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28 out of 28 people found the following review useful:
Charming Semi-Romantic Comedy, From ... Alfred Hitchcock!, 15 May 2001
Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio

"The Farmer's Wife" is a charming rustic, semi-romantic comedy from the silent picture era. Without seeing the credits, you might never guess that it was made by the "Master of Suspense", Alfred Hitchcock - but if you know who the director was, it is easy to see the masterful touches Hitchcock was known for.

The story is a simple one. Farmer Sweetland (Jameson Thomas) has lost his beloved wife some time ago, and comes to decide that he should marry again. He methodically evaluates, and plans to propose to, all of the eligible women he can think of. But all the while he overlooks the best, and obvious (to the audience) choice: his devoted housekeeper Araminta (Lillian Hall-Davis, who is charming in the role). "Minta" is far wiser, sweeter, and prettier than the other candidates, and she also cares for Sweetland in a way they never will. The plot, therefore, revolves around whether he will figure this out before he gets stuck with an unsuitable mate instead.

Hitchcock applies the creativity and attention to detail that he would later use in his great suspense films, and makes out of a simple plot a movie that is very funny, and also at times quite touching. A great deal of the characters' feelings and thoughts are communicated without dialogue cards, through masterful silent camera work. The most powerful recurring image is a pair of chairs near the fireplace, where Farmer Sweetland had obviously spent many happy hours with his dear departed first wife. Early in the film, as he hosts a wedding dinner for his daughter, he begins to look longingly at the chairs, and we know what he is thinking even before the dialogue cards tell us. As the film proceeds, we occasionally come back to the fireplace, and eventually "Minta" begins to sit with him by the fireplace, sympathizing and helping with his disappointed matrimonial projects. The suggestion is obvious to everyone but Sweetland.

In the lead role, Thomas responds to Hitchcock's direction, sometimes making his character appear somewhat ridiculous in his miscalculated plans, and at other times evoking our complete sympathy and pity for his loneliness. The rest of the cast works very well too, especially Gordon Harker, whose expert comic timing plays wonderfully in the role of Farmer Sweetland's handyman.

There is one long, hilarious comic sequence, at a house party hosted by one of Sweetland's prospective mates, and you have to watch it two or three times to catch all of the detail Hitchcock packed into the sequence. The rest of the movie is filled with lighter comic touches, and concentrates on giving us a surprisingly tender look at the characters' lives.

Hitchcock fans should take delight in seeing how the master used his talents in such a different genre, and any fan of romantic comedies who is willing to try a silent film should also enjoy "The Farmer's Wife".

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13 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
It's worth persevering with, 11 February 2007

Author: Brian_o_Vretanos from United Kingdom

The first half is rather slow, but keep going - it's definitely worth it. The humour in Hitchcock's films is generally based around great character actors (e.g. Jessie Royce Landis in To Catch a Thief and North by NorthWest), and here not one of the actors disappoints. Lillian Hall Davis has a better part in the Ring (also 1928 - Gordon Harker is again very amusing in it too), but is lovely in this film. Sound would have added nothing. My 8-year old daughter was apprehensive about watching a silent film, but once things started to get going in the second half, was hooked.

Hitchcock referred to it in later years as one of his "photographed plays", but the action occurs in several locations, so is nowhere near as constrained as many of his films (plays or not). In fact, even though the location shots are few and far between, they really give this film a non-studio feel.

All of Hitchcock's films are notable for their visual storytelling (look at the initial scene-setting in Rear Window that speaks volumes without a single word being uttered), and it is interesting to see the origins of this, and the great influence of German Expressionism.

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12 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Longer version is at wrong speed, 17 April 2006

Author: mijleh from st. paul, mn

I have both versions, long and short, of "The Farmer's Wife", and they are identical except for the speed at which they were recorded onto tape/DVD. I strongly recommend against the 129-minute version, as it is slower than real-life speed and drags the humor from the film. The shorter version is much funnier and more like Hitchcock, whose films weren't known for their dragginess.

Jameson Thomas, who plays Samuel Sweetland, was at the time of filming a huge star in England. In 1930 he and his wife left England for Hollywood, where he played a few leads in "B" pictures and then settled into a continuous second lead/character groove. He's the doctor at the end of "The Invisible Man" who tells Henry Travers of Claude Rains' demise: "I'm afraid the end will be rather terrible." He also played Mr. Semple, the twitchy false heir, in "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town."

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12 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Funny -- and the craftsmanship shows..., 28 May 2000
Author: Tom Brucia (brucia@neosoft.com) from Houston, Texas, USA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This film made me (and my wife) laugh... the pathos and the humor both STILL work. The composition in the outdoor shots is excellent, and the work shows a lot of planning. (In one scene two hens scuttle across the road from left to right, as the farmer approaches a hidden intersection... he follows them to the right a few moments later. I would love to know how they got the hens to participate...) In some places the acting is a bit 'broad', but a lot is communicated by very slow pacing and a lot of subtlety -- in facial expressions, glances, and body language as well as the well-written title cards. (There could have been more of them, but the acting usually filled in well for the deficit). The title cards are written in dialect, which helps if one is familiar with the way in 'country-folk' talk in rural England. This film is worth seeing two or three times to catch the easily missed (almost subliminal) details...

