Stowaway (1936) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Stowaway is set in the 1930s, during an era when international travel by ocean liner was considered glamorous and fashionable. The decade shapes the film's portrayal of cross-cultural encounters between Asia and America, with social norms around marriage and family reflecting the period's attitudes.

• 1930s
• time period
• ocean liner era
• 1930s setting

The story unfolds across multiple locations: Sanchow, China (where Ching-Ching lives with missionary guardians), Shanghai (a bustling port city where she becomes lost), and aboard an ocean liner traveling toward Bangkok. The voyage itself serves as a key setting where the central relationships develop.

• Shanghai
• Sanchow
• Bangkok
• ocean liner
• setting locations

Ching-Ching is a young American orphan living in China who becomes separated from her guardians during a bandit threat. She is taken in by Tommy Randall after falling asleep in his car, ultimately stowing away on his ship bound for America. Her innocent presence drives the central plot involving adoption and romance.

• Ching-Ching
• Barbara Stewart
• Shirley Temple
• orphan
• main character

Tommy Randall is a wealthy American playboy who travels the world aboard an ocean liner. He becomes Ching-Ching's caretaker after she stows away in his car, and as the story progresses, he develops genuine feelings for fellow passenger Susan Parker while learning to embrace family responsibilities.

• Tommy Randall
• Robert Young
• playboy
• wealthy American

Susan Parker is a beautiful young woman traveling with her future mother-in-law aboard the ocean liner. She agrees to marry Tommy Randall in name only so they can adopt Ching-Ching as a family. As the voyage progresses, her initial arrangement evolves into genuine love and commitment.

• Susan Parker
• Alice Faye
• traveler
• romantic lead

Family and adoption serve as the emotional core of Stowaway. After Ching-Ching loses her guardians to bandits, the central goal becomes providing her with a stable family. This leads to a marriage of convenience between Tommy and Susan, which ultimately blossoms into a genuine family unit with the child at its center.

• family
• adoption
• child
• parenting
• family unit

Marriage in Stowaway operates as both a legal mechanism and emotional catalyst. The characters enter into a marriage of convenience specifically to enable the adoption of Ching-Ching, but this arrangement gradually transforms from a practical arrangement into genuine romantic love, reflecting the film's themes of duty versus personal happiness.

• marriage
• law
• adoption
• legal arrangement
• wedding

Romance develops between Tommy Randall and Susan Parker during the ocean voyage, evolving from initial attraction to genuine affection. Their growing feelings are complicated by Ching-Ching's presence and the circumstances surrounding their marriage of convenience, ultimately culminating in true love and a lasting union.

• romance
• love
• Tommy
• Susan
• romantic relationship

Bangkok serves as the intended destination that motivates much of the characters' plans. Susan is traveling to Bangkok to marry her fiancé Richard Hope, but the voyage and the circumstances with Ching-Ching redirect her emotional journey toward Tommy instead, fundamentally altering her original plans.

• Bangkok
• destination
• Thailand
• port
• travel plans

The story takes place aboard a world-spanning ocean liner, reflecting the glamorous era of international travel in the 1930s. The ship serves as both a literal mode of transportation between Asia and America and as a contained setting where the central relationships and drama unfold.

• ocean liner
• ship
• voyage
• travel
• sea journey

Ching-Ching, whose real name is Barbara Stewart, is an American orphan living in China under the care of missionary guardians in Sanchow. When bandits threaten her home, she escapes to Shanghai where she becomes lost and is eventually taken in by Tommy Randall, leading to her unintended voyage to America.

• American orphan
• China
• missionary
• Shanghai
• bandits