Upstream

Upstream (1927)

** (out of 4)

Whenever a lost film is discovered, it's always a reason to celebrate even if that film turns out not be a loser. That's pretty much the case with this forgotten John Ford film that turned up in a New Zealand archive in 2010. The film tells the story of Eric Brasingham (Earle Foxe), a poor actor who has an ego like the biggest stars in the world. He gets a lucky break and ends up becoming a hit on the London stage, which does nothing expect make his head much bigger. UPSTREAM, the title, refers to one character saying an actor must travel "upstream" if he wants to be a success. I really don't know too much about the history of this film other than it once being lost but I have to think that director Ford took this project not because he cared for the material but because the studio forced him. I say this because there's really nothing here that will remind fans of the director that he actually had anything to do with the picture. There's really none of his style, flare or energy to be found anywhere and it's rather amazing at how flat the comedy is. The film tries to be clever as well as tell a morality story but it fails on pretty much all levels. One of the biggest problems with the screenplay is that the main character is such a jerk that you don't care for him. You want to see him fail right from the start and when he becomes a success, you don't feel good for him but instead turn against him even more. The only time the screenplay comes to life are during some early scenes where we see a boarding house full of actors. One great scene has a couple song and dance men rehearsing, which causes the roof to partially cave in and getting stuff all over some people eating. UPSTREAM runs a very short 60- minutes, which is a good thing because anything longer and the film would have been a real chore to get through.

"Upstream" is an early film in the directorial career of the great John Ford. However, I saw no hints of greatness in this one and felt the story was rather unremarkable.

The film begins in a boarding house for would-be actors. Most of them barely got by and success seemed to elude most of the residents. In this atmosphere, a young actor named Brashington (subtle name, huh?) falls for the assistant to a knife-thrower. However, their romance is interrupted when Brashington is discovered and he's soon the toast of the London stage. It's obvious this guy's success has gone to his head and he envisions himself to be the next John Barrymore (that's why he kept emphasizing his profile--much like Barrymore used to do). In the process, he forgets about the girl and his friends. Time passes and he returns for a visit--and arrives on the day the girl is marrying the knife-thrower! What's next? See this film.

Earle Foxe played Brashington and you can only assume that the director encouraged him to really ham it up and play the role with absolutely no subtlety whatsoever. As a result, he comes off as more a caricature than a real person and the film is therefore very, very weak. Additionally, the story is amazingly simple--too simple--to be taken very seriously. Not a bad film but certainly not a very good one either. It's hard to imagine Ford made this--especially because around the same time, he's made a few decent films (such as "3 Bad Men") and would make one of the truly great silent films only a year later ("Four Sons").

At this point, those hardy souls who are actually interested in this Herr Graf's silent rants know pretty well what their author is like, especially in terms of his eccentricities (characteristic of course of aristocrats in general; oddities are always much appreciated in the upper classes).

After having watching Herr John Ford's "Upstream" (1927) the term eccentric has taken on a more powerful meaning in terms of the film career of the Amerikan director, especially in his talkie phase. Gott sei Dank! Herr Ford's silent career had their share of them too before he finally found his way and place in film history.

Fortunately and by a great whim of destiny, "Upstream" was miraculously found in the opposite ends of the Earth, namely New Zealand, in 2009, ( this reminds this Herr Graf to order the servants to clean up the cellar wherein there are a lot of old and dusty nitrates stored in there since the last century… ) giving in this way the chance for the new generations to watch this lost film. This Herr Graf also wants to give special thanks to the French public television station "France 3" for broadcasting the film during this summertime.

"Upstream" could be considered as one of the least "Fordian" films of its director; you should know that before Herr John Ford went to the American West, he was in London's West end. There you cannot find a trace of film testosterone, that is to say, the wild and epic far west, Irishmen punching each other or Herr John Wayne. On the contrary, "Upstream" is basically humorous vaudeville ( yes, even Herr Ford had a similar sense of humour during old silent days ), a satire about artists' hardships, their dreams, tricks, pursuit of fame and especially their struggle to make a living.

Set in a special boarding house, the landlady who owns the pace has to deal with a bunch of peculiar artists: a knife-thrower, a sister act, a medicine show man, a couple of tap dancers, a flapper, an old but experienced actor and finally Herr Eric Brashingham, the last, and least, of a famous theatrical family. He is truly a terrible actor but one day he will have the chance of his life to become a famous film star in London. This turns him into both a diva and a true imbecile.

As this Her Graf mentioned before, the film is a funny and even bittersweet comedy, a satirical look at the theatre world and the peculiar gallery of artists that are part of it, with particular emphasis on Herr Earle Foxe as Brashingham, the Shakespearian actor par excellence, a funny character type who is the exact opposite of the Fordian hero, the exception which proves the rule.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must recite Shakespeare in German.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com

I've just come from the American Museum of the Moving Image where the New York re-premiere of this 1927 John Ford film took place with great pomp and circumstance. Donald Sosin led a fine orchestra of four and a singer to cover this short (64 minutes at an announced 21 fps) feature with one of his typically well researched and executed scores.

Unfortunately, despite the high hopes of the small but eager audience, we saw an ordinary programmer without much evidence of individual style or art. Earle Fox is consistently annoying as the talentless scion of a distinguished acting family who gets the big break on his name and never shows a moment of gratitude or humility. Grant Withers and Nancy Nash are competent as the young couple. The real star turns are in support -- which is typical of Ford, I suppose; Ted McNamara and Sammy Cohen as 'Callahan and Callahan', dancing and snappy patter; but mostly Emile Chautard who gets to chew the scenery as the down-on-his-luck thespian who coaches Fox; and even more so, Raymond Hitchcock, who shows us, at the beginning of the second act, why he was such a big star on Broadway for years.

However, despite these grace notes, there isn't much of anything in the story or realization to point to any particular director, and it never rises much above the ordinary. I'm very glad to have seen it, as it's another John Ford movie to cross off my list, but once you've done the same, it's not going to be one you return to.

This is the supposedly lost film that John Ford directed that was found in the collection of former cinematographer Jack Murtagh in New Zealand when he died.

It's a wonderful comedy/drama about a group of people who live in an actor-boarding house, most who are out of work, looking for employment in their respective facets of the entertainment business. It stars Earle Foxe, one of filmdom's very early superstars who nobody today has ever heard of (!). It also has Nancy Nash, a lady who made a whole seven movies, Grant Withers appears a couple of years before he had very brief leading man status at Warner Brothers. Also featuring Francis Ford, John Ford's brother, who, at the time, was probably more famous than John because of his prior directing and acting.

No, it's not a John Ford Western, but the lovely humor that turns up is recognizable as Ford's handiwork, and it's fun to watch. Earle Foxe is really good with his non-stop arrogance and hauteur. He has a way of giving a certain look of incredible arrogance that is so funny! Even Grant Withers, an actor who can easily go over-the-top if not directed well, is restrained and quite watchable.

Jane Winton, playing a character who is listed as 'Soubrette', which usually means a female stock character in opera and theatre, derived nevertheless from the Provençal word for 'conceited', is a character in the film who is exactly that! For those who just love to gawk and find up-and-coming actors and actresses in the wings who go uncredited - look closely at the scenes in the London theatre in the audience: one of the audience is Anita Garvin! The restoration was very well done.