Way Back Home

Life on the Farm and Hill Folk in General have Always been Good and mostly Innocent Entertainment for ever. Ma and Pa Kettle, Francis the Talking Mule, The Real McCoys, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Waltons, Etc.

This Dusty Antique is No Exception. Even before making it to the Screen it was a Popular Radio Show. The Film Version is a Homey, Tear-Jerker that is Livened Up with a lot of Songs and some Homespun Humor.

The Talkies were often over Burdened with Music and Songs feeling out the New Technology for this and that to See what Audiences Liked and of Course because Everyone Likes a Tune or two.

In this one there may be a Tune too Many but what is here are some Classic Sing-A-Longs that Raise the Spirit more than they make the Toe Tap. The Two Intertwining Stories are Emotional to Say the Least.

One is the Foster Son Raised by the Farmers that They obviously Love and He Loves Them. His Real Father Abandon Him for 10 Years, an Alcoholic and really Bad Guy, is back an Up to No Good.

The Second is where Bette Davis comes in. She Plays the Daughter of a Bigot (with a Whip) trying to keep Her from Dating a "Bastard Child", for Pre-Code enthusiasts.

Overall, it is a Product of its Time, and the Messages and Good Feelings that this Produce are for the Ages. It also Contains some Interesting, Supporting, Comedy Relief Characters. Heartwarming and Recommended.

WAY BACK HOME (RKO Radio, 1931/32), directed by William A. Seiter, became the screen adaptation to the popular radio show of the time featuring Phillips Lord as Seth Parker. A homespun melodrama with touches of humor in the reminder of some Fox Films starring the ever popular Will Rogers, Phillips Lord mannerisms with white hair and beard comes as a reflection to the similar performer of stage and screen named Charles "Chic" Sale, who appeared in more motion pictures to Lord's two. With the opening titles introducing Lord's character of Seth Parker above the title gives the indication of fans of the radio show to have the pleasure of watching the radio characters coming to life on the big screen. That was way back in early 1932. Seeing WAY BACK HOME would be more of interest today to a young actress early in her career to become a two-time Academy Award winner as Best Actress and a major star before the end of the decade. Her name is Bette Davis.

Set in Jonesport, Maine, the story focuses on just plain folks living as neighbors in a farming community. Seth Parker (Phillips Lord) is a middle-aged preacher who dedicates his life to the community and his loving wife (Ellie L. Palmer). Some years ago, he had taken in a child who grows up to become Robbie (Frankie Darro) as a favor of his dying mother to raise and keep him away from his drunken father who has since vanished from their lives. The subplot to the story involves David Clark (Frank Albertson), a hired hand working for Woobling Duffy (Oscar Apfel). Duffy fires David for being so much in love with his daughter, Mary Lucy (Bette Davis), but more to the fact that David's mother, known to the community as "Runaway Rosie" (Dorothy Peterson) had left town years ago to return with a child and no husband, only to be an outcast living alone without any friends. Problems arise when Mary Lucy is evicted from her home for standing up to her father, thus an outcast finding a new home living under the Parker family. As for Seth, who never adopted Robbie legally, finds himself facing Rube Turner (Stanley Fields), who has come to claim back his son. Other cast members include Sophia M. Lord (Lizzie), Bennett Kilpack (Cephus), Raymond Hunter (Captain Bang), and Shep, the dog.

Based on the story "Other People's Business" by Jane Murfin, WAY BACK HOME, its new title, is trifle slow with Phillips Lord doing quite a bit of talking and little action. Aside from humorous dialogue between Parker and the bill collector (Wade Boteler), and verbally reading at great length current events from the newspaper, one thing that sure matters is how the community should not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Dorothy Peterson's character gathers sympathy here as the outcast mother living through town gossip without really knowing the circumstances. The only time WAY BACK HOME becomes a real point of interest is during a horse and buggy chasing scene. Though Bette Davis is still early in her career, her performance, coming ten minutes into the story, shows her natural ability in performing along with her scenes opposite Frank Albertson played off in realistic manner.

