The Girls of Murder City
Page 34
172 Betty Bergman, Beulah’s boss, took the stand: Ibid.
172 He read Beulah’s words from his notes: CEP, May 23, 1924.
172 He insisted that Woods had never promised: CEP, May 23, 1924.
173 “In news articles, you are not allowed to write editorials”: “Pistol Fire Lights Up ‘Chicago’; or, Telling It to the Maurine,” NYW, Jan. 16, 1927.
173 “‘Beautiful’ Beulah Annan’s chance for freedom”: CDT, May 24, 1924.
Chapter 14: Anne, You Have Killed Me
This chapter was chiefly drawn from the following four articles: “Beulah, on Stand, Tells Wine Killing,” CDJ, May 24, 1924; “Tried to Kill Me, Says Beulah Annan on Stand,” CEA, May 24, 1924; “ ‘Shot to Save My Own Life,’ Says Beulah on Stand,” CEP, May 24, 1924; “Jury Finds Beulah Annan Is ‘Not Guilty,’” CDT, May 25, 1924. These reports include extensive excerpts from Beulah Annan’s trial testimony, with the American printing virtually all of it. The transcriptions closely mirror each other, though the wording of the same questions and answers occasionally differs to a minor degree from one newspaper to the next. I have synthesized this published testimony as seamlessly as possible. Unless otherwise indicated, Beulah Annan’s trial testimony and details related to the testimony come from these sources. The official court records for the trial were destroyed years ago.
175 “Her name was Hula Lou”: “ ‘Glad,’ Says Jazz Slayer,” CEA, Apr. 4, 1924.
175 Outside, on the sidewalk: “ ‘Glad,’ Says Jazz Slayer,” CEA, Apr. 4, 1924; “Dances over Body of Man She Kills,” Davenport (IA) Democrat and Leader, Apr. 6, 1924; “Woman in Salome Dance After Killing,” CDN, Apr. 4, 1924.
176 “The case of Beulah Annan is one of the most remarkable”: “Spurns Husband Who Saved Her from Gallows,” Washington Post, July 13, 1924.
177 “All you have to do is to tell the truth”: Stewart, Stewart on Trial Strategy, 170.
178 Maurine, well on her way to becoming a court expert: “Maurine Watkins Stirred by ‘Old Fashioned Girl’s’ Sin and Sashweight Story,” New York Telegram, Apr. 30, 1927.
178 The Daily News noted that Beulah: The Daily News story is quoted in “The Truth Behind ‘Chicago’ Glitz Was Fleeting for the Real Women of ‘Murderess Row,’ Chicago Sun-Times, Mar. 23, 2003.
183 There had never been a “more dramatic story”: Ibid.
Chapter 15: Beautiful—but Not Dumb!
191 In his closing argument, Assistant State’s Attorney William McLaughlin: “Jury Finds Beulah Annan Is ‘Not Guilty’ ”, CDT, May 25, 1924; Pauly, 148.
191 “No woman living would have stayed in that apartment”: “Beulah, on Stand, Tells Wine Killing,” CDJ, May 24, 1924.
191 “You have seen that face, gentlemen”: CDT, May 25, 1924; “Tried to Kill Me, Says Beulah Annan on Stand” (jump-page headline), CEA, May 24, 1924.
191 Beulah, nervous now that her part in the drama: CDT, May 25, 1924.
191 He told the jury that if they believed she lied: CEA, May 24, 1924.
192 “The verdict is in your hands”: CDT, May 25, 1924
192 He laid into McLaughlin for using: CDJ, May 24, 1924.
192 “Every defense counsel knows the value”: “Playwright Says Parents of 2 Murder Defendants Have No Monopoly on Sobs,” New York Telegram, Apr. 25, 1927.
192 “She had played the Victrola while the man”: CDT, May 25, 1924.
193 “Will this woman be convicted, or will her looks”: “Beauty in the Courts,” Decatur (IL) Review, May 25, 1924.
194 An observer watched as Beulah “wrung her hands”: “Beulah Annan Credits Babe with Melting Jury’s Heart,” Atlanta Constitution, May 26, 1924.
