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IMDbPro

Stand Up and Fight

  • 19391939
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
310
YOUR RATING
Wallace Beery, Robert Taylor, and Florence Rice in Stand Up and Fight (1939)
It starts in 1844 in Maryland, where Robert Taylor, plantation owner with slaves, is forced by debts to sell his estate and his people. Then he leaves for Cumberland, looking for a job (first time in his life), and ends up working for a stagecoach line run by Wallace Beery and owned by Florence Rice. Before love and friendship can triumph, Taylor will have to commit to the cause of African-Americans in search of freedom.
Play trailer3:43
1 Video
12 Photos
  • Drama
  • History
  • Romance
It starts in 1844 in Maryland, where Robert Taylor, plantation owner with slaves, is forced by debts to sell his estate and his people. Then he leaves for Cumberland, looking for a job (firs... Read allIt starts in 1844 in Maryland, where Robert Taylor, plantation owner with slaves, is forced by debts to sell his estate and his people. Then he leaves for Cumberland, looking for a job (first time in his life), and ends up working for a stagecoach line run by Wallace Beery and ow... Read allIt starts in 1844 in Maryland, where Robert Taylor, plantation owner with slaves, is forced by debts to sell his estate and his people. Then he leaves for Cumberland, looking for a job (first time in his life), and ends up working for a stagecoach line run by Wallace Beery and owned by Florence Rice. Before love and friendship can triumph, Taylor will have to commit t... Read all
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
310
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • W.S. Van Dyke
  • Writers
    • James M. Cain(screen play)
    • Jane Murfin(screen play)
    • Harvey Fergusson(screen play)
  • Stars
    • Wallace Beery
    • Robert Taylor
    • Florence Rice
Top credits
  • Director
    • W.S. Van Dyke
  • Writers
    • James M. Cain(screen play)
    • Jane Murfin(screen play)
    • Harvey Fergusson(screen play)
  • Stars
    • Wallace Beery
    • Robert Taylor
    • Florence Rice
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 9User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 3:43
    Official Trailer

    Photos12

    Wallace Beery, Robert Taylor, and Florence Rice in Stand Up and Fight (1939)
    Robert Taylor and Florence Rice in Stand Up and Fight (1939)
    Wallace Beery, Robert Taylor, Robert Gleckler, and John Qualen in Stand Up and Fight (1939)
    Robert Taylor, John Qualen, and Clinton Rosemond in Stand Up and Fight (1939)
    Wallace Beery, Robert Taylor, and Florence Rice in Stand Up and Fight (1939)
    Wallace Beery, Robert Taylor, and Florence Rice in Stand Up and Fight (1939)
    Robert Taylor and Florence Rice in Stand Up and Fight (1939)
    Robert Taylor and Florence Rice in Stand Up and Fight (1939)
    Robert Taylor and Florence Rice in Stand Up and Fight (1939)
    Stand Up and Fight (1939)
    Wallace Beery, Robert Taylor, Charles Bickford, and Florence Rice in Stand Up and Fight (1939)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Wallace Beery
    Wallace Beery
    • Captain Boss Starkeyas Captain Boss Starkey
    Robert Taylor
    Robert Taylor
    • Blake Cantrellas Blake Cantrell
    Florence Rice
    Florence Rice
    • Susan Griffithas Susan Griffith
    Helen Broderick
    Helen Broderick
    • Amanda Griffithas Amanda Griffith
    Charles Bickford
    Charles Bickford
    • Arnoldas Arnold
    Barton MacLane
    Barton MacLane
    • Crowderas Crowder
    Charley Grapewin
    Charley Grapewin
    • 'Old Puff'as 'Old Puff'
    John Qualen
    John Qualen
    • Davyas Davy
    Robert Gleckler
    Robert Gleckler
    • Sheriff Barneyas Sheriff Barney
    Clinton Rosemond
    • Enochas Enoch
    Cy Kendall
    Cy Kendall
    • Foreman Rossas Foreman Ross
    Paul Everton
    Paul Everton
    • Phillip Allanas Phillip Allan
    Claudia Morgan
    Claudia Morgan
    • Carolyn Talbotas Carolyn Talbot
    Selmer Jackson
    Selmer Jackson
    • Whittingham P. Talbotas Whittingham P. Talbot
    • (scenes deleted)
    Robert Middlemass
    Robert Middlemass
    • Harkrideras Harkrider
    Jonathan Hale
    Jonathan Hale
    • Col. Webbas Col. Webb
    George Cooper
    George Cooper
      Lee Tong Foo
      Lee Tong Foo
      • Chinese Cookas Chinese Cook
      • (scenes deleted)
      • (as Lee Tung Foo)
      • Director
        • W.S. Van Dyke
      • Writers
        • James M. Cain(screen play)
        • Jane Murfin(screen play)
        • Harvey Fergusson(screen play)
      • All cast & crew
      • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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      Storyline

      Edit

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        The $850 that Blake has left over from his estate in 1844 would equate to about $27,800 in 2015.
      • Goofs
        Charles Bickford's character is named Morgan throughout the movie, but he's called Arnold in the closing credits.
      • Connections
        Referenced in Electrical Power (1938)
      • Soundtracks
        Oh! Susanna
        (1846) (uncredited)

        Written by Stephen Foster

        Strains played during the opening credits

      User reviews9

      Review
      Top review
      6/10
      Another Rugged Role for Bob Taylor
      In casting Robert Taylor in Stand Up And Fight, MGM was trying to broaden his appeal. His first few films established him as a handsome, but callow youth. Camille was a typical part for him. In doing this film, A Yank at Oxford, and Killer McCoy, MGM was trying to create a more masculine image for its heart throb.

      Taylor plays the impoverished heir of a plantation in Maryland who is forced to sell his assets which of course in that society included black slaves. He's forced to go to work for a living and he gets a job with the new Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

      The B&O's main competition is a stage and freight line which does a side business in capturing runaway slaves and returning them to their masters. The guys doing this are Charles Bickford and Barton MacLane with a wink and nod from manager Wallace Beery.

      It's quite a culture shock for Taylor. He's grown up believing that blacks might be human, but of an inferior brand. The business that Bickford and MacLane are in disgusts him.

      Taylor and Beery got good notices for this film. Starting out as antagonists both in business and generationally, they gain a grudging respect for the other.

      The depiction of blacks as menials is the reason Stand Up And Fight is not broadcast too often. You run into a peculiar conundrum in dealing with movies about slavery. Because of the position they're in blacks have to act as subservient simply to survive and that in itself becomes offensive.

      Roots changed all of that, but by that time Robert Taylor and Wallace Beery were gone as was director Woody Van Dyke. Stand Up And Fight surely isn't Roots by any means, but considering the era it was probably groundbreaking for its day, as was Paramount's Souls at Sea a few years earlier. Not many films dealt with slavery at all.
      helpful•13
      1
      • bkoganbing
      • Nov 30, 2005

      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • January 6, 1939 (United States)
      • Country of origin
        • United States
      • Language
        • English
      • Also known as
        • Ustani i bori se
      • Filming locations
        • Butte Meadows, California, USA
      • Production company
        • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Technical specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        1 hour 37 minutes
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.37 : 1

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