Stranded

In San Francisco, attractive travelers' aid Kay Francis (as Lynn Palmer) meets superintendent George Brent (as Mack Hale), nine years after he gave her a "first kiss" (she claims she was 15 years old). The two are mutually attracted, although Ms. Frances is dating handsome Donald Woods (as John Wesley) and her new roommate Patricia Ellis (as Velma Tuthill) gives Mr. Brent those "come hither" looks. Brent is overseeing the city's new "Golden Gate Bridge" project, which is threatened by crooked Barton MacLane (as Sharkey) and his gang. The racketeers mean danger for Francis, her new relationship, and the Golden Gate Bridge...

Screenplay writer Delmer Daves' adaptation features a good setting, nicely unfolded by director Frank Borzage and the crew at Warner Bros. We begin with an innocent little girl traveling alone, who offers to share her Hershey's chocolate bar with a Black man and is kissed by another complete stranger. This falsely idealized and glamorized world prevails, but we see interesting contrasts develop and heavier themes explored, involving immigrants and alcohol. The usually glamorized gangsters take a back seat to the parallel concerns of industry and big business represented by Brent, coupled with charity and workers' rights represented by Francis...

The worlds are connected by unemployed young Frankie Darro (as James "Jimmy" Rivers), who probably should have been included in the opening pictorial credits, considering his role. Alas, the film wraps everything up too quickly.

****** Stranded (6/19/35) Frank Borzage ~ Kay Francis, George Brent, Patricia Ellis. Frankie Darro

This is a strong drama about two people of unswerving principles. George Brent plays Mack Hale, an engineer tasked with building the Golden Gate Bridge. Kay Francis plays Lynn Palmer, a woman sensitive to the emotional needs of others. When they meet, sparks fly, but they soon realize they cannot compromise their values for a relationship, and theygo their own ways. Besides, he really does not value her work.

Mack is faced with dire problems. There are those who would like him to fail, no matter the collateral damage. He has to fight crime while taking on the dangerous project.

The film has a clever theme and the writing is dynamic and thoughtful. I looked to see if Ayn Rand had a hand in the script (she didn't), because the story feels like something she might write, and its uses some themes common to her novels: the value of good workers, the value of doing good work, a principled approach to life, and the mob versus the individual.

Since the Golden Gate was built between 1933 and 1937, stock footage augments the narrative, providing authenticity. Safety really was an issue during construction, and the film uses that real concern to magnify the drama.

I was told that Frank Borzage could not read,at least at the beginning of his career.That may account for the extraordinary compassion he displays for his characters.A man who did not learn his work at the university,he is one of the greatest American directors of all time,and as far as the twenties and the thirties are concerned ,simply my favorite.I could not mention one of his films I do not like.Some are masterpieces ("Seventh Heaven "Street Angel' "No greater glory"the river" "little man what now?" "the mortal storm " "strange cargo" ),some are just good ,some such as "Stranded".

Lynn is a marvelous woman;we would like to see such characters in today's movies.She works for Travellers Aid ,she dedicates her life to helping stranded people ;she asks nothing in return and she carries on with little victories (the young boy and his father in jail) and big defeats (the old man);a thing that the man who is in love with her cannot understand:a selfish macho,he wants Lynn to be home as soon he is back from work.One realizes how much this female character is modern for 1935:in the melodramas of those years ,woman sacrificed her life when she was denied love ("only yesterday" "imitation of life" ;but Lynn is different ;she does not work for money or to make her way of life.She cares for the others,period.Like the doctor in "green light", the "three comrades" would do .

When the film begins ,Mack (George Brent)is not unlike Velma ,a girl who cannot understand Lynn (Kay Francis),for she only cares about herself.It will take a strike and horrendous events to make him understand Lynn's high-mindedness.

Ever read George Brent's bio? He fled Ireland with a price on his head. It was reputed that he was a member of the IRA Active Service Unit, though he claimed he was simply a courier for Michael Collins. Dashing background, eh? More than his character here, the foreman of the team building the Golden Gate Bridge (more dashing glamor). But in this humble role, Brent positively shines as a comedic talent. Romancing Kay Francis, and fending off protection racketeers, he flies through the movie with apparent ease, making acting as they say "look easy." The scene when he takes Francis out for a date, and ends up chaperoning around four mail order brides and an unwed mother is hilarious -- his double takes are marvelous. One day, Warner will release this, and a new generation can appreciate George Brent.

... before she was even well known! The outline makes this romantic movie sound like it could be a heavy melodrama: Mack Hale (George Brent) is a self-made construction engineer with no soft edges working on the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge - no person will get in the way of the construction of this monument. Lynn Palmer (Kay Francis) is a social worker with the Traveler's Aid Society - no monument will get in the way of her helping people. These two knew each other years ago when Lynn was 15 and renew their friendship and romance when Mack comes to the Traveler's Aid looking for one of his ace employees (Robert Barat as Stanislaus Janauschek) who has a bad habit of buying a train ticket back to Chicago to see his wife every time he gets drunk.

After the two begin dating, Mack begins to resent the fact that Lynn is constantly having their dates interrupted by this or that emergency at Traveler's Aid, and tells her that she is wasting her time trying to help people who "had their chance in life and couldn't cut it". Only when Mack is facing being ousted as construction engineer due to a protection racket that is causing trouble among his workers does he suddenly realize that no man is an island and everyone can use some help now and again. Although, like the congressman who suddenly becomes a champion of improving prison conditions after he goes to jail, his transformation seems a bit self-serving.

As in their other films, Kay and George have wonderful chemistry from the moment they are first on screen together. The film does give Kay an excuse for her gorgeous fashions and spacious apartment considering she is a social worker probably getting minor renumeration in exchange for her hard work - She has an independent income and is free to choose how she spends her time.

One of the most humorous scenes in the film is when Lynn is supposed to be on a date with Mack and she has to make "a few stops" first on behalf of her job. The two end up sharing a car with four giggling immigrant brides Lynn must deliver to their grooms and an expectant mother who has been abandoned by her husband that Lynn must take to the maternity hospital, with Mack's impatient comments being hilarious.

This is one of Kay Francis' most likable roles as she deals sympathetically with all of the poor souls tossed about by the Depression, and could have been one of Brent's most unlikeable ones, but like Lynn, the audience realizes underneath all of that bluster is a good person just waiting to get out. I highly recommend this little programmer for fans of films of the 1930's.