194 “Oh, I can’t thank you!”: CDT, May 25, 1924.
194 She kissed a juror: “Spurns Husband Who Saved Her from Gallows,” Washington Post, July 13, 1924.
195 She grasped the jury foreman’s hand: “Beulah, the Beautiful Killer!” CDT, Dec. 30, 1951.
195 “Beulah Annan, whose pursuit of wine”: Pauly, 143-44; CDT, May 25, 1924.
196 “Men on a jury generously make allowance”: “ ‘Chair Too Good for Them,’ Says ‘Gentle Sex’ Which Is Ready to Save State’s Time,” New York Telegram, Apr. 20, 1927.
196 “Mrs. Beulah Annan, Chicago’s prettiest slayer”: “Beulah Annan Fades Away to Seclusion,” CDT, May 26, 1924.
197 “It was the baby—not me,” she told: Atlanta Constitution, May 26, 1924.
197 She told another reporter that “I know now better”: “ ‘Too Slow’ for the Wife He Fought for in the Gallows’ Shadow,” Fresno Bee, Aug. 8, 1926.
198 Beulah and Al must have had a terrible fight: Washington Post, July 13, 1924.
198 “He doesn’t want me to have a good time”: Washington Post, July 13, 1924.
198 “I want lights, music and good times”: Ibid.
198 News of Beulah’s acquittal received: CDT, May 25, 1924; Pauly, xix.
199 When introduced to another reveler: Higdon, 63.
Chapter 16: The Tides of Hell
200 The mood also was completely different: “Lilacs Mock Home, Tomb of Sorrow,” CEA, May 23, 1924.
200 For much of the morning, as family friends: CEA, May 23, 1924.
200 As she did in her report on Wanda: “Simple Funeral Service Is Held for Franks Boy,” CDT, May 26, 1924.
201 “Only relatives, a few close friends, and”: CDT, May 26, 1924.
202 “How and why was Robert Franks, a fourteen-year-old heir”: Higdon, 68.
203 “He caught them lightly and deftly”: “Big Experience Either Way, Is Nathan’s View,” CDT, May 31, 1924.
203 “While it is a terrible ordeal both to my boy and”: Higdon, 89.
204 Kitty Malm, the most famous gun girl: “Kitty Malm Starts Serving Life Term,” CEA, May 29, 1924.
204 “You’ll not find me making any trouble”: “Kitty Admits She Expected ‘Rope’ Verdict,” CDT, Feb. 28, 1924.
204 “Some other woman might get off”: “Life Term for ‘Tiger’ Woman,” Lincoln (NE) Sunday Star, Mar. 9, 1924.
204 “Goodbye, Kitty, and good luck”: “Kitty Malm Sobs as She Starts to Begin Life Term,” CEP, May 29, 1924.
205 Reporter Owen Scott, seeing Kitty carted: “A Woman Jury to Try Women Slayers Urged,” Danville (VA) Bee, June 12, 1924.
205 She was intent on doing “a character analysis”: “Pistol Fire Lights Up ‘Chicago’; or, Telling It to the Maurine,” NYW, Jan. 16, 1927.
206 “In clear, precise language,” Maurine wrote: CDT, May 31, 1924.
208 “The Franks murder mystery has been solved”: Higdon, 112.
208 “Anyone who had ever spoken to either of them”: NYW, Jan. 16, 1927.
209 “He couldn’t have done it”: “ ‘Dick Innocent,’ Loebs Protest; Plan Defense,” CDT, June 1, 1924.
209 “This thing will be the making of me”: Higdon, 127.
