AFI Catalog of Feature Films
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Upperworld
Alternate Title: Upper World
Director: Roy Del Ruth (Dir)
Release Date:   28 Apr 1934
Production Date:   ended 13 Jan 1934
Duration (in mins):   70 or 72
Duration (in reels):   8
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Cast:   Warren William (Alex Stream)  
    Mary Astor (Mrs. [Hettie] Stream)  
    Ginger Rogers (Lilly [Linda])  
    Andy Devine (Oscar)  
    Dickie Moore (Tommy [Stream])  
    Ferdinand Gottschalk (Marcus)  
    J. Carroll Naish (Lou [Colima])  
    Sidney Toler (Moran)  
    Henry O'Neill (Banker)  
    Theodore Newton (Rocklen)  
    Robert Barrat (Commissioner Clark)  
    Robert Greig (Butler, Coldwell)  
    Frank Sheridan (Inspector Kellogg)  
    John Qualen (Chris)  
    Willard Robertson (Captain Reynolds)  
    Nora Cecil (Housekeeper)  
    Lester Dorr (Steward)  
    Wilfred Lucas (Captain)  
    Cliff Saum (Sailor)  
    William Jeffrey (Bradley)  
    Edward Le Saint (Henshaw)  
    John Elliott (Crandall)  
    Armand Kaliz (Maurice)  
    Marie Astaire (Chorus girl)  
    Loyce Owen (Chorus girl)  
    Lucille Collins (Chorus girl)  
    Milton Kibbee (Pilot)  
    Jay Eaton (Salesman)  
    James P. Burtis (First cop)  
    Henry Otho (Second cop)  
    Douglas Cosgrove (Johnson)  
    Guy Usher (Carter)  
    Clay Clement (Medical examiner)  
    James Durkin (Detective)  
    Monte Vandergrift (Detective)  
    Jack Cheatham (Detective)  
    William B. Davidson (City editor)  
    Edwin Stanley (Fingerprint expert)  
    Howard Hickman (Judge)  
    Frank Conroy (Paul, Alex's attorney)  
    Tom McGuire (Bailiff)  
    Bert Moorhouse (Court clerk)  
    Sidney DeGrey (Foreman)  
    Bud Flanagan (Reporter at crime scene)  

Summary: Wealthy railroad magnate Alex Stream has little time for himself, although he is devoted to his wife Hettie and son Tommy. Hettie, however, gives first priority to her society friends, a group that Alex can't tolerate. When Alex rescues drowning showgirl Lilly Linda, he finds her cheerful ways so appealing that he relaxes long enough to eat the meal that she cooks him. One day when Hettie forgets her wedding anniversary and makes other plans, Alex, on impulse, asks Lilly to join him for dinner. From then on, Alex spends a lot of time with Lilly. Lilly's boyfriend, Lou Colima, tries to talk her into blackmailing Alex, and when she refuses because she genuinely cares for him, Lou steals Alex's letters to her. When Lou confronts him, Alex believes that Lilly was involved in the scheme from the start. He tries to grab the letters back from Lou, who shoots at him, hitting Lilly, who has thrown herself in front of Alex. Alex shoots Lou in self-defense, then tries to make it look like a murder-suicide. Alex thinks that he has escaped untouched, but Moran, a policeman who was demoted for giving a parking ticket to Alex, has seen his car parked outside the apartment and is convinced that he is the actual murderer. No one believes Moran until he manages to prove that Alex's fingerprints are on the gun. Alex is tried and acquitted. Afterward, Alex is reconciled with Hettie and the couple sails for London. 

Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.  
Distribution Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.  
  The Vitaphone Corp.  
Director: Roy Del Ruth (Dir)
Producer: Jack L. Warner (Exec prod)
  Hal B. Wallis (Exec prod)
  Robert Lord (Supv)
Writer: Ben Markson (Scr)
  Ben Hecht (From the story by)
Photography: Tony Gaudio (Photog)
Art Direction: Anton Grot (Art dir)
Film Editor: Owen Marks (Ed)
Costumes: Orry-Kelly (Gowns)
Music: Leo F. Forbstein (Vitaphone Orch cond)
Country: United States
Language: English

Music:
Songs: "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?," music and lyrics by Frank Churchill; "Shake Your Powder Puff," music and lyrics by Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal.
Composer: Frank Churchill
  Sammy Fain
  Irving Kahal
Source Text:

Copyright Claimant Copyright Date Copyright Number
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. 26/3/1934 dd/mm/yyyy LP4570

Physical Properties: Sd:
  b&w:

 
Genre: Melodrama
 
Subjects (Major): Marriage
  Mistresses
  Railroad companies
  Socialites
 
Subjects (Minor): Blackmail
  Chauffeurs
  Deception
  Murder
  Neglected husbands
  Police
  Revenge
  Show girls
  Trials
  Upper classes

Note: The opening title card and copyright records list the film's title as Upperworld , but most reviews list the title as Upper World

Bibliographic Sources:   Date   Page
Daily Variety   13 Jan 34   p. 7.
Daily Variety   24 Mar 34   p. 3.
Film Daily   25 May 34   p. 6.
Hollywood Reporter   12 Mar 34   p. 3.
Motion Picture Daily   2 Apr 34   p. 10.
Motion Picture Herald   7 Apr 34   pp 62-63.
New York Times   25 May 34   p. 25.
Variety   29 May 34   p. 12.

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.
 
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