Stranded (1935) User Reviews

Absorbing Light Drama By The Golden Gate

[sobaok · 7/10 · 17 April 2001]

STRANDED would be more aptly named THE GOLDEN GATE. There is some fascinating footage of the actual construction of the bridge and it adds to the excitement as the drama unfolds. George Brent is solid as the foreman on the construction job -- trying to keep his men in line and up against gangsters who want pay-off for "protection". George meets Kay Francis who plays with her usual self-assurance and grace as a Traveler's Aid worker.

Francis' role focuses on a compassionate look at the assimilation of foreign brides, assisting "lost" elders and children at the train depot. Her role also shows an understanding for the problems of unwed mothers. Francis' has a natural knack for making it all plausible -- she believes in her work and her role and is wonderful to watch. The surprise ending is a real switch from the usual 1930-60's fare as far as male-female roles are concerned.

Lots of great character actors show up: Ann Shoemaker, Robert Barrett, Frankie Darro, Henry O'Neil, Barton MacLane. Borgaze's direction and Delmer Daves pen add some nice comic touches keeping the drama light.

Sparkling performance by George Brent

[David Spalding · 7/10 · 9 October 2006]

Ever read George Brent's bio? He fled Ireland with a price on his head. It was reputed that he was a member of the IRA Active Service Unit, though he claimed he was simply a courier for Michael Collins. Dashing background, eh? More than his character here, the foreman of the team building the Golden Gate Bridge (more dashing glamor). But in this humble role, Brent positively shines as a comedic talent. Romancing Kay Francis, and fending off protection racketeers, he flies through the movie with apparent ease, making acting as they say "look easy." The scene when he takes Francis out for a date, and ends up chaperoning around four mail order brides and an unwed mother is hilarious -- his double takes are marvelous. One day, Warner will release this, and a new generation can appreciate George Brent.

Building Bridges

[wes-connors · 6/10 · 25 August 2012]

In San Francisco, attractive travelers' aid Kay Francis (as Lynn Palmer) meets superintendent George Brent (as Mack Hale), nine years after he gave her a "first kiss" (she claims she was 15 years old). The two are mutually attracted, although Ms. Frances is dating handsome Donald Woods (as John Wesley) and her new roommate Patricia Ellis (as Velma Tuthill) gives Mr. Brent those "come hither" looks. Brent is overseeing the city's new "Golden Gate Bridge" project, which is threatened by crooked Barton MacLane (as Sharkey) and his gang. The racketeers mean danger for Francis, her new relationship, and the Golden Gate Bridge...

Screenplay writer Delmer Daves' adaptation features a good setting, nicely unfolded by director Frank Borzage and the crew at Warner Bros. We begin with an innocent little girl traveling alone, who offers to share her Hershey's chocolate bar with a Black man and is kissed by another complete stranger. This falsely idealized and glamorized world prevails, but we see interesting contrasts develop and heavier themes explored, involving immigrants and alcohol. The usually glamorized gangsters take a back seat to the parallel concerns of industry and big business represented by Brent, coupled with charity and workers' rights represented by Francis...

The worlds are connected by unemployed young Frankie Darro (as James "Jimmy" Rivers), who probably should have been included in the opening pictorial credits, considering his role. Alas, the film wraps everything up too quickly.

****** Stranded (6/19/35) Frank Borzage ~ Kay Francis, George Brent, Patricia Ellis. Frankie Darro

Thanks to Kay Francis and George Brent

[drednm · 22 September 2016]

Solid romantic drama with Kay Francis as a volunteer at Travelers Aid and George Brent as a construction manager at the Golden Gate Bridge (which didn't open until 1937) showcases the breezy charm of two top stars.

The stars live for their jobs but romance is difficult since each one is on call 24 hours a day. Brent's job is complicated by a protection racket run by Barton MacLane, and Francis' job is complicated by a spoiled heiress (Patricia Ellis) she gets stuck with because her mother donates so much money to Travelers Aid. It gets even more complicated when Ellis takes a shine to Brent.

Lots of good supporting players here: Ann Shoemaker, John Wray, Robert Barrat, Zeffie Tilbury, June Travis, Donald Woods, Gavin Gordon, Frankie Darro, Spencer Charters, Mary Forbes, Sarah Padden, Paul Panzer, Joseph Crehan.

