Upstream (1927)

6/10

bsmith555225 December 2013

Warning: Spoilers

"Upstream" directed by the legendary John Ford was long believed to be forever lost. It was however, re-discovered in New Zealand's Film Archives in 2009. The title refers to the upstream battle facing a group of performers living in a seedy boarding house, in finding work in their various professions.

We meet the central characters Gertie Ryan (Nancy Nash), Eric Brashingham (Earle Foxe) and knife thrower Jack LaVelle aka Juan Rodriguez (a very young Grant Withers) who are part of a vaudeville act. Brashingham is part of a famous theatrical family but has evidently fallen from favor. Brashingham receives an offer to play "Hamlet" in London based solely on his family name.

Fearing failure Brashingham is coached by an old Shakespearean actor named Campbell-Mandare (Emile Chounard). Brashingham leaves Gertie who loves him, behind and goes to London and becomes a success.

Meanwhile back at the boarding house life goes on. Jack pursues Gertie, Callahan & Callahan (Ted McNamara, Sammy Cohen) keep on singing and dancing, the juggler (Francis Ford) continues with his still and the landlady (Lydia Yeomans Titus) waits for her back rent. Then one day the ham actor Brashingham returns.

I can't help but think that with references to "a famous theatrical family" and Brashingham's penchant to have his profile photographed that Ford is taking shots at John Barrymore the bad boy of the famous theatrical Barrymore family. Both Ford and Barrymore had great affection for the bottle but I have never read anything ever linking the together.

"Upstream" is considered to be a minor Ford work but it is an entertaining and enjoyable little film nonetheless.

2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

5/10

Fording the Stream at a Low Point

boblipton30 January 2011

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.

10 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

Lovely silent John Ford film

AlsExGal21 December 2023

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.

1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

Before Herr John Ford Went To The American West, He Was In London's West end

FerdinandVonGalitzien10 August 2012

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

2 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

6/10

Thank goodness director John Ford went West . . .

cricket3020 November 2013

Warning: Spoilers

. . . because this "Eastern" shows little promise of greatness. Many of the silent films Ford churned out BEFORE he made UPSTREAM actually were Westerns, but UPSTREAM focuses on Eastern themes such as show business and fickle Blondes. After scores of movies, the fact that Ford's only offering in 1927 was UPSTREAM must have caused many 1920s flick fans to Forego Ford forever. Sadly, this prevented them from enjoying FORT APACHE, THE GRAPES OF WRATH, HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY, MISTER ROBERTS, THE SEARCHERS, SEX HYGIENE, STAGECOACH, TOBACCO ROAD, YOUNG MR. LINCOLN, and countless other hits. I guess this goes to show you that anyone can go into a "slump." Miguel Cabrera, baseball's greatest hitter, looked like Babe Ruth waddling at 40 in the playoffs this year. George Washington lost more than a few battles to the Redcoats. Dustin Hoffman starred in ISHTAR. The purpose of this comment is to point out that only the Holy Bible demands respect in its entirety. If you're not a "completist" and want to retain all your belief in John Ford the Legend, you may want to skip UPSTREAM.

0 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

6/10

Diverting

davidmvining15 October 2021

Another film filled to the top with amusing side characters, Upstream is a modest and slight entertainment that does well enough to fill its sixty minutes and little else. It's another instance of an early John Ford film that really could have done good use with twenty to thirty more minutes to help flesh out some key details.

The majority of the action takes place in a boarding house for performers, and the film's first large bulk is simply introducing them all. There are dancers, retired actors, and the landlady (Lydia Titus) who is always asking for advanced payment from those without contracts. The center of the action falls upon a trio of a knife thrower, Jack (Grant Withers), his female assistant Gertie (Nancy Nash), and the last son of a great line of actors who is no great actor himself Eric Brasingham (Earle Foxe). The appeal of this early section is the light comedy of the variety under the landlady's roof as the different personalities clash in light and amusing ways, like the pair of dancers who practice in their room immediately above the dining room.

