''The Stranger's Return'' is a 1933 American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

drama film directed by

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

and starring

Miriam Hopkins Ellen Miriam Hopkins (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972) was an American actress known for her versatility. She first signed with Paramount Pictures in 1930. Her best-known roles included a pickpocket in Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy '' T ...

, Lionel Barrymore and

Franchot Tone Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone (February 27, 1905 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known ...

. It was released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

. Miriam Hopkins was loaned out to MGM for the picture while under contract to Paramount.

Plot

Miriam Hopkins plays Louise Storr, a recently divorced New Yorker who travels west to

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

to visit her paternal grandfather, a relation she has never met. Grandpa Storr (Lionel Barrymore) an 85-year-old patriarch, presides over his large farm and its employees. A number of distant relatives are long time residents in his household. They receive the city-girl granddaughter with reserved solicitude. Miriam meets the owner of the adjoining property, the married farmer Guy Crane (Franchot Tone), an Eastern-educated Iowan she finds attractive. Grandfather Storr's unconcealed preference for his close blood-kin Louise creates tension in the household. She is tested by the resident relatives and farm hands in her performance of her duties on the spread. Her essential good sense and self-esteem serve her well, despite her urban upbringing. Grandpa Storr, a military veteran of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, begins to display signs of dementia and the coterie of resident relatives quickly call for a mental evaluation to deem him legally unfit to operate the farm. The old man's apparent decent into madness is only a clever ruse to expose their avarice. He alters his will to disinherit the scheming relations and bequeaths the farm to Louise—the medical examiners acting as witnesses. His ultimate task in life completed, he dies peacefully. Guy announces that he and his wife will be returning to his Alma mater back East where he will teach agriculture at the university. Louise assumes her position as owner and operator of her grandfather's farm, deeply committed to her ancestral land.

Cast

as Louise Starr * Lionel Barrymore as Grandpa Storr *

as Guy Crane * Stuart Erwin as Simon * Irene Hervey as Nettie * Beulah Bondi as Beatrice * Grant Mitchell as Allan Redfield

Reception

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'' called the film "a shrewd, delightful and altogether effective entertainment, with a hearty and brilliant performance by Lionel Barrymore as the season's liveliest octogenarian." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' declared it "an outstanding production from the three angles of story, production and acting, in spite of the, from some angles, unsatisfactory ending."

John Mosher John Mosher (1928–1998) was an American jazz bassist, classical bassist and composer who worked, recorded and toured with a wide range of primarily West Coast artists from the 1950s through the mid-1990s. Early years A native of Sioux City, I ...

of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' wrote a mixed review that faulted the plot: "Though the film is longish, too long, we want more explanations of the people than are given." '' Harrison's Reports'' wrote that although the film "offers some good character studies, particularly the one portrayed by Lionel Barrymore as a self-willed old man, it is too slow for the masses," adding that it was difficult to sympathize with the love affair "because the hero is married to a very decent woman."

Box office

The film grossed a total (domestic and foreign) of $630,000: $439,000 from the US and Canada and $191,000 elsewhere. It made a profit of $106,000.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stranger's Return 1933 films Films directed by King Vidor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films based on American novels American black-and-white films American comedy-drama films 1933 comedy-drama films 1930s American films