Upstream

Another film filled to the top with amusing side characters, Upstream is a modest and slight entertainment that does well enough to fill its sixty minutes and little else. It’s another instance of an early John Ford film that really could have done good use with twenty to thirty more minutes to help flesh out some key details.

The majority of the action takes place in a boarding house for performers, and the film’s first large bulk is simply introducing them all. There are dancers, retire...