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Carole Lombard dancing while her husband sulks? Pre-Code marriage chaos hits different.
TMDB
44

Up Pops the Devil (1931)

pre-code sassmarriage melodramaBroadway backstage

Overview

Comedy

The marriage of an advertising man is jeopardized when he gets a chance to sell a novel he's been working on and quits his job to concentrate on writing. In order to support the family, the wife is forced to take a job as a dancer in a Broadway show. As the marriage begins to fall apart, complications ensue when she discovers that she's pregnant.

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Content warning
pre-code

Standout Aspects

Acting

Lombard's dancer role before her screwball queen era.

Costume

Broadway showgirl wardrobe pushing Hays Code boundaries.

Best for:Solo: Curious about what studios got away with before 1934.·Rewatch: Spotting the pre-code elements they couldn't show later.
Heads up:Triggers: Casual 1931 attitudes toward pregnancy and marital abandonment.
A. Edward Sutherland

Director

A. Edward Sutherland

ReleasedMay 19, 1931
Runtime1h 14m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacefast
Intensitymedium
Tonemixed
Feelmedium
Paramount Pictures

Top Cast

Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher

Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher

Barney Hatfield

Stuart Erwin

Stuart Erwin

Stranger

Carole Lombard

Carole Lombard

Anne Merrick

Lilyan Tashman

Lilyan Tashman

Polly Griscom

Norman Foster

Norman Foster

Steve Merrick

Edward Nugent

Edward Nugent

George Kent

Theodore von Eltz

Theodore von Eltz

Gilbert Morrell

Joyce Compton

Joyce Compton

Luella May Carroll

Eulalie Jensen

Eulalie Jensen

Mrs. Kent ("Sugar")

Harry Beresford

Harry Beresford

Mr. Platt

Effie Ellsler

Effie Ellsler

Mrs. Platt

Guy Oliver

Guy Oliver

Waldo, Handyman

Willie Best

Willie Best

Laundryman

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

This was one of Lombard's last pre-code roles before her breakthrough in Twentieth Century (1934). The Hays Code crackdown that followed essentially buried this film's casual treatment of marital strife and female independence.

Cultural

The 'struggling artist quits job' plot hit differently in 1931—unemployment hit 15.9% that year, making Steve's choice feel either aspirational or infuriating depending on your bank account.

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