Chapter 17: Hatproof, Sexproof, and Damp
As with Beulah Annan, Chicago’s daily newspapers captured every detail and utterance at Belva Gaertner’s trial. Unless otherwise indicated, material for this chapter comes from the following articles: “Belva Gaertner Goes to Trial on Murder Charge,” CEP, June 3, 1924; “Mrs. Gaertner on Trial,” CDN, June 3, 1924; “Mrs. Gaertner Has ‘Class’ as She Faces Jury,” CDT, June 4, 1924; “Complete Jury in Belva Case,” CDJ, June 4, 1924; “Mrs. Gaertner’s Powder Puff Is Seen Victory Aid,” CEP, June 4, 1924; “Gaertner Trial Starts,” CDN, June 4, 1924; CDJ, June 4, 1924; “Jury Holds Belva’s Fate,” CDN, June 5, 1924; “Gin Bottle and Slippers Shown at Belva’s Trial,” CEP, June 5, 1924; “State Launches Trial of Belva for Law Killing,” CDT, June 5, 1924; “Gaertner Case Given to Jury; See Acquittal,” CDJ, June 5, 1924; “Jury Finds Mrs. Gaertner Not Guilty,” CDT, June 6, 1924; “Mrs. Gaertner Found Innocent of Slaying,” CDN, June 6, 1924; “Belva ‘Checks Out’ of Jail,” CDJ, June 6, 1924; “Mrs. Gaertner Given Freedom on Murder Charge,” CEP, June 6, 1924; “Murderess Row Loses Class as Belva Is Freed,
” CDT, June 7, 1924. Also see Pauly, 149-57.
210 He was considered the “ace”: Higdon, 50.
213 Nash had made a name for himself: “Who’s Who in New City Council,” CDT, Apr. 2, 1913; “Thomas Nash, Long in City Politics, Dies,” CDT, Apr. 12, 1955.
213 “The list of Tom Nash’s clients reads”: “Litsinger Reads Nash Record in Freeing Killers,” CDT, Oct. 30, 1928.
213 He took seriously his client’s preference: “Wants Jury of ‘Worldly Men,’ ” Danville (VA) Bee, Mar. 28, 1924.
214 “She’s wrong,” one policeman told: Ibid.
214 There also was one more consideration: “Jury Finds Beulah Annan Is ‘Not Guilty,’ ” CDT, May 25, 1924.
215 Though she joked about it in the Tribune: “Pistol Fire Lights Up ‘Chicago’; or, Telling It to the Maurine,” NYW, Jan. 16, 1927.
215 “The essence of Christianity”: Ibid.
218 A reporter from the Atlanta Constitution: “Another Woman Acquitted of Murder by Chicago Jury,” Atlanta Constitution, June 6, 1924.
Chapter 18: A Grand and Gorgeous Show
224 Said Loeb, “I know I should feel sorry”: Higdon, 141.
224 The approach apparently worked: Higdon, 305.
224 The reporter, taking a shot at Leopold’s atheism: “Leopold, Loeb Trial Set for Monday, Aug. 4,” CDT, June 12, 1924.
225 “Why come to me?” he croaked: Higdon, 139.
225 “The judge entered; Superior Court, criminal branch”: CDT, June 12, 1924.
226 “The case was really ridiculous”: “Pistol Fire Lights Up ‘Chicago’; or, Telling It to the Maurine,” NYW, June 16, 1927.
228 By the middle of 1924, after having interviewed: “Women Who’ve Won: Maurine Watkins,” Syracuse (NY) Herald, June 26, 1928; NYW, June 16, 1927.
228 The American called the Tribune’s broadcast: Higdon, 159-67.
229 She wrote that Pola Negri had: “Negri’s Art Shines Through Sordid Plot,” CDT, July 27, 1924; “Fine Storm Washes Away All Their Sins,” CDT, July 30, 1924.
229 She reported on child star Jackie Coogan’s: “Jackie Coogan Is Mayor for Ten Minutes,” CDT, Aug. 7, 1924.
229 Covering a society yacht party: Author interview with former Milwaukee Journal editor in chief Dick Leonard, May 2, 2008.
Chapter 19: Entirely Too Vile
230 “The finer the spirit of the young artist”: Kinne, 266.
231 “Nobody but a newspaper worker knows”: “Feminine Punch Is Knockout,” CHE, Sept. 18, 1927.
231 “Who knows you now? Nobody”: Watkins, 15.
