The Essential Chicago Movies

A substantial insurance payment could mean either financial salvation or personal ruin for a poor black family.

On a long-distance train trip, a man finds romance but also finds himself in danger of being killed, or at least pushed off the train.

A Chicago playwright uses self-hypnosis to travel back in time and meet the actress whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel.

The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.

Jake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.

Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.

Janey is new in town and soon meets Lynne, who shares her passion for dancing in general and "Dance TV" in particular.

Two street-wise Chicago cops have to shake off some rust after returning from a Key West vacation to pursue a drug dealer who nearly killed them in the past.

Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.

A brash, cocky high school senior, tired of skipping school to spend a boring day at home, is determined to enjoy an epic day roaring around his favorite Chicago sites, enlisting his best friend and girlfriend to join him on the adventure.

A babysitter must battle her way through the big city after being stranded there with the kids she's looking after.

Laid back commitment-phobe Buck babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her cute younger brother and sister.

An eight-year-old troublemaker, mistakenly left home alone, must defend his home against a pair of burglars on Christmas Eve.

A homeless man and his young companion, who survive by conning people, meet a woman who may need them even more than they need her.

A woman ditches her small-town life for big-city Chicago, where she becomes a sensation as a radio-show host.

Dr. Richard Kimble, unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a seasoned U.S. Marshal.

After three kidnappers lose the baby they have kidnapped, both the cops and kidnappers go looking for the baby.

A hopelessly romantic Chicago Transit Authority ticket booth operator is mistaken for the fiancée of a comatose patient.

In a desperate attempt to win a basketball match and earn their freedom, the Looney Tunes seek the aid of retired basketball champion, Michael Jordan.

One person can keep a family together and, when that one person is gone, a family can be torn apart.

When a woman's long-time friend reveals he's engaged, she realizes she loves him herself and sets out to get him, with only days before the wedding.

A newspaper reporter enrolls in high school as part of research for a story.

A rich businessman's assumption that his new colleague is gay leads him to ask the man to keep an eye on his mistress. However, the man is not gay--and he begins to fall for the woman himself.

A man who falls in love with the woman who received his wife's heart must decide which woman it is who holds his heart.

Rob, a record store owner and compulsive list maker, recounts his top five breakups, including the one in progress.