Uptown New York (1932)

Vina Delmar was a popular author of the day who wrote several scandalous novels that gave her an entry into Hollywood. "Bad Girl", dealing with pre-marital love and pregnancy, was initially banned by some book sellers before going on to give Sylvia Sidney stage fame and as a movie helping Sally Eilers bring out her acting ability. "Uptown New York", based on her story "Uptown Woman" took advantage of the trend at the time to portray a husband and a wife who is in love with another man who just happens to be Jewish.Shirley Grey was a lovely blonde who made her debut the year before in "The Public Defender" but just couldn't break into the big time and a couple of personal setbacks didn't help. She definitely was not given a better chance to make good than in her portrayal of Patricia, who loves Max (Leon Waycoff) and can't see any obstacles to a happy future. But Max is Jewish and feels he has certain obligations to the sacrifices of his parents who have scrimped and saved to put him through medical school - they also expect him to marry a nice Jewish girl who has already been picked out for him!!The film also deals with pre-marital sex - that is the thing on Pat's mind when she meets and marries knockabout vending machine proprietor Eddie Doyle (Jack Oakie). Even though Max is married and has a very "up market" future he is still ardently pursuing Pat - to the point where he offers her a Park Avenue penthouse if she will only consent to resume their relationship.This is a smoothly directed film by Victor Schertzinger (he of "Heads Up" (1930) and "Safety in Numbers"(1930) musical fame) with an outstanding performance by Jack Oakie who gives dimension to what would be the type of role he could play in his sleep. The wedding night is ominous - the only room available is next to a suite where a wild party is going on, then Pat decides to come clean about her past and feelings about Max but Eddie still feels they can make a go of it. Leon Waycoff (soon to be Ames) has the distinctly unsympathetic role of Max who doesn't see why his marriage should interfere with his private pleasure. Ames had a more meatier role in "The Famous Ferguson Case".Just as Pat and Eddie are settling into married life, Pat is involved in a car accident. Eddie puts aside his pride and asks Max to perform the operation, overhears Max asking Pat to throw her marriage aside (she has just come from the operating theatre, I ask you!!) and to go away with him (Max is a real irritation!!), doesn't wait to hear her response (of course!!) but sells his lucrative business to pay the medical bills so he won't be beholden to Max, then tries to disappear from her life!! No matter how indecisive Pat appears, she is never going to fall in with Max's slick plan!!A really top film with shades and nuances (not the usual poverty rower) that tries to delve into people's personality and characters - definitely not by the numbers. And, yes, this features the World Wide logo with a woman (looking very much like Claudia Dell) holding spinning globes!!

UPTOWN NEW YORK is an underrated romance/drama picture, it really shows more depth and more feeling than many other movies of the early 1930s. Jack Oakie received an Oscar nomination for his acting in "The Great Dictator", but he should have got an Oscar for his absorbing portrayal of Eddie Doyle in UPTOWN NEW YORK. In many scenes Oakie does not act but he IS his character. The scenes when he is waiting in the hospital while his wife is operated in the next room are stunning. I have never seen something like this before. Beautiful Shirley Grey is also totally convincing and perfect as the beloved New York gal. (In some of the scenes she looks like Madonna). Leon Ames is good as the successful Jewish doctor, but Jack Oakie steals the show and makes UPTOWN NEW YORK - 80 years ago now - a great film with a timeless quality. And for a 1932 movie, it's quite modern in feel. The film has many imaginative scenes with great photography. The quality of the DVD from Alpha Entertainment is pretty bad and the framing is not very good. But Alpha is the only DVD available.

Most films from the early 1930s have been forgotten. However, this is a shame because nice little films like "Uptown New York" are waiting to be discovered. "Uptown New York" stars Shirley Grey, Leon Ames and Jack Oakie--all relatively obscure to the average person today but relatively famous in their time. It begins with Ames dating Grey and it looks as if they'll soon marry. However, Ames' traditional Jewish family assumes that now that he's becoming a doctor he'll marry a nice Jewish girl--one the family has pretty much picked out for him. Now in the family's defense, it appears as if Ames never told them about Grey--and he obediently drops Grey and marries the family's choice. Grey is naturally devastated--and soon meets nice-guy Oakie and begins dating him on the rebound. But, when Ames later returns and wants to either have an affair or marry her, Grey is stumped--she likes Oakie and is comfortable, but she still has a strong connection with Ames. Despite this, she marries Oakie--and then the film gets a bit overly melodramatic in a twist I will let you see for yourself. Still, with nice acting, a nice and simple story and decent production values, it's a sweet and easy to like film. In particular, Oakie comes off very in the film.By the way, if you do watch this film, get a load of the introduction screen. The lady holding the globes looks, well, quite bizarre. You just have to see it for yourself and I'll say no more about that. Also, although never stated or even strongly implied, I think the film is trying to delicately say that Grey and Ames' relationship had been sexual but unlike some Pre-Code films, they left this up to the audience to decide for themselves and I can't imagine younger viewers noticing this.If would like to see it, follow the IMDb link and you can download it yourself for free.

Times haven't changed much for women when it comes to finding the right guy, I found while watching this delightful film on the City University of New York Channel.Blonde Patricia, played by a beautiful actress I'd never seen before (Shirley Grey), falls for a clever, charismatic Jewish man who makes love to her -- a daring thing to do back in 1932. He then leaves the "shiksa" for a less-interesting Jewish woman his family accepts. Heartbroken, Patricia later meets a regular Joe who will never be a success like her former beau (who becomes a renowned surgeon) but who accepts her, warts and all. Yet she's unable to stop loving the cad, who tries to lure her into an affair. And then when her down-to-earth husband sacrifices everything for her, she seems unwilling to run to her paramour.The CUNY version of this film ended prematurely and to my great disappointment I was unable to see how the story ends. But I found it pitch-perfect in depicting how the dynamics of male-female relationships haven't changed a bit through the vicissitudes of women's lib and the high-tech revolution.The acting and writing were both superb and I look forward to an opportunity to see how this magnificent heroine finds her proper path.