231 The Victorian writer George Meredith wrote: Kaplan, 541.
232 Expanding on Meredith’s writing, Baker added: Kinne, 93-94.
232 “Oh, I feel so sorry for her when I think”: Watkins, 43.
233 Baker taught classical Greek comedy: Kinne, 92.
233 In October, the New Yorker: “Chicago,” New Yorker, Oct. 2, 1926.
234 She had put down on the page: “Pistol Fire Lights Up ‘Chicago’; or, Telling It to the Maurine,” NYW, Jan. 16, 1927.
234 “It seems to me that the purpose and treatment”: Ibid.
234 “You wrote something that might have an effect”: Kinne, 267.
234 One prominent playgoer at its pre-Broadway: Pauly, x.
235 “I quite agree with Professor Archer”: Chicago file, Katherine Cornell Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
235 “Liquor runs deep down the course”: “Blind-Pigs in Clover,” Vanity Fair, Apr., 1927.
235 The jury quickly attacked West’s off-Broadway play: Mantle, 3-5.
236 When SEX went to trial, in February 1927: Watts, 90-92.
236 “Here, take these, too!”: Watkins, 47-48.
236 The New York correspondent for: “Chicago’s Lady Killers Theme of New Play,” CDT, Dec. 31, 1926.
237 “My hat is off to the genius of ”: “Hughes Lauds Play for Baring ‘Ghastly Farce’ of Courts,” San Antonio Light, Mar. 13, 1927.
237 Two months after the play opened, humorist: “How a Murder Should Be Advertised,” Western Weekly, Feb. 6, 1927.
238 The New York Times, in profiling: “The Author of ‘Chicago,’ ” NYT, Jan. 2, 1927.
238 A New York World feature on Maurine: “Pistol Fire Lights Up ‘Chicago’; or, Telling It to the Maurine,” NYW, Jan. 16, 1927.
239 Velma is described as being in her “late thirties”: Watkins, 24.
239 Maurine even offered herself up: Watkins, 41.
239 The furthest she went in acknowledging: “Chicago,” NYW, Jan. 16, 1927.
Chapter 20: The Most Monotonous City on Earth
240 The train swung north into Chicago’s sprawling: Pierce, 504.
240 The traveler coming into Chicago for the first time: Pierce, 430.
240 Once the train settled into LaSalle: “Girl Author Pays ‘Chicago’ Surprise Visit,” CEP, Oct. 11, 1927.
240 Chicago’s press agent planned: Ibid.
241 The best available seat at this late hour: Ibid.
242 Eddie Kitt, the manager, smiled at her approach: Ibid.
243 She’d been a reliable background player: Ibid.
243 New York was surprisingly tame: Lesy, 304.
243 At one point, Maurine took a trip to supposedly: Woollcott.
243 Haver would admit that herself, saying: “Roxie Kept Her Jumping,” LAT, Feb. 26, 1928.
243 “Miss Watkins is uncannily keen”: “ ‘Chicago’ Is a Murder Dance in Jazz Time,” CEP, Sept. 12, 1927.
244 The American observed that “Good-natured”: “Women Can’t ‘Go Hang’ in Chicago, It Seems,” CEA, Sept. 12, 1927.
244 “Gee, this play’s sure got our number”: “Murder She Wrote,” CDT, July 16, 1997.
244 “Roxie Hart’s supposed to be Beulah Annan”: Pauly, xxvi.
244 Chicago was indeed filled with awful: “Those Playwrights,” NYT, May 26, 1929; also “Theater,” Oakland (CA) Tribune, Nov. 10, 1926.
245 O’Brien, recognizing his own words: Pauly, xxvii.
245 The production recalled gayer journalistic: “This Thing and That Thing of the Theater,” CDT, Oct. 16, 1927.
245 It had been incorrectly “whispered about”: CEA, Sept. 12, 1927.
246 After Chicago opened, the magazine weighed in: “Young Lady,” New Yorker, Jan. 29, 1927.
246 That other popular stage authoress: Chandler, 2.
246 Vanity Fair thrilled to this “seraphic”: Vanity Fair, Apr., 1927; “Pistol Fire Lights Up ‘Chicago’; or, Telling It to the Maurine,” NYW, Jan. 16, 1927.
