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Up the River (1930)

Up the River (1930)
January 8, 2012 - 7:00 pm

Directed by John Ford

Prison convicts Spencer Tracy and Warren Hymer break free, but circumstances bring them back by choice. Tracy had been a hit on Broadway in the prison drama The Last Mile, and proved versatile when Up The River was developed as a comedy involving prison baseball, a genre mix that Tracy straddled with aplomb. Humphrey Bogart also turns in a fascinating first-feature performance.

Fox Film Corp. Screenwriter: William Collier, Sr. Cinematographer: Joseph August. Editor: Frank Hull.  Cast: Spencer Tracy, Clare Luce, Warren Hymer, Humphrey Bogart, William Collier.

35mm, b/w, 84 min.

Preceded by:

Preservation funded by the AFI/NEA Film Preservation Grants Program

The Hard Guy (1930)

Directed by Arthur Hurley

A fascinating early Vitaphone short subject from the time when Spencer Tracy’s star was rising on Broadway, this film finds an out-of-work husband and father on the brink of desperation.

The Vitaphone Corporation. Producer: Sam Sax. Based on a story by Betty Ross. Screenwriter: Burnet Hershey. Cinematographer: E. B. DuPar. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katherine Alexander, Valli Roberts, Arch Hendricks, Pat Kearney.

35mm, b/w, 8 min.