WAY BACK HOME also consists of some old-style songs as "The Girl I Left Behind Me," "On Moonlight Bay," "Love's Old Sweet Song," "Swanee River," "Auld Lang Syne," "In The Good Old Summertime" and "Put On Your Old Gray Bonnet" among others. Maybe as a silent movie under the direction of D. W. Griffith in the 1920s, this might have proven more favorable considering how reminiscent to similar themes produced at that time to be seemingly outdated to Depression audiences of 1932.

Had it not been for the presence of Bette Davis, maybe WAY BACK HOME would seldom see any television revivals, or simply remain in some film vault gathering dust. Distributed on video cassette in 1991, and later DVD, Seth Parker and his homespun neighbors can be seen on occasion on Turner Classic Movies. (**)

This is NOT a movie for a wised-up 21st century audience. This is a picture designed specifically for the millions of fans of Phillips Lord's popular radio series Sunday Evenings at Seth Parker's. The story is a cracker barrel melodrama, the type that would be elevated a few years later by Philip Stong in his A VILLAGE TALE (also filmed by RKO, in 1934). The acting in WAY BACK HOME is sincere and quaint. Stanley Fields is the perfect villain, even without a moustache to twirl. The hilarious opening scene between Seth Parker and the tax man (Wade Boteler) was perhaps an inspiration for MGM's THE MATING GAME. Little Frankie Darro is terrific as Robbie. But the big prize goes to Bette Davis. Even amidst the tried-and-true showboat dramatics she pulls off a 100% believable, emotional performance. There was no question that this girl was going places and a lot farther than Jonesport! The community sing sequences in the Parkers' parlor are perhaps the most reminiscent of a bygone era. The harmonies are wonderful and they brought a great big smile to this audience member. Finally, a mention of the character "Cephus." I suspect Edgar Bergen was one of the listeners of SETH PARKER and might have based his Mortimer Snerd characterization on Bennett Kilpack's Cephus. This was Kilpack's only apparent film appearance, yet he became a titan in radio, creating and starring in MR. KEEN, TRACER OF LOST PERSONS. If WAY BACK HOME should come your way, give it a chance. But put yourself in the proper mood. It must be viewed in context and without a jaded mind or stony heart!

This film gets off to a very slow start with a scene where an old New England farmer drives a tax accountant from the city nuts with his convoluted tales of bartering and swapping; being an accountant, he just wants the numbers. This went on so long, I almost gave up before the movie got underway, but I'm glad I stuck with it. It's not a great story, and it's certainly not what you'd call a Bette Davis film--she's a secondary character.

What it does do very well is to depict a rural American life that is long gone--listening in on the party line, sharing preserves with the neighbors, a taffy pull, and especially singing. The folks all gather at the preacher's house to sing the traditional American standards of the day, accompanied by the preacher's wife on a pump organ: "Love's Old Sweet Song," "Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet," "Seeing Nellie Home," and the like. I imagine these are mostly forgotten today, and it's nice to see them preserved in a relatively realistic context such as this. An unexpected pleasure.

Phillips Lord plays Seth Parker om old-age make-up, a downeast Mainer who succors young lovers Frank Albertson and Bette Davis. Amidst singing old--time songs, he deals with adopted son Frankie Darro, whose natural father, Stanley Fields, shows up to demand his son.

Lord was 29 when he essayed the role for RKO, after making it an early hit on the radio. He based the character on his grandfather. He continued to play the character occasionally for the next ten years, but his further radio shows wandered far afield, including buying a four-masted schooner and sailing it around the world, searching for sunken treasure and looking at sea life. His next radio project was the well-remembered GANG BUSTERS, which he wrote and narrated. He also produced MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY.

The twice-divorced Lord died in 1975, at the age of 73.