Watching this tonight on TCM was like rubbernecking an auto accident between 2 clown-mobiles where no one got hurt. This film is bad on so many levels. It can't seem to decide if it wants to be a musical or a drama, with far too much (bad) music for a drama, and far too little (bad) music for a musical. The plot is almost non-existent, the dialog clumsy, and any sort of wrapping up of the story is left up to the viewer. Sound was still new, so I'll pass over the bad sound effects and some off-mic dialog, but the cinematography is terrible with the top of peoples' heads regularly cut off, and sometimes missing everything above their chins! There are some (bad) jokes, but Bogart & Tracey manage to give decent performances despite all of the above. Add to this nearly constant splices (from lost or damaged film) which resembles a Benny Hill sketch. This is definitely one to miss unless you're a hardcore early talkies film buff, or are a big fan of Tracey and/or Bogie and want to see the start of their careers... or you are stoned and looking for some off-beat and unintentional laughs.
Review of Up the River
