La femme traquée

Kay Francis is at the height of her screen career and in the title role of I Found Stella Parrish. She's a celebrated actress over in the United Kingdom who right after opening in a play to rave reviews suddenly vanishes.

Reporter Ian Hunter goes on the trail. Her producer Paul Lukas has billed her as a'woman of mystery so there's no real background. But with that voice, she's an American. Ian crosses the pond and on the same ship.

It's the usual story he falls for her, but the story comes first. After that it's who does she get in the end?

Also in the picture is a menacing Barton MacLane who is the source of her troubles. They had some history back in the day that Hunter painstakingly digs out. He's only on briefly, but he is scary.

Francis has some good scenes with her daughter Sybil Jason who's origins remain discreet as per The Code.

Francis runs a whole gamut of emotions in this film. One of her best performances.

that drags in places. But Kay Francis is always worth watching. She plays an actress with a surprising past that catches up with her. Ian Hunter, Paul Lukas, and Jessie Ralph are all ok, but Sybil Jason is yukky as the kid. The play that Kay is a smash in a a total dog, but it hardly matters. Film could also have shown her burlesque tour in a seedier light. But this Warners programmer kills 84 minutes pleasantly.

Lots of people seem to have negative things to say about this old film, but you have to remember when you watch it that Kay Francis was the consummate precode actress. When the production code began to be enforced in 1934, Warner Brothers had to struggle to find the right vehicles for Kay that would also not violate the code. Although this is not the best work she did before Jack Warner threw her and her career under the bus in 1937, it is a solid little film.

Kay plays successful American stage actress Stella Parish living in England. Stella lives a quiet life with her daughter, and refuses to be interviewed by the press or have any photo taken of her that is not a publicity still with her in full makeup for whatever role she is playing. One night, after a performance, someone who recognizes her from "her old days" waits for her in her dressing room and attempts to blackmail her. Stella reacts by fleeing England in the dead of night, daughter in tow. Reporter Keith Lockridge (Ian Hunter) is on her trail looking for the story of his career. He finds that story - where Stella is now and who she really is as far as her past is concerned - but he also finds romance. Of course the whole time Keith is befriending Stella she has no idea he is a reporter. After he has already turned in his story to his editor, Stella comes to him, confesses that she considers him a trusted friend and more, and then tells him the story behind the facts he has put in his headline, all the time thinking he knows nothing of her past. Justifiably feeling like a heel, Keith tries to squash the story he has sent back to London, but it is too late - the story is already in the papers being sold on the streets. What did Stella do in her past to cause her to flee, and how will this pan out for everyone involved? Watch and find out.

This is worth watching for the reason that most Kay Francis films are worth seeing - nobody suffers for her past sins and more-so the sins of others that have done her wrong like Kay Francis, and nobody looks that good while doing so. As for Ian Hunter, I really liked Kay best opposite William Powell and George Brent, and I thought Mr. Hunter was just a bit too bland to be paired with the glamorous Kay in most cases. This is one of the exceptions as he really plays the part of the reporter quite well. He doesn't play a Lee Tracy style journalist here. Instead he plays a classy man with a not so classy job who has to reconcile this with a pesky conscience that's finally beginning to bother him.

What is bad about the film? For one thing, I've never been a huge Sybil Jason fan, and in this part as Stella's daughter she's just over the top sticky sweet. Also, the production values are thrown together. Someone has already mentioned the business of English cars with the steering on the left hand side as well as the odd play Kay is starring in that is supposed to be about ... Caligula??? I'd recommend this to anyone who likes Kay Francis and old films from the 30's, but do be advised there are more than a few holes in the plot and the art design.

Super melodramatic sudser with Kay suffering and suffering and suffering and the audience suspending disbelief. If you can do that you'll enjoy this exercise in excess.

Kay is as usual dressed in high fashion throughout. A kaleidescope of 30's fashion, which was what the public expected from a Kay Francis vehicle at the time and it's easy to see why. Due to her height, slenderness and perfect posture she's able to carry off even the most exaggerated clothes. However the clothes only take the film so far and the story that it's pegged on is the usual preposterousness that was also a regular component her films. Supported by a good cast, although Ian Hunter is rather stiff as the male lead, Kay plays one ridiculous situation after another with complete conviction. This was one of her biggest hits.

I Found Stella Parish masterfully engages the viewer. It is very stylized hokum, but yet it is sincere and rather poignant. Kay Francis plays an actress with a secret past that involves having given birth to a child out of wedlock. Taking a break from her stage career, she decides to focus on her role as a mother and travels incognito with her daughter, played by Sybil Jason. It's a nice bit of casting, and their performances nicely complement each other.

Three years later, Warners would reunite Francis and Jason on screen in Comet Over Broadway. Once again, they are mother and daughter, and once again Miss Francis is an actress.