Up the River

The first feature film appearance of both Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy! In a movie directed by John Ford! How is this not a huge thing?! Because it’s kind of a middling little comedy of dubious construction. Far from worthless with enough little laughs here and there to get an audience through to the end, it’s just kind of a minor little work from everyone involved. I’ve seen far worse.

Up the River is a prison comedy, of sorts. It starts in a prison with a new batch of detainees com...