Everything changes when a famous theatrical agent appears, everyone in the house eager for their moment of fame having arrived (except for Brasingham who remains seated at the table eating). He's there for Brasingham specifically, though. He's been charged with finding a name to help open a new production of Hamlet in London, and it doesn't matter if Brasingham isn't actually a good actor at all. This is the moment that one of the elder boarders takes upon himself to act as mentor to the inept Brasingham, offering him up lessons in a single night before he departs. At the same time, Brasingham breaks the heart of young Gertie, seemingly implying that he was going to take her with him to England but instead just asking for money. Gertie sulks back to Jack, unhappy to continue in the knife throwing business.

Brasingham takes the quick lessons he had and becomes a great actor, impressing on the London stage and even getting a nod from the royal box upon his inaugural performance. Like most things in this little film, this feels drastically underdeveloped, a hapless actor suddenly becoming a sensation. But okay, we can deal with it.

The action moves forward by a few months and the boarders all seemingly return to their rooms in the boarding house at once after a season. Picking up with the light comedy once again, the boarders insist most earnestly that they had send large envelopes full of cash for their rent in the mail, but it must have gotten lost. This is also the time when Gertie decides to get over Brasingham and admit her hidden love for Jack (again, underdeveloped, but okay). As they get married, we see Brasingham in New York for a performance, convinced by his theatrical agent to make a stop at his old boarding house for a promotional moment.

This kind of amalgamation of events is part and parcel with John Ford's filmography at this point, but it's interesting to see it laid out in such a small scale and without any significant action elements. Brasingham comes in right as the wedding photos are taken after the ceremony, convinced the flowers, decorations, and pictures are for him. The common motif of haughty folk lording over the little people manifests, and Brasingham gets his comeuppance in crowd pleasing style.

None of this is challenging, but more importantly, none of it is as fleshed out as it should be. With the sheer number of minor characters that get their time to shine, that leaves shockingly little time for the central love triangle to play out. However, it's amusingly told with its side characters and Ford's adeptness with the camera helps provide some solid amusement in the film's final reel.

It's a small effort from Ford towards the end of the silent era (really his last fully silent film before he started using soundtracks of any kind). It's entertaining enough for a small distraction, but little else.

0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

5/10

Few signs of future genius....

planktonrules20 November 2013

"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").

2 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

9/10

John Ford's most Murnau-esquire film

F Gwynplaine MacIntyre18 June 2010

Warning: Spoilers

This 'lost' film will officially re-premiere in L.A. in September 2010. As I write this, 12 other people have already rated 'Upstream' for IMDb, so clearly I'm not the only person who's been given access to the restoration at 20th Century-Fox.

In 2009, U.S. film preservationist Brian Meacham (good man!), with archivists at the New Zealand Film Archive in Wellington, identified a nitrate print of 'Upstream' among 75 'lost' U.S. silent films which had been stored in Wellington all along.

I've stated elsewhere that 'lost' films tend to surface at the terminus of an exhibition circuit -- New Zealand, Australia, the Yukon -- and that (as this case indicates) 'lost' films are often merely mislaid due to lack of communication: the Wellington archive had this print for decades, but nobody told 20th Century-Fox, and nobody at Fox bothered to ask.

The original negatives of 'Upstream' and many other silents of the Fox studio were destroyed (not merely 'lost') in a warehouse fire in New Jersey, and many early Fox films are, indeed, gone forever.

Because the highly unstable nitrate film stock can't wait, the U.N. granted permission for these dangerously combustible films to be shipped overseas for conversion and image transfer. 'Upstream' will likely be on DVD soon, so you'll be able to see it yourself; since I can't wait either, I've been able to audit this movie's restoration process (after those 12 other IMDb'ers, apparently).

'Upstream' depicts the disparate lives of the performers in Hattie Breckenridge's theatrical boarding-house. Jack La Velle is a vaudeville knife-thrower, in love with his pretty target Gertie ... but she loves egotistical ham actor Eric, an ostensible Shakespearean tragedian who's being coached by mouldy ham Mandare. (As the latter, a wonderful performance by Emile Chautard, conveying both the dignity and the decrepitude of this role.)

