Cheat You Fair: The Story of Maxwell Street
Encyclopedia
Cheat You Fair: The Story of Maxwell Street is a 90 minute documentary film, narrated by actor Joe Mantegna
, which details the rise and fall of Chicago's Maxwell Street
. Created by veteran documentary filmmaker, Phil Ranstrom
, this film is presented in 3 acts—part history, part blues and part expose' about the fight to save the market from being destroyed by the University of Illinois at Chicago
(UIC).
of 1871. Some of the earliest inhabitants were Jewish settlers who came to America
during the turn of the 20th century to escape Antisemitism in eastern Europe and Russia
. Those who landed at Maxwell Street began selling products from pushcarts and Maxwell Street began to emerge as a place to shop and find a bargain.
The second act of this film looks at the partnerships between blacks and Jews on Maxwell Street and how they influenced modern music. Maxwell Street is considered to be the birthplace of the "electric, urban blues", a style of music which led directly to rock & roll. During the Great Migration (African American)
, Chicago was an arrival point for thousands of African-Americans, and Maxwell Street was a place where blues artists could earn a living playing for tips in the streets. Because so many artists were playing the blues in one relatively small area, Maxwell Street became the place to learn and to compete with other artist, which accelerated the blues movement, worldwide. With the birth of record companies like Ora Nelle Records, Delmark Records
and Chess Records
, Maxwell Street became the epicenter for the blues and numerous Maxwell Street artists wrote songs that were later were taken by major rock & roll acts like Elvis Presley
and Led Zeppelin
, which is detailed extensively in the film. Featured are interviews and performances with blues artists, Bo Diddley
, Buddy Guy
, Junior Wells
, Charlie Musselwhite
, Jimmy Lee Robinson, Eddie Burks
, Frank Scott Jr., Tony Mangiullo and 99-year-old Uncle Johnny Williams
. Chicago author, Studs Terkel
, Little Italy activist, Florence Scala, and Maxwell Street icon, Nate Duncan, are also featured. During the making of this film, several of the principal subjects died, including Terkel, Scala, Duncan, Robinson, Burks, Williams and Diddley, and this film includes their last interviews.
The third act of the film examines the shady deals that destroyed this thriving market and the great loss suffered by thousands of poor people. It also explores the importance of a third place like Maxwell Street and what that means to communities.
, who said, "This is one of the most remarkable pieces of work I've ever seen. Anyone with any affection for Chicago must see this film."
; the 2008 Red Gorilla Festival in Austin, Texas ; the 2008 Deep Blues Festival, Minneapolis, MNGene Siskel Film Center
, Chicago, IL; the Skokie Theater, Skokie, IL ; at the Cultuurcentrum in Antwerp, Belgium; and in various cities in Poland
in 2008.
Joe Mantegna
Joseph Anthony "Joe" Mantegna, Jr. is an American actor, producer, writer,director, and voice actor. He is best known for his roles in box office hits such as Three Amigos , The Godfather Part III , Forget Paris , and Up Close & Personal...
, which details the rise and fall of Chicago's Maxwell Street
Maxwell Street
Maxwell Street is an east-west street in Chicago, Illinois that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West. The Maxwell Street neighborhood is considered part of the Near West Side and is one of the...
. Created by veteran documentary filmmaker, Phil Ranstrom
Phil Ranstrom
Phil Ranstrom is an American documentary film director living in Chicago, Illinois and has been writing, producing and directing documentaries since the early 1980s...
, this film is presented in 3 acts—part history, part blues and part expose' about the fight to save the market from being destroyed by the University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
(UIC).
The making of...
During the summer of 1994, over a period of several months, filmmaker, Phil Ranstrom, began filming the final days of the Maxwell Street market, along with Assistant Producer, Bill Griffith and Principal Videographer, Tony Medici. Focusing on the struggle by concerned citizens to save the market, Ranstrom followed the fight to prevent the city's sale of the land to UIC, and, later, the unsuccessful attempt by the Maxwell Street Coalition (MSC) to preserve the area as an historic district. Ranstrom was helped extensively by MSC member, Prof. Steve Balkin, as well as Big Shoulders Digital Video Productions, who became the Executive Producer of the production. Principal Editor, Justin Kulovsek, volunteered months of his time, in order to log, organize and edit the volumes of photographs, footage and music accumulated over the course of over a decade.The title
The name "Cheat You Fair" came from the famous store at the corner of Maxwell and Halsted Streets, which exemplified the spirit of bargaining that went on there, with both the buyer and seller trying to "cheat" the other "fairly".The story
The first act of the film explores the history of Maxwell Street, which began after the Great Chicago FireGreat Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...