Easy to see why Kay Francis was a top star of the time.

A Bridge Too Near

[writers_reign · 7/10 · 3 April 2008]

George Brent is building bridges. Physically, as in the Golden Gate and metaphorically as in rescuing his relationship with Kay Francis. Spig Wead had a hand in the script and no prizes for guessing his contribution centered on the mechanics of rivets and girders leaving the wit - such as it is - to Delmer Daves. For a movie made in the heart of the Depression Kay Francis sure knows how to live, inhabiting an apartment that could be on Sutton Place and by the same token Barton McClain could be over-ambitious in his demand for 'five grand a week' from Brent in return for 'protection'. There's a lot going on for a film with a running time of only 82 minutes but somehow Borzage manages to cram in a suicide, non-English speaking mail-order brides, an idealistic kid unaware that his father is in prison and a society gal foisted on Francis by her social register mother, most of which is meaningless in terms of the main story, the romance between Brent and Francis. Kay Francis, of course, starred in One-Way Passage opposite Bill Powell (it was remade with Brent and Oberon 8 years later) for which I for one will forgive her anything. Pleasant rather than memorable.

Pretty good, but not one to rush to see either

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 17 May 2008]

This is a pretty standard sort of programmer from Warner Brothers. Kay Francis and George Brent starred in quite a few films together, though sadly they are pretty much forgotten today. I've always thought that Brent in particular was a heck of an actor, though in this film Francis was given a better part and shined in the lead--even though she was way too old to be playing a 24 year-old woman. It's definitely worth watching just for them, but otherwise it's nothing work rushing to see.

Francis plays, of all things, a social worker for the Traveler's Aid Society. She loves her job and is very good at it. When she meets up with an old flame (Brent), they renew their relationship and begin thinking about marriage. The problem, though, is that Brent is very old fashioned and he expects her to give up her job--even though it's her life. As a result, they decide to part--that is until the rousing finale that brings them back together.

As I stated above, the leads did a good job in the film but the script itself wasn't all that much better than any other picture of the day. The biggest pluses about the film are the strong feminist message as well as a neat chance to see character actor Robert Barrat play a very unusual role--one that took my by surprise. For cinemaniacs like me, I guess these are reasons enough to see it.

Why is it called 'Stranded'???

[cmeyk-802-590261 · 7/10 · 15 July 2014]

Despite the picture seeming kind've a bit bland, it did have that 'On The Waterfront' vibe of dealing with the nasty type of things that happen on the job site. The movie had a few moments that grabbed me, and overall I liked that Francis Kay's character Lynn Palmer was a true 'do gooder' while her romantic partner Mack Hale, only saw the 'no gooders' of society as lost causes that Lynn put all her wasted energy into helping.

I was shocked in the middle of the movie when Mack asks Lynn what she was doing that night and she answered by saying she was maybe going to The Mallard, a bar that I frequent when I'm at my home in the Bay Area. The Mallard, located in Albany, Ca was a duck hunting lodge from the olden days but if you drive there now you'd never guess the entire are used to me marsh lands as it is now in the middle of a densely populated area on the main street San Pablo.

The movie takes place during the construction of The Golden Gate Bridge, and was shot during the construction of the bridge. The movie deals with a group of thugs that try to get the main contractor on the bridge to pay extortion money to them or else they will start trouble by risking the lives of the workers. Without giving too much away, the thugs do eventually cause a death of a construction worker on the bridge.

Ironically, in real life, the contractors who built The Golden Gate Bridge were the first bridge builders who used nets under the bridge to keep workers from falling to their deaths. They had almost made the entire bridge without one fatality, but on the last day of construction a group of about 18 or so workers had a fall. If just one or two, or maybe five or ten would have fell, the net would have held, but because so many men fell at the same time the net broke and more men died on that day then on comparable bridges that had no nets.

Interested in knowing more about the authors, I researched Fran Wead of whom is credited with the story. The screenplay however was written by Delmer Daves. Born in San Francisco, Daves has an old man in the beginning of the film coming in on a boat from Seattle who says,

"I was born in this city, I'll probably die here."

