the audience applauded

Fantastic!

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

I've always enjoyed old films, but somehow I came to think of Miriam Hopkins as only playing ditzy roles. Lately, however, I've seen her in a few of her earlier films where she played normal people, and I must admit she was quite good...as she is here, where she plays a young woman who has been living in the big city, but returns to the farm to visit her grandfather (Lionel Barrymore). She falls in love with a married man (Franchot Tone) and for that reason, and others, realizes that perhaps the rural setting is where she needs to be. But there are the beginnings of a scandal, and then two of the reasons she thinks the rural life is for her disappear. This is one of those somewhat slow 1933-era type films, but I enjoyed the story. The big let down here is the ending. Once the 2 things she has come to love about the rural setting disappear, will she stay? And if so, why?Hopkins and Barrymore are quite charming here, although it may take you a bit to get used to Barrymore's huge beard. Franchot Tone does nicely as the married man. Several people mentioned being impressed with Stuart Erwin as an alcoholic farmhand; I don't see anything impressive about the performance at all. Beulah Bondi plays the busy-body relative here, not the typically warm-hearted mother-type we usually saw her as. Grant Mitchell has a smaller role as a relative who is a passive lawyer.I'm not saying this is a great film, but it just feels comfortable. For a bit it seemed to be going off-track when Barrymore seemed to be slipping into senility...but that ultimately turned around nicely. I like Barrymore, so this film was a treat.

"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.

A delicate film, plenty of little marvellous details. I do not know why we cannot watch this film more times on television, because it is, in my opinion, the best film that King Vidor ever filmed. And I could watch it again and again.