''The Farmer's Wife'' is a 1928 British
silent romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film directed by
Alfred Hitchcock and starring
Jameson Thomas
Jameson Thomas (born Thomas Roland Jameson; 24 March 1888 – 10 January 1939) was an English film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1923 and 1939.
He was born in St George Hanover Square, London. On the stage from his earl ...
,
Lillian Hall-Davis
Lillian Hall-Davis (23 June 1898 – 25 October 1933) was an English actress during the silent film era, featured in major roles in English film and a number of German, French and Italian films.
Born Lilian Hall Davis, the daughter of a London ...
and
Gordon Harker
William Gordon Harker (7 August 1885 – 2 March 1967) was an English stage and film actor.
Harker was one of the sons of Sarah Elizabeth Harker, née Hall, (1856–1927), and Joseph Harker (1855–1927), a much admired set painter for the ...
.
It is adapted from a 1916
play of the same name by British novelist, poet and playwright
Eden Phillpotts, best known for a series of novels based on
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers .
The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...
, in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
. ''The Farmer's Wife'' is produced by
British International Pictures
Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appr ...
at
Elstree studios
Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...
. The film's sets were designed by the art director
Wilfred Arnold
Wilfred Arnold (1903–1970), also known as C. Wilfred Arnold, was a British art director.Ryall p.98 He was prolific contributor to British films, designing the sets for more than a hundred. His brother Norman Arnold was also an art director.
...
. The film was remade as a 1941 film ''
The Farmer's Wife'' directed by
Leslie Arliss
Leslie Arliss (6 October 1901, London – 30 December 1987, Jersey, Channel Islands) was an English screenwriter and director. He is best known for his work on the Gainsborough melodramas directing films such as ''The Man in Grey'' and ''The Wi ...
.
Plot
Tibby, the wife of Samuel Sweetland (
Jameson Thomas
Jameson Thomas (born Thomas Roland Jameson; 24 March 1888 – 10 January 1939) was an English film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1923 and 1939.
He was born in St George Hanover Square, London. On the stage from his earl ...
) dies, and shortly afterwards his daughter marries and leaves home, leaving him on his own with his two servants. His wife had told him that he should remarry after her death, so he pursues some local spinsters who were at his daughter's wedding after he and his housekeeper Minta (
Lillian Hall-Davis
Lillian Hall-Davis (23 June 1898 – 25 October 1933) was an English actress during the silent film era, featured in major roles in English film and a number of German, French and Italian films.
Born Lilian Hall Davis, the daughter of a London ...
) make out a list of possibilities.
First is Widow Louisa Windeatt, but Sweetland is shocked and angry when she rejects his advances and says she is too independent for him. Next, he attempts to court Thirza Tapper, a nervous wreck who almost collapses when Sweetland proposes to her. She, too, rejects him because she says she has no need for a man, and he is furious yet again. He wanders outside as other guests arrive for her party. His grumpy servant Ash is helping at the party, wearing an ill-fitting coat and trying to keep his trousers up while doing his work at the party.
While the others are outside listening to some singers, Sweetland proposes to Mary Hearn, but she rejects him as too old, and then becomes hysterical when he angrily tells her that she too is "full blown and a bit over."
Later Sweetland tells Minta that he is not going to finish the list of women because he is so dejected. He leaves the room and Ash returns and tells Minta what an embarrassment to men that Sweetland is by going around and practically begging any woman to be his wife. Sweetland overhears this and orders Ash to saddle his horse because he is going to try number four on the list, Mercy Bassett, a barmaid at a local inn. After he leaves, it is revealed that Minta is in love with him. Bassett rejects him too and he comes home dejectedly. Meanwhile postmistress Hearn and Tapper compare notes and Hearn decides she should marry him after all and she goes to his house with Tapper.
Having run through the women who have turned him down, Samuel sees Minta for the first time as more than a housekeeper and decides that she is the woman for him, if she'll have him. He tells her he has got used to being rejected and will not be angry if she rejects him, too. She accepts him and he tells her to put on the dress Tibby gave her. As she goes to the room, Hearn and Tapper arrive. Hearn says she is now willing to be his wife. Samuel says all should drink a toast to his wife to be and Hearn is sure it is her, until Minta comes down the stairs in an attractive dress. Hearn lapses into hysterics again as Sweetland reveals that Minta will be his bride.
