Upperworld

Upperworld (1934)

*** (out of 4)

Above average crime drama from Warner with direction by Roy Del Ruth. A ruthless businessman (Warren William) is getting bored with his wife (Mary Astor) who's only interested in climbing the social ladder so he starts a fling with a showgirl (Ginger Rogers) but this turns out to be a mistake when her manager (J. Carrol Naish) tries to blackmail him, which leads to a double murder. There's a lot to recommend here but the key thing is the performances from the fine cast, which shines throughout the film. William is his typical cool self and Astor is in good form in the few scenes that she's in. The real highlight is Rogers who gets to play a lot of sexuality in this Pre-Code and that includes one scene where she's in a short bathing suit and trips over a bed so that her behind can be facing the camera. Dickie Moore is also good as William's son and Naish nearly steals the film as the ruthless wannabe gangster. Sidney Toler, the future Charlie Chan, plays the cop out to break William. Andy Devine rounds out the cast. The story has a few plot holes along the way and the ending is a letdown but this is still highly entertaining.

Within the context of B-dramedies, this is undoubtedly a great movie, but within the overall context of movies as a whole, it falls just short. While it utilizes an "A" cast, led by the superb Warren William, the plot just loses too much steam at the end to really feel like it meets its potential. The build-up in the movie, especially the sharp dialogue that is given to the aforementioned William, makes the movie feel even shorter than its hour-plus running time. It certainly never drags, and the grey characterization given to the various roles even makes the film food for analytical fodder. Unfortunately, the trial and cop-out yacht cruise ending come so fast and non-furious that even the most accepting of viewers will feel at least a bit cheated. Nonetheless, if you ever stumble upon this on TCM and have a little time to spare, it is more than worth your while, and is remarkably non-dated.

Warren William, Mary Astor, Ginger Rogers, and Sidney Toler star in "Upperworld," a 1934 film. William plays a railroad tycoon, Alexander Stream, whose beautiful wife (Astor) is too busy being a social butterfly to spend time with him. He drifts into a relationship with a chorus girl (Ginger Rogers) whose producer wants her to milk Stream for all she can get. She's actually a good kid and doesn't want to do that. Sidney Toler plays a policeman who's demoted after being rude to Stream, and he attempts to blackmail him when tragedy strikes.

I'm a big fan of Warren William, and he's marvelous. He's not the fun-loving, relaxed detective of later films, nor the scoundrel of earlier ones. He plays basically a good man who's lonely. Also, he has a son (Dickie Moore) who, though no one calls him a brat, is a horror show.

Nice ending. Nothing original about the story, but the acting is good.

I read another review and thought I would offer what I thought were the good points of this film. The film was a typical period B film of man finds girl when wife doesn't pay attention to him. The music is great and was later used as backdrop for short films. Also, we get to see Sidney Toler(who later became Charlie Chan) playing a Chan-like policeman; J. Carrol Naish, who starred as a gangster in many later films; Mary Astor, a star of "The Maltese Falcon", who showed some of the great facials she did in that film; and of course, and early Ginger Rogers. The dialogue is snappy and the direction more than adequate. Enjoy this one, it certainly isn't the greatest ever made, but it never claimed to be - just a film of the times. I gave it a 7 out of 10 for its overall against similar films.

As a big railroad tycoon, the imposing Warren William carries the film. Too bad this fine actor is largely unknown today, even to many movie buffs. I expect it's partly because he died relatively young (54) many years ago (1948). Nonetheless, he has the looks, bearing, and talent of an exceptional screen presence, and it's always a treat for me to catch him in a new movie.

The plot here is unexceptional— loyal husband Alex Stream (William), strays with chorus girl (Rogers) because wife (Astor) is preoccupied with high society. Problems arise when shady character (Naish) tries to blackmail Stream. Rogers is winning as the rather good-hearted lower class chorine; at the same time, her scenes with William manage a certain charm, though you know the romance has no chance.

Note the film was released in mid-1934. I expect the Production Code's shadow tamed down this screenplay in comparison with earlier William films, such as Employee's Entrance (1933) or Skyscraper Souls (1932). Those screenplays also have William playing a hard-driving businessman. But unlike here, he's also ruthless in dealings and unscrupulous with women. In short, he's got the kind of unpredictable edge that made those pre-Code films so interesting and so threatening to Depression-era big business.

On the other hand, his character here is basically sympathetic, more victim than victimizer. His business dealings remain peripheral, while the relationship with Rogers is more sweet than calculating or sexually provocative. In short, viewers will recognize familiar conventions from the 30-year Code era. The movie's smoothly done with an outstanding cast that includes a restrained Andy Devine, but is otherwise routine entertainment.