The Mallard Bar started to make more sense when I saw the screenwriter was a San Francisco native. I doubt a screenwriter from anywhere else would really know this bar. I also came to find out through a fan site for Kay Francis, that Daves was in fact Kay's boyfriend at the time of the making of this film and wrote it while he was with her. Probably went something like this:

Delmer: I have a wonderful idea for a movie darling, it's this short story by a naval aviator turned screenwriter, Frank Wead.

Francis: What's it about dear?

Delmer: Well, it's about a bridge contractor's fight with some mob characters, and it's got a beautiful dame in it, of course..and who better to play the part, but you!

Francis: Well that's a swell idea. Especially with the Golden Gate being built right now. It will be all the rage on the town. Come on love, let's go celebrate at The Mallard.

Well, despite the personal subjective interest this has to Bay Area-ites and Cinemaphiles around the world, I also read a review from the time of the Francis' role in the film:

"Miss Francis gives a smooth and sensitive performance but she is wasted in an uninteresting role as a girl who takes her job too seriously." Variety

Despite the mixed reviews, I enjoyed the film not just on a sentimental reason, but I did like the brutal honesty of the 30's, the violence of the film felt real in that it was built around what felt like real life scenarios that happen all the time with unions, mobs, and honest men like Mack. In the end we see Mack after all is a 'do gooder' also, always giving honest joe's jobs. He's known for being harsh, and being a brawler of a boss. We find out though that he is a fair and just man and just like he said in the beginning, he is the first to say when he is wrong. Mack is the classic static character, who is the same guy in the end that he was in the beginning, the man you can't change. He starts off a guy who lives and dies by his word, and that's who he stays. Firing drunk workers who put others lives in harms way, made Mack unpopular with a lot of the workers. Doing all this not because he's cold and doesn't care, but because he does care.

p.s. I still don't why the movie is called Stranded.

Kris Kardash / filmmaker

One of Kay's best

[TomInSanFrancisco · 8/10 · 8 May 2008]

Just saw this on Turner, and was pleasantly surprised.

I've never seen it mentioned in articles about Kay Francis, but it's one of her most likable roles. She looks great, as always, but she's more than a clothes-horse, and there's more to her character than her love life.

Remarkably, this is one of the rare 1930s "independent woman" films in which the woman stays independent and strong while remaining feminine in the best sense of that word.

Also interesting is the extensive footage of the building of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. That footage might have been just "filler" in another movie, but it fits right in here.

Definitely recommended!

A golden heart and a golden gate.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 2 January 2017]

She was a white angel as Florence Nightingale, and she's suffered much for the children she was forced to give up or struggle to support. She was also a home wrecking vamp, a con artist and the leader of organized crime. She's Kay Francis, a dark haired, widow peaked beauty, a clothes horse and the queen of Warner Brothers throughout the mid 1930's. Some of her films are silly women's films, others historical dramas or screwball comedies. She didn't sing, but danced nicely with a bevy of handsome men. In this silly melodrama, she's the chief clerk at San Francisco's union depot who provides assistance to travelers in need. Often, the situations are absurd and seemingly forced, but when she finds romance, you'll be rooting for her to succeed because she truly deserves it.

The man she finds love with is the somewhat temperamental George Brent. Francis's devotion to her job annoys him, and if I had to be in a car with five giggling ninnies I'd never met before, I'd be pretty upset, too. There is really not much to the story, however, and after a while, I began to wonder how this one slipped out of the writer's building at Warners and onto a studio soundstage. There's some drama concerning Brent and bullying Barton MacLane, but at times, it seems barely a part of the plot.

Somewhat aggravating at times (particularly the scene with the giggly girls), this is a difficult film to really embrace. There are touching moments, particularly her offer of lodging to a sad old man who refuses to take charity and her finding of family and work to young Frankie Darro. But the presence of Patricia Ellis as a flighty socialite using her position with Kay to fool her mother, then becoming upset when Brent chooses Francis over her, is just disturbing. If it wasn't for Kay and her undeniable charisma, I doubt that I'd even rank this as **.

George Brent as Ayn Rand ...