of 1871. Some of the earliest inhabitants were Jewish settlers who came to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the turn of the 20th century to escape Antisemitism in eastern Europe and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Those who landed at Maxwell Street began selling products from pushcarts and Maxwell Street began to emerge as a place to shop and find a bargain.
The second act of this film looks at the partnerships between blacks and Jews on Maxwell Street and how they influenced modern music. Maxwell Street is considered to be the birthplace of the "electric, urban blues", a style of music which led directly to rock & roll. During the Great Migration (African American)
Great Migration (African American)
The Great Migration was the movement of 6 million blacks out of the Southern United States to the Northeast, Midwest, and West from 1910 to 1970. Some historians differentiate between a Great Migration , numbering about 1.6 million migrants, and a Second Great Migration , in which 5 million or more...
, Chicago was an arrival point for thousands of African-Americans, and Maxwell Street was a place where blues artists could earn a living playing for tips in the streets. Because so many artists were playing the blues in one relatively small area, Maxwell Street became the place to learn and to compete with other artist, which accelerated the blues movement, worldwide. With the birth of record companies like Ora Nelle Records, Delmark Records
Delmark Records
Delmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
and Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
, Maxwell Street became the epicenter for the blues and numerous Maxwell Street artists wrote songs that were later were taken by major rock & roll acts like Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, which is detailed extensively in the film. Featured are interviews and performances with blues artists, Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
, Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
, Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...
, Jimmy Lee Robinson, Eddie Burks
Eddie Burks (blues musician)
Eddie Burks was an American blues harmonica player and singer, well known for playing in Maxwell Street Market, Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s, whose later career included a number of album releases, frequent touring, and work on the festival circuit.-Life and career:Burks was born on September...
, Frank Scott Jr., Tony Mangiullo and 99-year-old Uncle Johnny Williams
Johnny Williams (blues musician)
Johnny Williams was an American Chicago-based blues guitar player and singer, who was one of the first of the new generation of electric blues players to record after World War II.-Early life and career:...
. Chicago author, Studs Terkel
Studs Terkel
Louis "Studs" Terkel was an American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for The Good War, and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.-Early...
, Little Italy activist, Florence Scala, and Maxwell Street icon, Nate Duncan, are also featured. During the making of this film, several of the principal subjects died, including Terkel, Scala, Duncan, Robinson, Burks, Williams and Diddley, and this film includes their last interviews.
The third act of the film examines the shady deals that destroyed this thriving market and the great loss suffered by thousands of poor people. It also explores the importance of a third place like Maxwell Street and what that means to communities.
Reviews
"Cheat You Fair" was has been critically acclaimed by various critics and journalists, including Chicago Tribune writer, radio host and author of 12 books, Rick KoganRick Kogan
Rick Kogan is a Chicago newspaperman, a Chicago radio personality and a noted author.- Early life and education :A native of Chicago's Old Town neighborhood, Kogan was born the son of longtime Chicago newspaperman Herman Kogan and longtime Chicago literary and journalism fixture Marilew Kogan...
, who said, "This is one of the most remarkable pieces of work I've ever seen. Anyone with any affection for Chicago must see this film."
Showings
Completed in 2007, "Cheat You Fair" premiered at the 2007 Chicago International Documentary Festival and was shown during the 2008 Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
; the 2008 Red Gorilla Festival in Austin, Texas ; the 2008 Deep Blues Festival, Minneapolis, MNGene Siskel Film Center
Gene Siskel Film Center
"The Film Center" redirects here. Not to be confused with the Film Center Building in New York CityThe Gene Siskel Film Center, formerly The Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and commonly referred to as The Film Center or The Gene Siskel, is the cinematheque attached to The...
, Chicago, IL; the Skokie Theater, Skokie, IL ; at the Cultuurcentrum in Antwerp, Belgium; and in various cities in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in 2008.