Felicidade Proibida

A very quiet story in terms of action, but full of wonderful performances in material that could have been easily dull in the wrong hands. Miriam Hopkins is at her most beautiful in her prime. When she's on the screen,you simply can't miss her star appeal, which is absolutely magnetic. Not only a beauty, but she proves herself again to be a great actress with a dynamic range. (Also see Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde 1932, Trouble In Paradise, Story Of Temple Drake,and Becky Sharp for Miriam at her best.) Beulah Bondi offers great support with her character that you will love to hate. Lionel Barrymore is also quite lovable in his role as the elderly patriarch of the family.

Don't see this film when you're high energy, but see this film.

A nice little comedy which stood the test of time quite well.Hopkins is the prodigal daughter who got divorced from her husband and comes back to the place where she belongs.There she will meet an educated farmer (Tone)with whom she falls in love ;but alas ,he's married with one child.In parallel ,we follow a wicked woman 's struggle to inherit the old patriarch 's valuable property.But this former military man does his Volpone act and things will change.

As refreshing as the lemonade they sip and the cookies they savor.

The Stranger's Return is an interesting pre-code film to watch, because although it deals with shocking subjects for the time period (like divorce and adultery), the film comes off relatively tame today. Louise Storr (Miriam Hopkins) has just divorced her husband and for a bit of a holiday and a way to get back to her roots, she revisits the family farm. Her grandfather (Lionel Barrymore) takes her back with open arms and shows her how wonderful a rural life can be, even for a city girl. Despite his age, he is a very active sort and continues to parade around his independence amid snobby onlookers. He even introduces his grand daughter to their neighbor Guy Crane (Franchot Tone), a married man who turns out to be the perfect diversion for the girl.

This movie is all about gossip and loyalty and finding a place to belong, but it is presented casually so as not to be mistaken for anything but entertainment. It features pleasing performances from some of the big names of the era, namely Barrymore who carries the film.

Miriam Hopkins couldn't get more likable than she is in The Stranger's Return. She's just delightful as a city girl who visits her grandfather's farm. Eighty-five-year-old Lionel Barrymore (only fifty-five at the time) is the head of the family, much to the chagrin of his children and in-laws. Beulah Bondi, Grant Mitchell, and Aileen Carlyle are all anxiously awaiting his demise so they can inherit the farm. When Miriam breezes in, they're wary of her, especially since she gets along so well with Lionel.

What I love about this movie is it's not the typical "city slicker" movie. It's funny but not silly, and it doesn't make fun of anyone. Yes, Stuart Erwin is the constantly drunk farm hand, but he doesn't harm anyone and only likes a good time. Yes, Beulah is mean-spirited, but she's not stereotypical. And Miriam truly learns to love her grandfather and his way of life. She's not looking for escapism or a brief thrill. She listens to his wisdom and applies it to her own life, taking the time to think about the consequences of her actions.

Which leads her to Franchot Tone. He owns the neighboring farm. He's handsome, kind, funny, intelligent enough to have been offered a teaching position, responsible enough to turn it down and run his family farm, and genuinely has a good heart. How can you help falling in love with a man like that? Oh, there is one more thing about Franchot: he's married. Chances are you've never heard of this movie, but if you can find a copy, watch it. It's very good. It's not stylized like some old flicks, and it's very true to life.

A King Vidor Metro production, but it sure smells like 20th Century Fox, with its rural setting, leisurely pacing, and prosaic dialog--it's even based on a novel by, and co-screenwritten by, Phil Stong, who wrote 20th's "State Fair." Lionel Barrymore, wearing a fake beard that wouldn't fool an eight-year-old, is the patriarch of a successful Iowa farm, a Civil War vet (just barely--at 85, he'd have been 17 in 1865) saddled with a troublesome family he lives with, including a wonderful Beulah Bondi, as a calculating shrew. Granddaughter Miriam Hopkins, a divorcée, comes to visit from New York and falls in love with both the farm and married neighbor Franchot Tone, while hired hand Stu Erwin drinks and provides the modest comic relief. The writing's less than first-rate- -scenes just end, and there's more detail to the workings of farm life than necessary--but it's a quiet, touching character study, and Hopkins, often given to histrionics elsewhere, is restrained and appealing. The characters' dilemmas feel real, and the bittersweet ending resonates.