246-47 The New York Times’s theater correspondent: NYT, Jan. 2, 1927.
247 Frances Browning was the sixteen-year-old: “Browning’s Wife Tells Her Story,” NYT, Jan. 26, 1927.
247 A swarming crowd gave him an ovation: “Legal Veil of Secrecy May Dim Dramatics out of Browning Case,” NYW, Jan. 25, 1927.
247 An editor’s note pointed out that: “Our ‘Peaches’ Has Got to Have a Jury!” NYW, Jan. 30, 1927.
248 Among those who signed up to cover the trial: “Maurine Watkins Sees Frustrated Ambition in Woman’s Bitter Reviling,” New York Telegram, Apr. 21, 1927; “The Olympian Eye,” New Yorker, Apr. 30, 1927.
249 Time magazine pointed out that the “details”: “Carnival,” Time, Apr. 25, 1927.
249 “Strike up the band, for the show starts”: “Playwright Says Dislikes Couple Didn’t Realize Now Flame into Open Hate,” New York Telegram, May 6, 1927.
249 More than a hundred seats in the courthouse: “Miss Watkins Suggests Press Agent for Gray,” New York Telegram, Apr. 18, 1927.
250 “Feel depressed,” she wrote: Woollcott.
250 On the first day of the trial, Maurine highlighted: MacKellar, 112.
251 In Philadelphia, the play was withdrawn: “ ‘Revelry’ Withdrawn from Philadelphia Stage; ‘Unpatriotic, ’ ” CDT, Sept. 7, 1927.
251 “The play that Miss Watkins fashioned is”: “Wild Men,” New Republic, Sept. 28, 1927.
252 “Does your department pay damages to”: Woollcott.
252 Nelson B. Bell, a Washington Post film: “Offerings at the Theaters: Rialto,” Washington Post, Mar. 5, 1928.
253 The Chicago Tribune reported that: “Theater,” CDT, Dec. 6, 1927.
253 Baker wrote to Maurine from Yale: Kinne, 268.
253 “I expect it will be the making of me”: Watts, 92.
254 “I am not coming for a drink today”: Woollcott.
254 But her themes and subjects changed little: See Hearst’s International Cosmopolitan, July, Nov. 1927; July, Sept., Dec. 1928; Jan. 1929.
254 One, “Butterfly Goes Home,” once again: “Real ‘Chicago’ Play Heroine Dies Unknown,” Oakland (CA) Tribune, Mar. 14, 1928.
254 Instead she had come to believe that “the feminine”: “ ‘Chair Too Good for Them,’ Says ‘Gentle Sex’ Which is Ready to Save State’s Time,” New York Telegram, Apr. 20, 1927.
Epilogue
256 “A Woman Jury to Try Women Slayers”: Danville (VA) Bee, June 12, 1924.
256 Seven years later, in 1931, Illinois voters: “Women Juror Law Held Void by High Court,” CDT, May 1, 1931.
256 Finally, in 1939, fifteen years after Beulah: “Women to Start Serving on Juries in September,” CDT, July 9, 1939.
256 “Chicago men have suddenly become delighted”: “Men Now Eager to Get on Jury; Reason: Women,” CDT, Jan. 13, 1940.
257 “It was with a gesture of contempt”: “Spurns Husband Who Saved Her from Gallows,” Washington Post, July 13, 1924.
257 In January 1927, six months after her divorce: “Beulah Annan, Beauty Freed of Murder, Is Bride,” CDT, Jan. 19, 1927.
257 At a divorce hearing Beulah told of “blackened”: “ ‘Beautiful Slayer’ Fails to Get Decree,” Washington Post, May 8, 1927.
257 “She wasn’t very beautiful”: Oakland (CA) Tribune, Mar. 14, 1928.
257 On March 14, 1928, the Tribune wrote: “Beulah Annan, Chicago’s Jazz Killer, Is Dead,” CDT, Mar. 14, 1928.