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8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
One of the best silent comedies I've ever seen..., 17 April 2008

Author: Mika Pykäläaho (bygis80@hotmail.com) from Järvenpää, Finland

I never would have guessed in a million years what a pleasant surprise "The Farmer's wife" turned out to be for me. I love Alfred Hitchcock and consider him one of my favorite filmmakers but I still have to admit that I'm not too impressed about all of his earliest efforts. I started to watch this charming little-known gem with a very low expectations since I knew it wasn't even a thriller and therefore not Hitch's number one genre but I certainly didn't expect it to be as funny, warm-hearted and downright irresistible as it actually was. Actors were marvelous, humor was brilliant and most important of all the story was timeless. I honestly can't remember the last time I got such a good feeling from a movie. I'll promise you if you like films of the silent era this one is definitely a gem you don't want to miss!

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
A slight, but charming early effort from Hitchcock, 9 November 2005

Author: Josh H (Quirky-) from Sydney, Australia.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Although his name will forever be linked with 'suspense' films, this 1928 silent feature from Alfred Hitchcock shows the man had considerable comic sensibilities, too. The story concerns a widowed farmer (Jameson Thomas) who decides he needs a wife...129 minutes later, he finds that the perfect woman he was after was under his nose the entire time. Thomas is great as the desperate for love farmer -- watch how he makes a list of desirable women and goes to each one individually to propose, crossing each off the list when they turn him down. It may be overlong (those who've seen the edited 97 minute version yearn for this extended one...personally I think it too long), but the wry humour and the charming characters make this a nice enough early effort from Hitch.

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Trouble and Strife to come to the Farmer, 13 May 2005

Author: Gary170459 from Derby, UK

I saw this years ago, enjoyed but forgot about it. On retrospect it seems a very long drawn out 96 minute comedy film with a flimsy plot, even so I wonder what a 129 minute version would be like.

Jameson Thomas plays thicko widower farmer who can't see beyond the end of his nose when it comes to looking to honour a woman by marrying him. It's obvious from the first reel what the story will be and the eventual conclusion, but for all that it's still well worth watching. Some of the outdoor shots are delightful, portraying the English countryside impressionistically, the indoor usually portray people in the throes of pigging themselves within slapstick routines. The farmers' handyman Gordon Harker was even stranger than his master, with make up absolutely caked on his face for some reason.

Altogether, a nice little film, totally inconsequential but with some nice touches from Hitch and fluid camera movements, all helping maintain interest.

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8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Ignored Hitchcock gem, 18 February 2001

Author: bryant (bryantburnette@hotmail.com) from Tuscaloosa, Alabama

I'm not sure why this film's reputation is so slight. Perhaps it's because it's a Hitchcock film that isn't a "Hitchcock" film. However, if you can deal with watching a silent movie, it's well worth a look. The performances are uniformly excellent, there is a good deal of effective humor, and the technical artistry is impeccable. One note: find the 129-minute version, as opposed to the shorter one (which is a good half hour shorter).

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9 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Hitchcock funniest film, 3 April 1999

Author: TSRacer

Very funny. I never realized Hitchcock could do slapstick. Surprised to find the story and characters easy to follow and identify with even with the near lack of title cards. The best silent Hitchcock film I have seen and maybe the funniest film he ever made.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
"I'm offering myself so humble as a worm…", 4 June 2009

Author: secondtake from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The Farmer's Wife (1928)

Like many of Alfred Hitchcock's more famous films, The Farmer's Wife begins with pure innocence (a beautiful day in the country, followed by two adorable puppies, maybe the cutest things in any of his movies). And unlike almost all of his movies, it remains pure and happy throughout. Even the fact that a woman (the main character's wife, we learn) is dying in the first scenes is no impediment to the joy of life in the beautiful countryside--her last words are a reminder to the maid to "air out the master's pants." Can't you hear Hitchcock laughing?

This is no diabolical thriller. The only suspense here is who the man might marry next, and I think we are meant to know the answer to that pretty early on, as well. There is a nice montage of him getting dressed around forty minutes into the film. And just before that a fun trick of imagining future wives and seeing them fade in, sitting on a chair, and then fade back to an empty chair. (This reprises toward the end, as well, and it's briefly hilarious.) Some of the scenes are genuinely beautiful, and others have a candor and quickness to the actions that is fresh and honest. And when everyone leaves for the hunt, the number of cute little dogs used is quite astonishing--over a hundred, I think.

Yes, a lighthearted, nicely felt film, a bit slow all along and over two hours long, but there is a feeling of competence here. Is it recommendable? Only if you are really just interested in a calm, sweet tale. The man's quest for a mate is a comedy, with one rejection after another. The acting is generally quite good, especially the many women. The bum caricature isn't a help, and the main man, played by Jameson Thomas, is merely appropriate at being strong and irritable. Some of his lines are pretty funny because he's mean when he doesn't need to be, and the women either squeal or laugh.

And how's this for a line to a woman to persuade her to marry him: "You'll only feel the velvet glove and never know I was breaking you in." She says no.

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