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 19 August 2012]

... before she was even well known! The outline makes this romantic movie sound like it could be a heavy melodrama: Mack Hale (George Brent) is a self-made construction engineer with no soft edges working on the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge - no person will get in the way of the construction of this monument. Lynn Palmer (Kay Francis) is a social worker with the Traveler's Aid Society - no monument will get in the way of her helping people. These two knew each other years ago when Lynn was 15 and renew their friendship and romance when Mack comes to the Traveler's Aid looking for one of his ace employees (Robert Barat as Stanislaus Janauschek) who has a bad habit of buying a train ticket back to Chicago to see his wife every time he gets drunk.

After the two begin dating, Mack begins to resent the fact that Lynn is constantly having their dates interrupted by this or that emergency at Traveler's Aid, and tells her that she is wasting her time trying to help people who "had their chance in life and couldn't cut it". Only when Mack is facing being ousted as construction engineer due to a protection racket that is causing trouble among his workers does he suddenly realize that no man is an island and everyone can use some help now and again. Although, like the congressman who suddenly becomes a champion of improving prison conditions after he goes to jail, his transformation seems a bit self-serving.

As in their other films, Kay and George have wonderful chemistry from the moment they are first on screen together. The film does give Kay an excuse for her gorgeous fashions and spacious apartment considering she is a social worker probably getting minor renumeration in exchange for her hard work - She has an independent income and is free to choose how she spends her time.

One of the most humorous scenes in the film is when Lynn is supposed to be on a date with Mack and she has to make "a few stops" first on behalf of her job. The two end up sharing a car with four giggling immigrant brides Lynn must deliver to their grooms and an expectant mother who has been abandoned by her husband that Lynn must take to the maternity hospital, with Mack's impatient comments being hilarious.

This is one of Kay Francis' most likable roles as she deals sympathetically with all of the poor souls tossed about by the Depression, and could have been one of Brent's most unlikeable ones, but like Lynn, the audience realizes underneath all of that bluster is a good person just waiting to get out. I highly recommend this little programmer for fans of films of the 1930's.

The Lady with the Badge

[richardchatten · 5/10 · 30 May 2019]

An atypical Frank Borzage potboiler with one or two of the romantic and socially concerned flourishes you might have anticipated, as social worker Kay Francis - in a variety of chic high collars - romances flint-hearted manager George Brent while he shields the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge from sabotage by racketeers.

Sometimes we fail

[dbdumonteil · 9 January 2008]

I was told that Frank Borzage could not read,at least at the beginning of his career.That may account for the extraordinary compassion he displays for his characters.A man who did not learn his work at the university,he is one of the greatest American directors of all time,and as far as the twenties and the thirties are concerned ,simply my favorite.I could not mention one of his films I do not like.Some are masterpieces ("Seventh Heaven "Street Angel' "No greater glory"the river" "little man what now?" "the mortal storm " "strange cargo" ),some are just good ,some such as "Stranded".

Lynn is a marvelous woman;we would like to see such characters in today's movies.She works for Travellers Aid ,she dedicates her life to helping stranded people ;she asks nothing in return and she carries on with little victories (the young boy and his father in jail) and big defeats (the old man);a thing that the man who is in love with her cannot understand:a selfish macho,he wants Lynn to be home as soon he is back from work.One realizes how much this female character is modern for 1935:in the melodramas of those years ,woman sacrificed her life when she was denied love ("only yesterday" "imitation of life" ;but Lynn is different ;she does not work for money or to make her way of life.She cares for the others,period.Like the doctor in "green light", the "three comrades" would do .

When the film begins ,Mack (George Brent)is not unlike Velma ,a girl who cannot understand Lynn (Kay Francis),for she only cares about herself.It will take a strike and horrendous events to make him understand Lynn's high-mindedness.

A career-minded woman, Travelers Aid, and the Golden Gate Bridge

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 21 April 2021]

Kay Francis and George Brent star in "Stranded" from 1935, which features Patricia Ellis, Donald Woods, and Barton MacLane.

Francis plays Lynn Palmer, who works for Travelers Aid. And that's where the title of the film comes from. Brent plays Mac Hale, a construction manager for the Golden Gate Bridge who comes to her office looking for one of his workers, whom he thinks might have gone to Salt Lake. He falls for Lynn and the two start dating.

Problems arise when Hale wants to get married, but he also wants Lynn to give up her job. He considers helping "losers" ridiculous and doesn't think they deserve what she does on their behalf. At the same time, a protection racket is trying to get $5000 a month from him, and when he won't agree, starts infiltrating his workers with troublemakers.

