Pre-Code John Ford prison movie with comedy and musical asides has paroled convict Humphrey Bogart waiting for girlfriend Claire Luce to be sprung, being blackmailed by a scam artist on the outside and seeking help from Spencer Tracy, who's just busted out of the pen. Despite some wry, trenchant humor--and the appeal of seeing Bogart and Tracy in their only film together--this is mainly a curiosity item, one with a creaky on-stage music interlude. Writing credit goes to Maurine Dallas Watkins, but Ford's touch is very much in evidence (he reportedly reworked the script with another writer). The acerbic asides are very funny...and some of the wobbly character comedy is as well. Remade in 1938 with Preston Foster and Tony Martin. ** from ****
Review of Up the River
