Stand Up and Fight (film)

Stand Up and Fight is a 1939 American Western film directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starring Wallace Beery and Robert Taylor. The supporting cast includes Florence Rice, Helen Broderick, Charles Bickford, Barton MacLane, Charley Grapewin, and John Qualen. Playwright Jane Murfin and novelists Harvey Fergusson and James M. Cain shared screenwriting credit.

Stand Up and Fight
Theatrical Film Poster
Directed by	W.S. Van Dyke
Written by	James M. Cain, Jane Murfin, Harvey Fergusson, Laurence Stallings
Produced by	Mervyn LeRoy
Starring	Wallace Beery Robert Taylor
Cinematography	Leonard Smith
Edited by	Frank Sullivan
Music by	William Axt
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	January 6, 1939 (1939-01-06)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,055,000[1]
Box office	$1,840,000[1]

Plot

Blake Cantrell, an aristocrat from Maryland and a well-groomed cynic, uses his organized hunt to announce his imminent bankruptcy. In order to pay off his debts, Blake is forced to sell even his slaves, instead of freeing them, which causes the disapproval of his guest Susan Griffith.

Later in the evening, when he tries to seduce the girl, she bumps him back and leaves the mansion urgently. However, Blake is also forced to leave his home, since it was sold to cover his debts. He arrives to Cumberland to get a job at his father's old friend, Colonel Webb, the head of the Baltimore-Ohio railroad construction. Webb offers Blake a job which consists of spying on Starkey, the head of a competing shipping company, but Blake refuses. In the evening of the same day, Blake is jailed for a fight.

Cast

Lobby card

• Wallace Beery as Starkey
• Robert Taylor as Blake Cantrell
• Florence Rice as Susan Griffith
• Helen Broderick as Mandy Griffith
• Charles Bickford as Mr. Arnold (Morgan)
• Barton MacLane as Mr. Crowder
• Charley Grapewin as "Old Puff"
• John Qualen as Davy
• Robert Gleckler as Sheriff Barney
• Jonathan Hale as Colonel Webb

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $1,233,000 in the US and Canada and $607,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $183,000.^[1]