Le retour de l'étranger

"A Stranger's Return" from 1933 stars Miriam Hopkins, Lionel Barrymore, and Franchot Tone, and is directed by King Vidor.

Hopkins plays Louise Storr, a divorcée who leaves the big city, New York, and comes to visit her grandfather's (Lionel Barrymore) farm to get back to her roots. She doesn't intend to stay.

Grandpa Storr is thrilled to see her and wants her to stay. She meets his neighbor (Tone), an educated man with a wife and child, and there's an instant attraction. Like her, he loves theater and they relate on a different level from him and his wife. They realize they're in love.

Other people aren't really interested in having Louise stick around. And abruptly, Grandpa starts acting demented, and there's a move afoot to have him committed.

Funny and touching, this precode touches on two no-nos later on, divorce and adultery, but of course it's nothing today. Lionel Barrymore is hilarious as Grandpa, and he and Tone have wonderful banter as friends who pretend to be enemies. *Come over at 7 for dinner," Guy says "It will give me time to count the silverware and hide the valuables." "Why?" Grandpa asks. "Afraid I'll recognize my own stuff?" Both of them give charming performances.

Miriam Hopkins is at her most beautiful here, giving a lyrical performance as Louise. Such a wonderful actress - by her acting, we see the character's backstory of hurt due to her divorce. She's a gentle woman, capable of deep love. Hopkins had a long and prolific Broadway career and brought her training to film, playing a variety of roles. One of my favorites is her as the aunt in "The Heiress."

Catch this when it's on TCM.

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.

Louise Storr (Miriam Hopkins) has recently divorced and she's decided to leave the big city to visit her Grandpa Storr (Lionel Barrymore) in the country. There she has a lovely time and reconnects with family...but she also ends up finding solace in the arms of a nice neighbor, Guy Crane (Franchot Tone). The only trouble is that Guy is already married to Nettie...though he and his wife seem to have little in common...far less than he and Louise.

Despite the underlying conflict in this film is marital infidelity, this isn't exactly the overall tone of the film...nor is it a film endorsing this (like some Pre-Code films did). It's much more a nice slice of life sort of film and the sexual tension between Guy and Louise is just a part of this. However, this also makes it an example of the sorts of topics that you might have found in the Pre- Code days (up until mid-1934) where adultery was discussed in movies...and after it was rarely mentioned at all and when it was, it was severely punished.

Overall, this is a very nice, meandering sort of picture. Very well acted and well worth your time. Barrymore, as usual, steals the show but the rest are also quite good.

MGM usually made glossy films about society swells, but this one is a picturesque film about rural America set in the - at that time - present day. 85 year old Grandpa Storr (Lionel Barrymore) learns that his granddaughter by his eldest child, Louise (Miriam Hopkins) is coming to the farm for a visit from New York City. Although the two have never met before, they quickly connect. Storr has two of his children living with him - his milquetoast attorney son (Grant Mitchell) and his wife, and his controlling daughter Beatrice (Beulah Bondi).

Louise meets and falls in love with Grandpa Storr's married neighbor, Guy Crane (Franchot Tone). Guy went away to college and was changed by that experience, but went ahead and married his childhood sweetheart Nettie, mainly because they had already planned it. But Guy still has an interest in the bigger things in life such as art and literature - this is where he and Louise connect - while Nettie has never been off the farm. Nettie is a true friend to Louise, and this is what makes the whole situation more complicated, because neither Guy nor Louise could ever see themselves hurting the guileless Nettie.

And then, suddenly, Grandpa Storr becomes senile, believing that the Civil War is still going on, and his daughter Beatrice is itching to commit him so she can take over his farm and his funds.

The film never states WHERE it is located, but I would guess Pennsylvania, especially if Grandpa Storr has actual memories of Civil War battles occurring nearby. This is a very good understated performance by Hopkins, who so often played overwrought characters and women living on the edge of society. Beulah Bondi is terrific as a greedy shrew who keeps reminding Louise that she is a "scandal" because of her attention to Guy and the fact that she is separated from her husband. Stuart Erwin is the faithful but often drunken hired hand.

This film really excels at showing the rural lifestyle in the early 20th century - the dances, the harvesting, the neighbors helping each other out, the big dinners, and the beautiful countryside, exquisitely directed by King Vidor. For some reason - maybe rights problems - this is seldom shown on Turner Classic Movies in spite of being an MGM property. I highly recommend it if you ever get a chance to see it. Do note that there is about a minute missing from the end of some prints. It was common for precode era films to be rereleased with some scenes cut, but the scene missing is really nothing that would have been objected to by the censors.

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.