Synopsis
Octogenarian Grandpa Storr (Barrymore), owner of a large farm, lives with Beatrice Storr (Beulah Bondi), the widow of a nephew, and Thelma (Aileen Carlyle) and Allen Redfield (Grant Mitchell), the stepdaughter of his son and her husband. These relatives wait expectantly to inherit the farm. Farmhand Simon Bates (Erwin), loyal to the old man, works conscientiously despite his heavy drinking.
Grandpa Storr's granddaughter Louise (Hopkins), separated from her husband, comes to the farm seeking solace and tranquility; she quickly finds contentment with her grandfather. The other relatives treat her as cheerfully as they can manage notwithstanding their obvious resentment. Storr takes Louise to meet the neighbor, Guy Crane (Tone), and the men indulge in their friendly game of mutual insult. Louise visits Guy's farm to meet his wife Nettie (Irene Hervey) and child (Tad Alexander). Guy, a cultured college graduate, and Louise, a sophisticated city woman, hit it off immediately. Nettie, sweet and simple, cannot participate in the conversation. Louise and Guy are soon falling in love; their mutual attraction becomes obvious to Storr’s relatives. Beatrice maliciously spreads rumors about them. Louise loves the farm but thinks of leaving because of her feelings for Guy. Storr advises her to stay.
Storr's actions begin to upset Louise and Simon; he acts confused, talks about a civil war battle, and fears a confederate attack. His relatives call for a professional examination hoping he needs the assistance of a rest home. Louise and Simon, concerned, object to placing him in a home. As the Commissioners of the home examine him, Storr changes his demeanor and demonstrates his sanity and competence. He was pretending senility knowing his relatives would reveal their unfriendly intentions toward him. In the presence of the Commissioners, Storr revises his will, leaving his farm to Louise, allowing the chastened Redfields to stay, and throwing out Beatrice. Having ensured the future of his farm, Grandpa dies peacefully. Loyal Simon will help Louise manage the farm.
Guy comes to say goodbye. He cannot hurt his loving and trusting wife and has taken a teaching position with a distant college. In the fields, a plow is preparing rows for the next planting.
Discussion
Early in his directing career, King Vidor stated his wish to make films accentuating subjects with great meaning to humanity: steel, wheat, and war. The Stranger's Return, based on a novel of the same name by Philip Strong, and Our Daily Bread (1934) pick up the wheat theme with an emphasis on honoring the life of the farmer and their relationship to the land. The Stranger's Return has a strong rural feeling, with its depictions of the open land, the fields of wheat, and the wheat harvest. The film's main characters, Grandpa Storr and Louise, share a deep attachment to the farm.
Storr, strong and deeply rooted to the land, has absolute control over the farm and its inhabitants, but is aged and concerned about who will inherit and manage the farm after him. The relatives living with Grandpa, greedy and unconcerned about the farm itself, are not suitable heirs. The arrival of Louise, the granddaughter who is much like him, provides the proper heir.
Louise is presented with choices: will she accept her inheritance and take responsibility for the farm from aged Grandpa, and how will she and Guy resolve their romance? Louise, who has known the culture and sophistication of city life, is at home on the farm and in tune to her grandfather's opinions. Louise is the appropriate heir for the farm, but she must be certain about her commitment to it. She understands Guy, who shares with her education and culture. Their subtle romance generates strong feelings. Guy’s wife is gentle and trusting, he made a wrong choice but cannot betray her. Guy and Louise are saddened but recognize his responsibility to Nettie. They exchange places: Guy returns to city life, Louise, accepting her proper place, stays on the farm. Loyal Simon stays to help her.
The simple plot centers on sympathetic characters confronted by difficult choices. The focus is on the personal interactions and resultant strong emotions. No one is flashy, but all the main characters are complex. The low-key acting is sensitive and restrained. The film lacks an easy ending; the audience is left with a humane, but not necessarily satisfactory, resolution.