Cast
*
Jameson Thomas
Jameson Thomas (born Thomas Roland Jameson; 24 March 1888 – 10 January 1939) was an English film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1923 and 1939.
He was born in St George Hanover Square, London. On the stage from his earl ...
as Samuel Sweetland
*
Lillian Hall-Davis
Lillian Hall-Davis (23 June 1898 – 25 October 1933) was an English actress during the silent film era, featured in major roles in English film and a number of German, French and Italian films.
Born Lilian Hall Davis, the daughter of a London ...
as Araminta Dench, his Housekeeper
*
Gordon Harker
William Gordon Harker (7 August 1885 – 2 March 1967) was an English stage and film actor.
Harker was one of the sons of Sarah Elizabeth Harker, née Hall, (1856–1927), and Joseph Harker (1855–1927), a much admired set painter for the ...
as Churdles Ash: his Handyman
*
Gibb McLaughlin
George McLoughlin (19 July 1879 – 30 June 1961), known professionally as Gibb McLaughlin, was an English film and stage actor.
Early days
McLaughlin was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England in 1879. For about 10 years he was a sales ...
as Henry Coaker
* Maud Gill as Thirza Tapper
*
Louie Pounds as Widow Louisa Windeatt
* Olga Slade as Mary Hearn: Postmistress
*
Ruth Maitland
Ruth Maitland (born Emma Christian Ruth Erskine; 3 February 1880 – 12 March 1961) was an English actress. She is known for her roles in '' The Faithful Heart'' (1922), '' The Farmer's Wife'' (1928), '' The Only Girl'' (1933), and '' At the Vill ...
as Mercy Bassett
*
Antonia Brough as Susan
* Haward Watts as Dick Coaker
*
Diana Napier
Alice Mary Wolkowicki (née Ellis, formerly Mulcaster and Tauber; 31 January 1905 – 12 March 1982), known professionally as Diana Napier, was an English film actress. (credited as Mollie Ellis) as Sibley Sweetland
Production
The supporting cast includes
Gordon Harker
William Gordon Harker (7 August 1885 – 2 March 1967) was an English stage and film actor.
Harker was one of the sons of Sarah Elizabeth Harker, née Hall, (1856–1927), and Joseph Harker (1855–1927), a much admired set painter for the ...
, in a comic role as a surly servant named Churdles Ash;
Gibb McLaughlin
George McLoughlin (19 July 1879 – 30 June 1961), known professionally as Gibb McLaughlin, was an English film and stage actor.
Early days
McLaughlin was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England in 1879. For about 10 years he was a sales ...
as Henry Coaker; and Maud Gill as Thirza Tapper. As well as many indoor locations, there are a few outdoor scenes, such as Samuel getting about on a horse in open country as well as a large
fox hunt
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hou ...
starting off from the local inn.
Preservation and home video status
A restoration of ''The Farmer's Wife'' was completed in 2012 as part of the
BFI
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...
's £2 million "Save the Hitchcock 9" project to restore all of the director's surviving silent films.
Like Hitchcock's other British films, all of which are copyrighted worldwide,
[ ''The Farmer's Wife'' has been heavily bootlegged on home video. Despite this, various licensed, restored releases have appeared on DVD, Blu-ray and video on demand from ]Optimum
Mathematical optimization (alternatively spelled ''optimisation'') or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criterion, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfi ...
in the UK, Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
and Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films, ...
in the US, and many others.
References
External links
*
*
''The Farmer's Wife''
at the British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...
's Screenonline
Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lo ...
''Alfred Hitchcock Collectors’ Guide: The Farmer's Wife'' at Brenton Film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farmers Wife, The
1928 films
British black-and-white films
Films shot at British International Pictures Studios
Films directed by Alfred Hitchcock
British romantic comedy films
British silent feature films
1928 romantic comedy films
British films based on plays
Films set in England
1920s British films
Silent romantic comedy films