Alta Roda

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.

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.

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'll think, when you start this movie, that it's a silly Ginger Rogers comedy. It does start out that way, but before long, it turns into a pretty heavy drama with twists and turns that will shock you. For a pre-Fred Ginger, and the star who no doubt hated Melvyn Douglas's success, Warren William, check out this romantic drama, Upper World.

Warren is a famous millionaire with a beautiful house, beautiful wife Mary Astor, and adorable and playful son Dickie Moore. He's completely satisfied, except for the small disagreement that Mary likes hosting high-society parties and he doesn't. Then, a random occurrence on his yacht connects him with burlesque dancer Ginger Rogers. He rescues her from drowning, then accompanies her back to her apartment, then stays and cooks breakfast with her. Before long, he's buying her twelve thousand dollar diamond bracelets and sitting in the front row during her very risqué dance numbers. Ginger's boyfriend, J. Carrol Naish, finds out about the affair and hopes to blackmail Warren, but his plans go awry.

This isn't the most dramatic movie out there, and it probably won't be your favorite, but it's worth watching if it appeals to you. There are so many movies from the 1930s that have been forgotten about, and many of them are quite good.

The Upperworld of railroad tycoon Warren William almost crashes into a show girl rather abruptly with his speeding power boat nearly running down a swimming Ginger Rogers.

Now more than likely she would have picked herself up, dusted herself off and started all over again as she did in a song she sung in a later film normally. But Warren William's marriage to Mary Astor is running into some rough seas itself. She's too busy being a socialite to have time for her husband and son, little Dickie Moore. Consequently William is ripe for a relationship with Rogers. One that her sleazy boyfriend J. Carrol Naish is ready to take advantage of.

One of the things I found fascinating with Upperworld is the rather rigid roles for the sexes that are defined. William is king of his castle and the wife is their for him. Astor is condemned for wanting something more than being the dutiful wife and mother, a career of her own is not even mentioned as a possibility. She's condemned for being social butterfly and later is properly repentant when tragedy strikes.

As for Rogers even though she gets into this quite by accident, she's still a homewrecker and a person in a not quite respectable profession of showgirl.

Upperworld is a story of tragedy and scandal and the leads are given a good group of supporting players fitting comfortably into roles they've all played before. Please make note of Andy Devine as the chauffeur and Robert Grieg as the butler to William and Astor. Both serve as confidantes at various times of the film to William. Also note Sidney Toler as the beat cop and righteous voice of working class America determined to bring Warren William down. His deductions are worthy of Charlie Chan.

This view of the mores of high society is what we get from Upperworld, a most typical product of the working class studio that was Warner Brothers back in the day.