The Farmer's Wife

This is an article for the 1928 film. There have been two other films of the same name, The Farmer's Wife (1941 film) and The Farmer's Wife (1998 film).

For the romance comic book story, see The Farmer's Wife (comics)

The Farmer's Wife
Directed by	Alfred Hitchcock
Written by	Eden Phillipots
Starring	Jameson Thomas Lillian Hall-Davis Gordon Harker
Cinematography	Jack E. Cox
Release dates	March 1928 (UK) 1930 (US)
Running time	129 min.
Country	United Kingdom
Languages	Silent film English intertitles

The Farmer’s Wife (1928) is a silent film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

It was based on a play of the same name by British novelist, poet and playwright Eden Phillpotts, best known for a series of novels based on Dartmoor, in Devon.

Synopsis with spoiler

Tibby, the wife of Samuel Sweetland (Jameson Thomas) 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) make out a list of possibles.

First is widow Louisa Windeatt, but she is too independent. Next comes Thirza Tapper, a confirmed spinster and nervous wreck who almost collapses when he proposes to her. She too rejects him. He wanders outside as other guests arrive for her party. His servant Ash is helping at the party and Ash steals the scene here as a bolshy butler wearing an ill fitting coat and trying to keep his trousers up while doing his buttling work at the party.

While the others are outside listening to some glee singers, Samuel proposes to Mary Hearn, but she rejects him as too old, but then goes into hysterics when he angrily tells her some home truths about being mutton dressed as lamb.

Later he leaves Minta to try number four, Mercy Bassett, a barmaid at a local inn. After he leaves we get to see 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 has 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 till Minta comes down the stairs in an attractive dress. Hearn lapses into hysterics as the couple get together.

Production

The supporting cast includes Gordon Harker, in a comic role as a surly servant called Churdles Ash; Gibb McLaughlin as Henry Coaker; and Maud Gill as Thirza Tapper. This silent film had a lot of talking amongst the characters but though you could guess at the sort of thing they were saying, there was not really enough intertitle boards to tell you. While a show like Upstairs, Downstairs can give an idea of what it was believed to be like in the early part of the twentieth century in a well to do place, this film shows what life was actually like in the late 1920's amongst fairly well off country folk, many of whom would have had servants. As well as many indoor locations, there are outdoor scenes, with Samuel getting about on a horse in open country as well as a large fox hunt starting off from the local inn.

After being thought in the public domain for decades, the film's rights were obtained by French media company Canal+ in 2005.

Cast

• Jameson Thomas - Samuel Sweetland
• Lillian Hall-Davis - Araminta Dench, his Housekeeper
• Gordon Harker - Churdles Ash: his Handyman
• Gibb McLaughlin - Henry Coaker
• Maud Gill - Thirza Tapper
• Louie Pounds - Widow Windeatt
• Olga Slade - Mary Hearn: Postmistress
• Ruth Maitland - Mercy Bassett
• Antonia Brough - Susan
• Haward Watts - Dick Coaker
• Mollie Ellis - Sibley "Tibby" Sweetland (uncredited)

External links

• The Farmer's Wife at IMDb
• The Farmer's Wife is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
• The Farmer's Wife at Rotten Tomatoes