Grandfatherly Jonesport, Maine preacher Phillips H. Lord (as Seth Parker) has trouble on the farm. Foster son Frankie Darro (as Robbie Turner) is discovered to be the offspring of drunken scoundrel Stanley Fields (as Rufe Turner). The teased boy is comforted by Mr. Lord, but young Darro's daddy will return to violently claim his boy. Nearby, handsome farmhand Frank Albertson (as David Clark) is fired from his job for dating pretty blonde Bette Davis (as Mary Lucy Duffy), the boss' daughter. This could be because Mr. Albertson's mother Dorothy Peterson (as Rose) ran off with a man and returned with a baby but no husband...
Lord was still in his 20s when he starred in this visual representation of his popular NBC Radio series. With matronly Effie Palmer (as Ma) helping, Lord is convincing as a spirited older man; the character, however, has lost appeal. Darro seems a little too mature for his role. As the young lovers, Mr. Albertson and Ms. Davis make a good impression. Davis seems to get a few extra seconds of screen time with most medium shots. Director William Seiter gets good looking photography from J. Roy Hunt and the Max Rée scenery helps, but "Way Back Home" seems stuck in the middle of sordid subplots and silly nostalgic sidetracks.
***** Seth Parker: Way Back Home (11/13/31) William Seiter ~ Phillips H. Lord, Frankie Darro, Frank Albertson, Bette Davis
Lord was still in his 20s when he starred in this visual representation of his popular NBC Radio series. With matronly Effie Palmer (as Ma) helping, Lord is convincing as a spirited older man; the character, however, has lost appeal. Darro seems a little too mature for his role. As the young lovers, Mr. Albertson and Ms. Davis make a good impression. Davis seems to get a few extra seconds of screen time with most medium shots. Director William Seiter gets good looking photography from J. Roy Hunt and the Max Rée scenery helps, but "Way Back Home" seems stuck in the middle of sordid subplots and silly nostalgic sidetracks.
***** Seth Parker: Way Back Home (11/13/31) William Seiter ~ Phillips H. Lord, Frankie Darro, Frank Albertson, Bette Davis