Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy made their feature film debuts in John Ford’s 1930 comedy-drama UP THE RIVER
UP THE RIVER (John Ford, 1930)
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Thursday, September 1, 1:30
Series runs September 1 – October 28
Tickets: $12, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days
212-708-9400
www.moma.org
MoMA begins its two-month Modern Matinees series “B Is for Bogart” with, appropriately enough, Humphrey Bogart’s full-length cinematic debut, Up the River, in which he appears with Spencer Tracy, in his first film as well. The 1930 prison comedy-drama was directed by John Ford, who of course made such all-time greats as Stagecoach, The Informer, How Green Was My Valley, The Quiet Man, The Searchers, and The Grapes of Wrath. There’s a reason why most people have never heard of Up the River; somehow, the big-time triumvirate managed to come up with a mediocre picture at best, but it’s still well worth watching for its historic value. Bogart plays Steve Jordan, a respected inmate who works for the Bensonata Penitentiary warden and takes an instant liking to new prisoner Judy Fields, portrayed by Claire Luce, a Ziegfeld performer and stage actress in her film debut. (Fields would go on to appear in only a few more movies, much preferring theater, particularly Shakespeare.) Tracy is Saint Louis, a convict who is determined to run things in prison, coming and going as he pleases, accompanied by his none-too-bright right-hand man, Dannemora Dan (Warren Hymer). Love blossoms, along with a financial scam involving Jordan’s family and Judy’s boss, Frosby (Gaylord Pendleton). Meanwhile, the prison is preparing for its annual baseball game, coached by Pop (William Collier Sr.). And yes, that’s longtime Ford regular Ward Bond in a key cameo. Up the River features a handful of cool shots, especially the opening; the director of photography was Joseph H. August, who went on to shoot such films as Gunga Din and The Hunchback of Notre Dame and cofounded the American Society of Cinematographers. The loose narrative — the script was written by Maurine Dallas Watkins, who is best known for penning Chicago — wanders all over the place as Tracy tries to yuck it up and Bogart plays it smooth and straight. Bogart never worked with Ford again; Tracy would team up with Ford one more time, for 1958’s political drama The Last Hurrah. “Modern Matinees: B Is for Bogart” continues through October 28 with such better Bogie films as The Petrified Forest, Dead End, Angels with Dirty Faces, They Drive by Night, The Maltese Falcon, and others, shown in chronological order.