When I saw the cast list -- billing two actors as Callahan and Callahan, one of them being Sammy Cohen -- I guessed that the Callahans must be cross-talk comedians. I guessed wrong: they're a dance act. Good job I saw this film before I reviewed it! (Actually they're hoofers; not quite the same as dancers.)

SLIGHT SPOILER: Ham actor Eric can't succeed in America, so he goes to England and becomes a hit. Does England need to import bad Shakespearean actors?

'Upstream' (the film's title refers to uphill struggle) is hardly typical material for John Ford. He made this ensemble drama at Fox under the tutelage of the great F.W. Murnau, and 'Upstream' shows Murnau's clear influence in the back-lighting and frame compositions. A wedding reception sequence (which Eric mistakes for a homecoming party in his honour), with all these diverse vaudevillains, reminded me of the wedding feast in 'Freaks'.

If I'd seen 'Upstream' without knowing who directed it, I almost certainly would've guessed either Murnau or King Vidor: some of Murnau's directorial touches which Ford borrows here were later integrated into Ford's own, somewhat less disciplined technique. But other Murnau traits which Ford uses well here -- such as the pacing, and the contrast between foreground and background action in the same shot -- he eventually abandoned as he found his own two-fisted style. Several camera set-ups in 'Upstream' favour actresses in a way quite typical for Murnau but unusual for Ford.

Yet John Ford is firmly in charge, and some of his own distinctive traits -- his deep affection for actors, his distinctive comic relief in dramatic sequences -- is on evidence in 'Upstream'.

Female lead Nancy Nash is quite pretty here, but not much of an actress. (A Hollywood old-timer told me that the late Ms. Nash was briefly producer William Fox's mistress, well before his auto accident.) She ended up a mere chorus girl for Sam Goldwyn. Grant Withers and Earle Foxe (playing a BAD actor) are good actors here, and comedian Raymond Hitchcock is effective. Welcome home, 'Upstream'! I'll rate you 9 out of 10, and my respect for John Ford is now even higher than before.

16 out of 21 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

8/10

Every Theatrical Boarding House Has One!!

kidboots30 August 2018

Warning: Spoilers

I liked this movie a lot, as well as an involving story, it also introduced a couple of fresh movie faces!! A biting satire on the "Hamlet" vogue and poking fun at John Barrymore, Earle Fox has a fabulous role as Eric Brashingham, the black sheep in a long line of distinguished thespians although to hear him talk Broadway would crumble if he decided to retire!! Every boarding house has one - a ham actor!! but when a theatrical agent comes calling, he needs the Brashingham name to publicize his production of "Hamlet" that he is taking to London. He knows that Eric is a terrible actor but the big headed ham sees himself as another Barrymore "the public always clamours for my profile" and once he is chosen he even begins to look like Barrymore!!

An old down on his luck actor offers to coach him and on opening night and through a miracle, he is a huge success, gets affirmation from the royal box and is proclaimed the wonder of the age!! Back at the boarding house all the other residents are hoping that the kindly old actor may get some acknowledgement from Eric!!

Apart from the main story, it is a slice of theatrical life - there are a couple of hoofers Callaghan and Callaghan whose lively patter along with knowing looks really lightens the mood - they're always practising their tap routines!! There's the sister act (well mother and daughter) and also the Star Boarder (Raymond Hitchcock) who is never without a pretty soubrette (Jane Winton, another young up and comer) on his arm. Then there are the young lovers, well John, the knife thrower loves Gertie but she holds a torch for Eric - until she realises his true nature.

Grant Withers as John, was destined for better things but lovely Nancy Nash only made a few films. It really wasn't fair, she should have been given a bigger chance. This film ends on a light hearted note with conceited Eric coming back to the boarding house for photos and believing the reception being given for the newly weds is really meant for him....

Nice light hearted fare!!

0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Not Your Typical Ford

Michael_Elliott2 December 2013

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.

0 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

User Reviews

See also

Opinion

Details

Storyline

Did You Know?

Photo & Video

Related Items

User Lists

Recently Viewed