Hunt Daryl Hannah Raquel Welch Marilu Henner Gloria Swanson Patricia Arquette Sarah Wayne Callies Justina Machado Anna Chlumsky Jennifer Hudson Each of these women is worthy of celebration in her own right. But today, I’d like to recognize an actress I've watched so many times on the big screen that, well, you probably wouldn't believe my count if I told you: Charmian Carr​. Born in Chicago in 1942, Charmian Carr is best known for her role as Liesl, the eldest Von Trapp daughter in The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 1965). ​This onscreen appearance, Carr's first, garnered glowing reviews. Reporters across the U.S. called her " wonderful ," " aptly named ," and a newcomer audiences should definitely " watch out for ." ​Even Hedda Hopper, the gossip columnist known as the woman who scared Hollywood , praised Carr's debut as "brilliant" and further gushed that she's "never seen more personality packed into a small human parcel." It's exactly these characteristics — charm, full personality, and ingenue status — that made my childhood self want to watch Charmian Carr play Liesl over and over again. As my brother can attest, I virtually wore out our family's VHS tape of The Sound of Music because of my obsessive viewing habits. Also perfect in my 10-year-old mind — and in my adult mind, if I'm being honest — are the pink dress Carr wears during the gazebo scene with (the good-for-nothing Nazi soldier) Rolf and the way she looks at Christopher Plummer's Captain Von Trapp when he first sings "Edelweiss." For someone who'd never acted in the movies or had even sung or danced professionally, Carr made many young girls believe a Hollywood dream was attainable. After leaving show business, Carr continued to be successful. She owned an interior design firm, Charmian Carr Designs, and wrote two books, Forever Liesl (2000) and Letters to Liesl (2001). Way too young, Carr died in 2016 from complications relating to dementia. So, thank you, Charmian Carr, for your onscreen and offscreen achievements, and for inspiring young girls — and a few older ones — to seek out their own aspirations. — Kelli

Compare a suburban Chicago prison today to what it looked like in 1886, before movies filmed on location there Before embarking with Chicago Movie Tours on your walking tour of Old Joliet Prison , take a look at this map from 1886. Then, let’s see what we can learn from it. ​What Is the Map's Purpose? Created by the Sanborn Map Company , this is a fire insurance map of Old Joliet Prison, then called Illinois State Penitentiary. Its purpose was to help fire insurance agents determine the total risk associated with the property. Since 1867, the Sanborn Map Company has published maps and atlases of more than 12,000 cities and towns in the U.S. Now, thousands of those drawings live online via the Library of Congress for anyone, including you, to peruse. How Do We Read the Map? One of the first things we might notice about this map of Old Joliet Prison—as well as the Sanborn Map collection in full—is how colorful it is. Sanborn Maps use symbols—in the forms of colors, line styles, and abbreviations—so fire insurance agents can quickly and easily interpret complex information. For example, building construction types are represented by colors (see image below): Reddish/pink = brick and tile Yellow = frame or wood Olive green = fire resistive Gray = adobe Blue = stone, limestone, and concrete ​​Likewise, walls, doors, and roofs are designated by line types: Solid line = solid wall Breaks in lines = doorways and passageways Dashed lines = wall construction or a mansard roof What Can We Learn from the Map? Now that we know the map's origin and purpose, what can we learn from it about Old Joliet Prison? ​ First, we can tell that Old Joliet Prison is constructed almost overwhelmingly of stone —limestone to be exact. ​Second, any brick used during construction was apparently relegated to places where coal and fire were necessary: the bakery, annealing ovens , and coal storage, for example. Third, we can conclude that—other than the warden's offices and family dwelling (yes, the warden's family would have lived onsite)—most buildings, as one might expect from a prison, contained few open passageways and interior doors. In fact, if you look closely at the map, you'll find the words No Openings written atop some of the structures. That said, several windows adorn Old Joliet Prison. ​Let's Visit! On Chicago Movie Tours' two-hour walking tour of this abandoned suburban Chicago prison , you’ll learn more about the architecture of the correctional center as well as those who built and lived within it. You will also hear about Hollywood's century-long relationship with Old Joliet Prison. ​In the meantime, take another look at this map along with the locations and descriptions of the buildings. You’ll be surprised how different the facility looks today, once you pass through its barbed-wire fence and imposing limestone walls.