Upperworld

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.

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.

You are gently lulled into a simple, light hearted story but about half way through you find your your emotions are turned upside down as you're engrossed in something much darker with an unnerving tension to keep you on the edge of your seat.

What's refreshing, when compared with some lesser movies from this time is how well the characters have been written. Apart from Mary Astor who plays the wife with the coldness of alabaster needed to make the story work, the rest have a depth and complexity which makes them fascinating.

Warren William's multi-millionaire is a real person and like everyone has his faults but is essentially likeable. When he makes a wrong call, you get annoyed with him - that's the strength of good writing - you feel we know a character well enough not just to sympathise with them but to be angry with them because we don't want them to do.

The story constantly switches the way it asks you whether what William's character does is perfectly acceptable or morally wrong. You will know with certainty that of course it's fine and then moments later you will be thinking: no, how could you! It's a clever story, cleverly directed.

Ginger Rogers also plays a wonderfully complex character. She seems to be absolutely lovely but you just don't know. She has an enormously attractive natural and infectious enthusiasm for life, just by watching her you will find yourself smiling inexplicably. You want so much for her to be as lovely as she seems but even though you get to see her from a couple of different perspectives, you are still never quite sure. A very well written and well-acted character.

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.

Funny seeing other reviewers complain about what this movie is not. Not that they are wrong; if you want a big emotional dramatic finish, you're better off with Gone With The Wind or Casablanca or a dozen other movies which do just that.

This could have been one of those movies, but it isn't; Upperworld is a gentler film. Watching this after, oh, Skyscraper Souls, immediately shows the difference: our central tycoon is not a man of steel and grit but a mere human being, trapped by his own success. He's a devoted husband and father to the extent his life allows; his wife is equally devoted -- and divided.

This trap is of course also a world of privilege, and Upperworld is interesting for highlighting the effect this has on others -- in this case, the policeman who makes the mistake of treating our wealthy protagonist as subject to the same laws as everyone else. Most movies would have this as central plot; an open/shut issue to either satisfy or outrage the viewer.

His driver tells us straight up that the best place to find a girl is not on stage but in a library. But his life doesn't involve libraries; chance encounter brings him a showgirl instead. Their subsequent friendship isn't based on extramarital desire but simply companionship. But (as we soon see) even that he cannot pursue without consequences.

So we have what starts out almost as romantic comedy. Made in 1934 but written years earlier, the Depression hardly registers. By the time Warren William and Ginger Rogers are singing by the piano, it feels almost like a deliberate effort to take us away from the man-at-the-top characters he was portraying in 1933.

By the middle, we've moved into more of a crime-story vein, as J Carroll Naish's character becomes more involved. What seemed like comedy becomes closer to tragedy.

While we are accustomed to seeing the last act of such a drama wrought with more flash and sizzle, legal procedure is actually more humdrum than movies usually make out; the gentle tension here is nicely carried in the slow-but-sure pacing, and Warren William's measured performance.

As I said at the top, plenty of movies have more explosive finishes. But Upperworld isn't so much about dramatic finish as showing that difficulties and disappointments exist even for the apparently successful -- trapped by their own success.