Some of Mary Astor's best films have her embroiled in a love triangle. She memorably played the other woman in DODSWORTH, and here in UPPER WORLD she plays a wealthy wife who gets cheated on by her cad of a husband (Warren William). Miss Astor is third-billed and has less screen time than Mr. William and also less screen time than costar Ginger Rogers who takes the other woman role.
Still it's interesting to watch Astor make the most of her part. She's a snobby spouse obsessed with putting on airs and the sort of reputation she can cultivate with society pals. It doesn't hurt that her hubby is a highly successful titan of industry. She will see to it that they get all the right publicity, and that their little boy (Dickie Moore) receives all the finer advantages in life.
Of course, things do not go as planned for her. This is a precode after all, and her husband's affair with a burlesque queen (Rogers) is scandalous stuff. One thing that reviewers seem to neglect is that the story is obviously based on the marriage of William Randolph Hearst and his wife Millicent Willson...particularly how their union was jeopardized by his public relationship with actress Marion Davies.
Screenwriters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur bend the facts enough so that this is not a pure biography, but it's certainly a veiled biography about Hearst and his complex love life. Warren William's character is not a media tycoon, but he's a railroad tycoon, close enough. Ginger Rogers' character is not a Broadway showgirl but she's a burlesque queen that catches his attention, close enough.
Hecht and MacArthur exploit the fact that Hearst and Davies were known for lavish costume parties. They recreate these scenes by having the wife (Astor) lead the parties instead of the mistress.
I am sure audiences in 1934 were very well aware who this movie was really about. It's kind of ironic that Warner Brothers would attempt this sort of production and risk Hearst's ire, since they would soon be wooing Miss Davies from MGM to their lot where she would make her last four films from 1935 to 1937.
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The article on TCM's database for this film focuses primarily on Ginger Rogers, since she was on the cusp of stardom when she appeared in UPPER WORLD. She does get plenty of juicy scenes to play.
The courtship between Rogers and William advances quickly because this is only a 73-minute film. In no time at all, she goes from being saved from drowning to wowing him on stage, to shacking up with him in a posh apartment on the down-low.
Complicating matters is a sleazy friend (J. Carrol Naish) who thinks they can blackmail William. After all, William isn't going to want to be sued for divorce by his wife or lose custody of his son if the affair got out. Initially, Rogers does entertain the notion of squeezing dough out of her paramour, until she realizes she loves the guy too much to do such a thing. When she turns on Naish, all heck breaks loose.
William intervenes, and Rogers ends up being the one who's shot. Warren kills Naish then makes it seem like a murder-suicide, removing all traces that he'd even been there. A pesky cop (Sidney Toler) that he'd antagonized earlier in the movie gets embroiled in the investigation. Toler is determined to nail William for the crime, and he gathers evidence to support a conviction.
Somehow, the evidence that Toler collects gets lost. Though William goes on trial, he is ultimately cleared by the jury. Some viewers seem to think this is an example of what makes UPPER WORLD a precode, because justice isn't fully carried out. That may be true, but I think the main idea was to give the film a happy ending. To show that Warren has had time to reflect and realize the error of his ways, to atone. So when he is acquitted, he can logically reconcile with his wife and make up for his previous lapses in judgement.
In real life William Randolph Hearst never gave up Marion Davies. His wife Millicent Willson remained married to him. She lived her own life separate from him during the last fifteen years of their marriage, and they were not buried together.
Still it's interesting to watch Astor make the most of her part. She's a snobby spouse obsessed with putting on airs and the sort of reputation she can cultivate with society pals. It doesn't hurt that her hubby is a highly successful titan of industry. She will see to it that they get all the right publicity, and that their little boy (Dickie Moore) receives all the finer advantages in life.
Of course, things do not go as planned for her. This is a precode after all, and her husband's affair with a burlesque queen (Rogers) is scandalous stuff. One thing that reviewers seem to neglect is that the story is obviously based on the marriage of William Randolph Hearst and his wife Millicent Willson...particularly how their union was jeopardized by his public relationship with actress Marion Davies.
Screenwriters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur bend the facts enough so that this is not a pure biography, but it's certainly a veiled biography about Hearst and his complex love life. Warren William's character is not a media tycoon, but he's a railroad tycoon, close enough. Ginger Rogers' character is not a Broadway showgirl but she's a burlesque queen that catches his attention, close enough.
Hecht and MacArthur exploit the fact that Hearst and Davies were known for lavish costume parties. They recreate these scenes by having the wife (Astor) lead the parties instead of the mistress.
I am sure audiences in 1934 were very well aware who this movie was really about. It's kind of ironic that Warner Brothers would attempt this sort of production and risk Hearst's ire, since they would soon be wooing Miss Davies from MGM to their lot where she would make her last four films from 1935 to 1937.
***
The article on TCM's database for this film focuses primarily on Ginger Rogers, since she was on the cusp of stardom when she appeared in UPPER WORLD. She does get plenty of juicy scenes to play.
The courtship between Rogers and William advances quickly because this is only a 73-minute film. In no time at all, she goes from being saved from drowning to wowing him on stage, to shacking up with him in a posh apartment on the down-low.
Complicating matters is a sleazy friend (J. Carrol Naish) who thinks they can blackmail William. After all, William isn't going to want to be sued for divorce by his wife or lose custody of his son if the affair got out. Initially, Rogers does entertain the notion of squeezing dough out of her paramour, until she realizes she loves the guy too much to do such a thing. When she turns on Naish, all heck breaks loose.
William intervenes, and Rogers ends up being the one who's shot. Warren kills Naish then makes it seem like a murder-suicide, removing all traces that he'd even been there. A pesky cop (Sidney Toler) that he'd antagonized earlier in the movie gets embroiled in the investigation. Toler is determined to nail William for the crime, and he gathers evidence to support a conviction.
Somehow, the evidence that Toler collects gets lost. Though William goes on trial, he is ultimately cleared by the jury. Some viewers seem to think this is an example of what makes UPPER WORLD a precode, because justice isn't fully carried out. That may be true, but I think the main idea was to give the film a happy ending. To show that Warren has had time to reflect and realize the error of his ways, to atone. So when he is acquitted, he can logically reconcile with his wife and make up for his previous lapses in judgement.
In real life William Randolph Hearst never gave up Marion Davies. His wife Millicent Willson remained married to him. She lived her own life separate from him during the last fifteen years of their marriage, and they were not buried together.