Upstream (1928): A Silent Gone Missing Till Now
A batch of busted actors and vaudevillians in a boarding house where none can afford rent, this a common thread through any pic that portrayed theatrical life, but done nicely by worker bee John Ford, who must have been thinking of this when he later referred to his movies as "jobs of work." Well, here's demonstration that those jobs were often very well done, and that so-called routine Fords are well worth close exam now that more of them are turning up. The director lends real character to these roustabouts; I didn't find myself forgetting who was who despite a parade of them being introduced. Tropes among stage folk as depicted in later movies may have been introduced here, such as a dining table where food is withheld from deadbeat renters, a scene duplicated in 1942's Yankee Doodle Dandy. Did Ford go see that Warner hit and take a silent bow? Upstream's cast is non-stellar, but all acquit well. Ford to my knowledge didn't travel with stock companies or otherwise experience their lives, but he shows understanding of struggle and ego endemic to the trade. Upstream came back from oblivion thanks to discovery within
