Up the River

UP THE RIVER is a landmark in many aspects. It's the feature film debut for both Humphrey Bogart AND Spencer Tracy. It is the only time these two lifelong friends worked together. John Ford wanted to make a prison drama, but MGM, the bigger studio had plans for THE BIG HOUSE. John turned his prison film into a comedy, with convict Spencer Tracy breaking IN and OUT of prison at will. My video copy is off a 16mm print that was surely on it's way out. Through the scratches, breaks in the film, Bogies and Spence's screen presence explode on the screen. You know stardom is around the corner for both.

This is an OK film that would probably not be worth watching if it were not for its place in film history - the only pairing of Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy and an early performance for the both of them. Here the pair both play a couple of convicts. Bogart is Steve Jordan, finishing up a sentence for manslaughter, and Tracy as Saint Louis is just starting one at the same prison. There are several strange aspects to this film about prison life and what comes afterwards. The first is that Bogart is playing the naive smiling kid whose one punch landed him in prison - you just don't run across a smiling nice-guy Bogart committed to celluloid every day of the week . The second odd aspect is that Tracy is playing a seasoned con, though with a bit of a heart of copper if not gold. It's strange to see Tracy taking "the kid" Bogart under his wing when in fact Bogart was a year older than Tracy. What makes the film better than average is that it is a believable performance by both actors.

The other strange aspect of this film is the depiction of prison life. The women are housed in the same prison as the men with just an iron gate separating the areas where the two groups have outdoor recreation. Bogart, who works in the prison office, gets to wear a suit and tie when he is at work there. The warden's little daughter walks around unguarded and treats the convicts all like uncles, and they reciprocate by treating her like a niece and reading her stories. The whole thing comes across like you are looking at life inside a Catholic high school with strict rules about the interaction of men and women, not a prison where you might have a few characters like Bogart's and Tracy's, but by and large most of these guys didn't get here by dropping out of Sunday school.

The worst part of the film is a rather inane musical number that gets inserted into the film at about the half-way point, with the convicts putting on a show. Ford got better at putting music into his films later on, but here it just intrudes on the plot.

I'd recommend viewing this. It's enjoyable enough, just be aware that the elements are in shaggy shape and that even the restored version by Fox has lots of skipping frames.

This is a film that can best be appreciated by old movie buffs and film historians instead of someone watching it for its aesthetic value. If you had seen this movie at the time it was made, you never would have suspected that this film was the work of one of Hollywood's greatest directors (John Ford) and featured two mega-stars (Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart). That's because all were early in their careers and they were still years from being recognized for their talents. While John Ford had been in Hollywood for some time, he had yet to make his mark. 1930 marked the beginning of Tracy's Hollywood career--having starred in three minor films earlier that year without any particular distinction. And finally, Humphrey Bogart was in his second film--his first where he actually got billing (having appeared many years earlier in a film as an extra). All three were far from their later polished selves, but it sure was fascinating seeing this film because of its historical pedigree. And, because of their future greatness, this film was a training ground--helping to mold them into stars and a top-notch director.

Now if you ignore all this, the film is a very routine film and my rating of 5 might just be a tad generous. Bogart talks too fast but is otherwise fine and Tracy just comes off as a jerk. Probably the most interesting acting performance in this little film was Warren Hymer as the dumb but likable comedy relief. As for Ford, it's obvious that this was a quickly made B-film because a few scenes should have been re-shot--actors flubbing their lines and yet it was allowed to remain in the film. The plot, is mildly fun but not especially memorable.

There are a few bizarre moments here and there in the film and most of them happen in this rather luxurious and happy prison. First, the warden's young daughter (about 7 or so) hangs out with the prisoners and doesn't seem to be watched by anyone. Fine parenting, huh? Also, men and women are housed in the same prison--with not very much separating them! Finally, the prison seems like a pretty nice place to live--with baseball games, social workers handing out treats and everyone getting along like one big happy family! No wonder Tracy and Hymer didn't mind being sent back to prison!!

The plot has been discussed in other reviews, so I'll leave it to them. I do need to point out, though, that there is a serious problem with the quality of the movie. Because it was old and mostly forgotten, the print shown on Turner Classic Movies is still absolutely horrid and probably beyond restoration because repeatedly bits and pieces of the film are simply missing. As a result, scenes are often VERY choppy and you miss a lot of the dialog. It looked as if they'd decided to just randomly chop out about 5 minutes of the film and do it in 10 or 20 second bursts! TCM almost always shows the very best available prints, so I'd assume that the DVD of this film which was just released in the John Ford Mega-set is also choppy and difficult to watch.

Up the River (1930)

** (out of 4)

John Ford's prison comedy has been forgotten in the director's filmography and what limited knowledge people have about it is more with its stars. Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart made their first big splash on the big screen here and this would be the only film they'd do together. In the film, Bogart falls in love with a female prisoner (Claire Luce) and they plan to get married once she gets paroled but a man from her past comes after Bogart once he's released from jail. Needing help, two buddies (Tracy, Warren Hymer) escape from prison and go after the man. There's also a subplot dealing with a big baseball game between two prisons but this doesn't get too much attention. I was left pretty disappointed with this film because Ford's direction really doesn't bring too much life to the screenplay, which, to the director's credit, is all over the place. It starts off as a comedy but then we switch gears to a rather strange drama. Some of this might be due to Ford having the screenplay rewritten after MGM's The Big House stole some of his ideas. The final thirty minutes drag by pretty badly as this is the same time that the laughs stop. There's some funny stuff early on including one scene where the men are getting ready for bed, four to a cell, and they realize they only have three pillows. Tracy's film debut is a very good one and I was shocked to see that Tracy personality on full display at such an early time in his career. That street tough attitude mixed with his cocky side comes off very well here. I was also shocked at Bogart who certainly isn't playing what we'd come to see in the future. Here he's constantly smiling, getting pushed around and I guess you'd say he plays a real dork. He's actually very good here, which shocked me since some of his pre-fame roles feature him looking pretty silly. From what I read, Bogart and Ford hated one another after Bogart called the director "Jack" so this was sadly the only film they made together. The Fox DVD of this is in incredibly bad shape with some jumps in the print and cuts in the soundtrack.

Wonderfully entertaining comedy drama about two prisoners (Bogart and Luce) who fall in love and what happens after Bogart is paroled. Spencer Tracy plays a flamboyant convict who comes to their aid when the two lovebirds are threatened by some very bad men. Lighthearted fun, set in a prison only Hollywood could dream up. An early John Ford talkie,this was made when and Bogart and Tracy were at the beginning of their careers. They are a blast to watch, and Luce is charming as a timid young woman who has been imprisoned on the flimsiest of charges. Some great comedic moments. A must-see for fans of two of the greatest actors of the 20th century.