Lionel Barrymore, wearing aging makeup to add thirty years to his looks, is well-suited to his role and comfortable in all aspects of Grandpa Storr's character. His tendency to overact fits the exaggerated behaviors of the character. A popular and busy actor in the early 1930s, Barrymore had leading roles in eight films in 1933.
Miriam Hopkins restrains the prickliness of her persona and her tendency for overacting and produces a warm, intelligent, and witty characterization. Franchot Tone is similarly restrained and realistically projects intelligence and resignation. Stuart Erwin's character, the loyal, caring, and frequently drunk farmhand, is more multifaceted than his usual comic simpleton.
Beulah Bondi appeared in eleven Broadway productions between 1926 and 1953, including roles in Street Scene and The Late Christopher Bean that she repeated on screen. Her early film characters were unpleasant, slatternly, drab women. Later in her career, as her appearance softened, she played warm-hearted, loving mothers, notably in Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Bondi continued acting into her eighties, including in the television series The Waltons (1974-76).
In the early 1930s, King Vidor directed four films, Cynara (1932), The Stranger's Return (1933), The Wedding Night (1935) and So Red the Rose (1935), that share mature themes, involving the inner conflicts of strong characters who are seeking love and commitment. In each film, multiple characters have conflicting demands, prerogatives, and choices. Although intelligently made, these films are not well known.
Approximately six months were involved in the production of The Stranger's Return during the early months of 1933. MGM bought the rights to the book in February. Clark Gable was announced in the cast in April but had been replaced by Franchot Tone by May. In May, Vidor's production crew spent two weeks at farms in Chino, California. The Chino location (forty miles east of Hollywood) was much closer than Iowa. The film was released in July.
Contemporary reviews were positive, noting the simplicity and naturalism of the
plot, the restrained direction and realistic acting. In particular, reviewers
complimented the
hearty and brilliant performance given by Lionel Barrymore…A part made
in heaven for Barrymore.
In The New York Times, Mordaunt Hall described the direction as
…restrained and imaginative. Mr. Vidor manifests fidelity to life and
avoids stereotype notions. The comedy is gentle, natural, free from hokum. A
tame sort of tale is greatly enhanced by sober portraits that add to its
charm.
John Scott in The Los Angeles Times noted
the considerable homespun drama, romance and comedy, topped off by the really
fine characterization by Lionel Barrymore who typifies the old farmer to a 'T'.
King Vidor's direction reflects attention to detail and holds the piece
together.
The Variety reviewer noted that the plot splits interest.
A New York girl finds love, but he leaves her to save his wife. The audience
wants her to get him, but no reason for the other woman to suffer. It's real
life, but not completely acceptable picture material for those who want hero and
heroine to join. Overshadowing the love interest is very eccentric old farmer
plagued by fortune seeking relations who wait for his demise. A ruse
demonstrates their selfishness, and he leaves property to the sincere relation,
his granddaughter. Barrymore fits the role and carries the story.
TCM Film Festival, 2014
The Stranger's Return was shown at the TCM Classic Film Festival in
2014, in the Aging Parents
theme. The guest speaker was author, critic and
film historian Leonard Maltin. Maltin credited the film for its presentation of
adult subject matter, approached with intelligence, and for the
wonderful
performances by Lionel Barrymore and Miriam Hopkins. Maltin
speculated that King Vidor probably got to make such a non-commercial film due to
his clout at MGM. The Stranger's Return was not a success, however,
and Vidor's next film, Our Daily Bread, was not made produced by the
studio. The film's camera negative burned in 1970s, and a small piece of the end
of the film may be missing. The film concludes on an abrupt cut, and a little end
piece, a 25 or 30 second wrapping up scene, may have been lost. The story point
has been made, however.
According to Maltin, Vidor is an underrated filmmaker who was always trying new and challenging subjects meant for adult audiences, and never got into a creative rut.
Further Reading