''Up the River'' is a 1938 American
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Alfred L. Werker and starring
Preston Foster
Preston Stratton Foster (August 24, 1900 – July 14, 1970), was an American actor of stage, film, radio, and television, whose career spanned nearly four decades. He also had a career as a vocalist.
Early life
Born in Ocean City, New Jersey ...
and
Arthur Treacher
Arthur Veary Treacher (, 23 July 1894 – 14 December 1975) was an English film and stage actor active from the 1920s to the 1960s, and known for playing English types, especially butler and manservant roles, such as the P.G. Wodehouse valet c ...
and featuring
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson
Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the f ...
. The film is a
remake of a 1930
film with the same name directed by
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
and starring
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
and
Humphrey Bogart in the roles subsequently played by Foster and
Tony Martin. The remake changed the
sport
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
the plot revolves around from
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
to
football.
[Wood & Pincus p.149]
Plot
A passenger on a luxury liner ends up in a card game with men who take him for more than $20,000. After docking and graciously offering them a ride in a limousine, the man reveals his real name, Willis, and real identity, police officer, to the two men who swindled him, Chipper Morgan and Darby Randall.
Morgan and Randall are sent to prison, where, to their amazement, Willis is the new warden. Their young cellmate Tommy Grant is on the prison's football team while Tommy's sweetheart Helen Lindsey awaits his parole.
When the team improves significantly thanks to Morgan and Randall and a big game is arranged with a team from another prison, wagers are made, jailbreak schemes are hatched and complications arise. Morgan and Randall are unable to get to the game until the final play, but their touchdown makes the warden happy and their fellow prisoners as happy as prisoners can be.
Cast
*
Preston Foster
Preston Stratton Foster (August 24, 1900 – July 14, 1970), was an American actor of stage, film, radio, and television, whose career spanned nearly four decades. He also had a career as a vocalist.
Early life
Born in Ocean City, New Jersey ...
as 'Chipper' Morgan
*
Tony Martin as Tommy Grant
*
Phyllis Brooks
Phyllis Brooks (July 18, 1915 – August 1, 1995) was an American actress and model. She was born in Boise, Idaho. Some sources have also inaccurately cited 1914 as her year of birth, but 1915 is the correct year according to Social Security r ...
as Helen
*
Slim Summerville
Slim Summerville (born George Joseph Somerville; July 10, 1892 – January 5, 1946), was an American film actor and director best known for his work in comedies.
Early life
Summerville was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his mother d ...
as Slim Nelson
*
Arthur Treacher
Arthur Veary Treacher (, 23 July 1894 – 14 December 1975) was an English film and stage actor active from the 1920s to the 1960s, and known for playing English types, especially butler and manservant roles, such as the P.G. Wodehouse valet c ...
as Darby Randall
*
Alan Dinehart as Warden Wallis
*
Eddie Collins as Fisheye Conroy
*
Jane Darwell
Jane Darwell (born Patti Woodard; October 15, 1879 – August 13, 1967) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. With appearances in more than 100 major movies spanning half a century, Darwell is perhaps best remembered for her p ...
as Mrs. Graham
*
Sidney Toler
Sidney Toler (born Hooper G. Toler Jr., April 28, 1874 – February 12, 1947) was an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. The second European-American actor to play the role of Charlie Chan on screen, he is best remembered for his ...
as Jeffrey Mitchell
*
Bill Robinson
Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the f ...
as Memphis Jones
*
Edward Gargan
Edward Gargan (July 17, 1902 – February 19, 1964) was an American film and television actor.
Career
He was born of Irish parents in Brooklyn, New York. He was the elder brother of actor William Gargan.
As soon as he had left college, he wen ...
as Tiny
*Robert Allen as Ray Douglas
*
Dorothy Dearing
Dorothy Dearing (April 17, 1913 – April 19, 1965) was an American actress. She is best known for appearing in ''Up the River'' (1938), ''Free, Blonde and 21'' (1940) and ''The Great Profile'' (1940). She married actor Roland Drew in 1946 ...
as Martha Graham
*
Charles D. Brown
Charles D. Brown (July 1, 1887 – November 25, 1948) was an American stage and film actor.
Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Brown wrote and directed a single short film in 1914. As an actor, he appeared in more than 100 films, stretching fro ...
as Warden Harris
References
Bibliography
* Stephen C. Wood & J. David Pincus. ''Reel Baseball: Essays and Interviews on the National Pastime, Hollywood and American Culture'' McFarland, 2003.
External links
*
*
1938 comedy films
1930s prison films
1938 films
20th Century Fox films
American black-and-white films
American comedy films
Remakes of American films
American football films
American prison comedy films
Films directed by Alfred L. Werker
1930s English-language films
1930s American films
{{1930s-comedy-film-stub