UPTOWN NEW YORK (World Wide Pictures, 1932), directed by Victor Schertzinger, is an independent production starring a slightly young but thin Jack Oakie as Eddie Doyle in a rare dramatic performance. Blonde and sassy Shirley Grey, who is featured as Patricia Smith, is actually the central character here, given a rare opportunity to carry on an entire story during her brief Hollywood stint (1931-1935), which consisted of playing support to lead actors as tough dames/ molls or unfaithful wives in films for various movie studios, as well as appearing in "B" westerns, "poverty row" mysteries and/or chaptered serials.
The plot: Patricia Smith is a middle-class New York City gal in love with Max Silver (Leon Waycoff), but Max is forced by his ambitious Jewish family into a marriage to a girl he doesn't love but will further his career in the medical profession, which he does, leaving Pat behind. Later in Coney Island, Pat meets Eddie Doyle, a bubble gum machine operator. Their relationship starts off on the rocky side, but eventually Pat decides to marry Eddie on the rebound even though she's still thinks of Max. When Max, now a respected surgeon, comes back into her life, she refuses to have anything to do with him because he is now a married man. After Pat is struck by a passing truck, Eddie, who knows of his wife's past relationship with Dr. Max Silver, calls on him to perform an emergency operation. Following the surgery, Eddie is faced with problems regarding keeping both his gum machine business and Pat's love.
Somewhat passable love story taken from the novel by Vina Delmar, with the lead actors (Oakie and Grey) playing against type. Oakie is convincing in serious moments, but still comes off amusingly well during his lighter moments. If the actor who plays Max Silver looks familiar, he had his surname changed from Waycoff to (Leon) Ames, better known for many supporting roles for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s and 50s, along with his leading television performance in "Life with Father" in the 1950s. Also in smaller roles are George Cooper, Alexander Carr, Henry Armetta, Lee Moran and Raymond Hatton. Both familiar faces of Tammany Young and Tom Kennedy can be spotted in the locker room during the prize fighting scene set in Madison Square Garden.
Once presented regularly on former cable networks of the late 1980s and early 1990s as Tempo Television and Channel America, UPTOWN NEW YORK can also be found either on video cassette or DVD format (usually at 76 minutes from its original 80). A rare find and curio for movie buffs. (**)
The plot: Patricia Smith is a middle-class New York City gal in love with Max Silver (Leon Waycoff), but Max is forced by his ambitious Jewish family into a marriage to a girl he doesn't love but will further his career in the medical profession, which he does, leaving Pat behind. Later in Coney Island, Pat meets Eddie Doyle, a bubble gum machine operator. Their relationship starts off on the rocky side, but eventually Pat decides to marry Eddie on the rebound even though she's still thinks of Max. When Max, now a respected surgeon, comes back into her life, she refuses to have anything to do with him because he is now a married man. After Pat is struck by a passing truck, Eddie, who knows of his wife's past relationship with Dr. Max Silver, calls on him to perform an emergency operation. Following the surgery, Eddie is faced with problems regarding keeping both his gum machine business and Pat's love.
Somewhat passable love story taken from the novel by Vina Delmar, with the lead actors (Oakie and Grey) playing against type. Oakie is convincing in serious moments, but still comes off amusingly well during his lighter moments. If the actor who plays Max Silver looks familiar, he had his surname changed from Waycoff to (Leon) Ames, better known for many supporting roles for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s and 50s, along with his leading television performance in "Life with Father" in the 1950s. Also in smaller roles are George Cooper, Alexander Carr, Henry Armetta, Lee Moran and Raymond Hatton. Both familiar faces of Tammany Young and Tom Kennedy can be spotted in the locker room during the prize fighting scene set in Madison Square Garden.
Once presented regularly on former cable networks of the late 1980s and early 1990s as Tempo Television and Channel America, UPTOWN NEW YORK can also be found either on video cassette or DVD format (usually at 76 minutes from its original 80). A rare find and curio for movie buffs. (**)