This film was an eye-opener for me about Travelers Aid - what a great organization. Francis plays a social worker there - I don't know what I thought Travelers Aid was, but it apparently helps people who are lost, victims of sex trafficking, people with no place to sleep, etc.

Francis is wonderful playing a woman who is warm, compassionate, and efficient. She and Brent have a wonderful scene where she has to take a pregnant mother to the hospital - that's the first stop - and the second is to get foreign brides to their grooms, and the brides spend the trip giggling at Brent.

Brent plays a tough guy, and he does a great job.

Great footage of the Golden Gate Bridge in progress.

Very enjoyable film.

Bring On That Golden Gate!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 18 October 2014]

Appropriately, Stranded opened in New York at the Strand on June 19, 1935. The film ran only a week before it was replaced by In Caliente which ran two weeks before it was replaced by Front Page Woman. No doubt, Stranded did better business in San Francisco. In some ways, Stranded is not the sort of movie we expect from Frank Borzage who performs a very neat balancing act here with a script by Delmer Daves that combines many strands – including romance, gangsters and charity work – into a pleasingly realistic whole that centers on the building of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.

Top-billed Kay Francis turns in a luminous performance as the Travelers' Aid worker, whilst super-glamorous Patricia Ellis, dressed to the nines, provides a neat contrast. However, I would have preferred someone a bit more abrasive than George Brent as the construction boss. Although Brent does wonders with the role, it's really made to order for actors like Bogart or Cooper who can be equally convincing as tough guys yet sentimentalists, whereas Brent is forced to play the role down the middle. For me, this lessened his impact in what is after all a crucial role. Mind you, it's obvious from the billing that this is exactly what the studio, the writer and the director wanted to happen. Kay Francis is not only billed first, but above the title, whereas Brent heads the "with" players.

Building things of people

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 13 August 2016]

In this film a couple (Kay Francis and George Brent) must overcome nearly insurmountable odds; and the basis of their romantic relationship is framed within the context of greater societal issues. Mostly the issues involve paid labor. A bridge construction crew headed by Brent begins to fall under the control of a man (Barton MacLane) running a protection racket. But the showdown between Brent and MacLane doesn't occur until the last 15 minutes of the story.

The first hour instead focuses on how Brent meets Francis and how he disapproves of her life as a working woman, where her priority is helping the dregs of society. He makes it perfectly clear that he feels these people are wasting her time. He'd much rather she devote herself entirely to him and being his wife. There are some nicely comical scenes where their dates are interrupted by her work, and where he is brought into contact with the people she helps. She tells him that while he is building things of steel, she is building things of people.

In the end, we know they are going to wind up together and that she will help him defeat the racketeers. The last few moments give us new insights into them and how they've grown through their ordeal. They both realize there are things about each other that shouldn't change; and those are the meaningful things they must accept in each other. It's a beautiful story, and the performers do well with it under Borzage's thoughtful direction.

Quite Routine & Indifferent Compared to "Living on Velvet"

[Kalaman · 6 August 2003]

"Stranded" is a rather routine and inconsequential love story from Frank Borzage, starring Kay Francis and George Brent, the two leads of Borzage's passionate "Living on Velvet"(1935). It is not without a certain light grace or charm, but overall I find it indifferent or unmemorable. Francis and Brent were very believable and were quite into each other in "Living on Velvet", but here in "Stranded" the chemistry is not just there. Francis stars as Lynn Palmer, a charitable Travelers Aid worker who helps children, foreign brides, and needy elders. Brent is Mack Hale, a Golden Gate Bridge engineer characterized by a strong work ethic. Mack falls in love with Lynn and while their intimate interaction is somehow plausible, it doesn't really jell. "Stranded" sometimes benefits from Delmer Daves' sometimes witty, sometimes ironic dialogue -- especially the final scene. Lynn, with a certain compassionate humility, says to Mack, "you build with steel and I try to build with people." Mack: "There's no reason why you should forgive what I've said and done but I want you." Lynn: "Darling, don't be so humble, you break my heart if you ever be humble. Never lose your arrogance... that's the you I love." In sum, "Stranded" is a hit-and-miss for me.