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The Farmer Takes a Wife

  • 1935
  • Approved
  • 1h 31m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
450
YOUR RATING
Janet Gaynor in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
ComedyRomance

Charming love story set on the Erie Canal in the mid-19th Century. A farmer works on the canal to earn money to buy a farm. He meets a cook on a canal boat, but she can't even consider leavi... Read allCharming love story set on the Erie Canal in the mid-19th Century. A farmer works on the canal to earn money to buy a farm. He meets a cook on a canal boat, but she can't even consider leaving the exciting life on the canal for a banal one on a farm...Charming love story set on the Erie Canal in the mid-19th Century. A farmer works on the canal to earn money to buy a farm. He meets a cook on a canal boat, but she can't even consider leaving the exciting life on the canal for a banal one on a farm...

  • Director
    • Victor Fleming
  • Writers
    • Walter D. Edmonds
    • Marc Connelly
    • Frank B. Elser
  • Stars
    • Janet Gaynor
    • Henry Fonda
    • Charles Bickford
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    450
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Victor Fleming
    • Writers
      • Walter D. Edmonds
      • Marc Connelly
      • Frank B. Elser
    • Stars
      • Janet Gaynor
      • Henry Fonda
      • Charles Bickford
    • 15User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos24

    Henry Fonda, Charles Bickford, Andy Devine, Janet Gaynor, Slim Summerville, and Jane Withers in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
    Henry Fonda in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
    Henry Fonda and Janet Gaynor in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
    Henry Fonda and Janet Gaynor in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
    Janet Gaynor and Slim Summerville in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
    Henry Fonda and Janet Gaynor in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
    Henry Fonda and Janet Gaynor in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
    Henry Fonda and Janet Gaynor in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
    Henry Fonda and Janet Gaynor in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
    Henry Fonda and Janet Gaynor in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
    Henry Fonda, Charles Bickford, and Janet Gaynor in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
    Henry Fonda and Janet Gaynor in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Janet Gaynor
    Janet Gaynor
    • Molly Larkins
    Henry Fonda
    Henry Fonda
    • Dan Harrow
    Charles Bickford
    Charles Bickford
    • Jotham Klore
    Slim Summerville
    Slim Summerville
    • Fortune Friendly
    Andy Devine
    Andy Devine
    • Elmer Otway
    Roger Imhof
    Roger Imhof
    • Samson 'Sam' Weaver
    Jane Withers
    Jane Withers
    • Della
    Margaret Hamilton
    Margaret Hamilton
    • Lucy Gurget
    Sig Ruman
    Sig Ruman
    • Blacksmith
    • (as Siegfried Rumann)
    John Qualen
    John Qualen
    • Sol Tinker
    Kitty Kelly
    Kitty Kelly
    • Ivy
    Robert Gleckler
    Robert Gleckler
    • Fisher - Freight Agent
    Robert Adair
    • Yorkshire Pioneer
    • (uncredited)
    Erville Alderson
    Erville Alderson
    • Pioneer Wagon Father
    • (uncredited)
    John Arledge
    John Arledge
    • Man Talking About Transcontinental Railroad
    • (uncredited)
    Irving Bacon
    Irving Bacon
    • Mr. Vernoy
    • (uncredited)
    Vince Barnett
    Vince Barnett
    • Fairground Fortune Teller
    • (uncredited)
    William 'Billy' Benedict
    William 'Billy' Benedict
    • Boy Announcing Dan's Arrival Before Fight
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Victor Fleming
    • Writers
      • Walter D. Edmonds
      • Marc Connelly
      • Frank B. Elser
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Henry Fonda and Charles Bickford appear together in this, Fonda's first film. They would not appear together again until A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966) which turned out to be Bickford's last film.
    • Goofs
      The map shown at the beginning of the movie contains several errors for the 1850s, including showing West Virginia as a separate state. The second map shows an arrangement of European states that would not be valid until 1871.
    • Quotes

      Molly Larkins: [Hollering to a young girl leading a cow beside the canal] How much milk does she give?

      Della: She don't give anything. You have to squeeze 'em.

    • Connections
      Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Henry Fonda (1978)

    User reviews15

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Henry Fonda's Hollywood Film Debut
    Fate plays a big factor in people's lives, especially if the profession is acting. Henry Fonda, at 30, was happy with his five years so far acting on the stage, especially in New York City. In Hollywood, Fox Films was winding down its productions with its pending consolidation with 20th Century Pictures when the studio began casting for its August 1935 "A Farmer Takes A Wife." First Gary Cooper, then Joel McCrae were approached to play Dan Harrow, an Erie Canal boat driver in the mid-1800s who sees farming as his future. Both actors were unavailable. Studio scouts then pointed to the young actor, Henry Fonda, on the Broadway stage as befitting the character's personality. It was a huge gamble to take such a neophyte unfamiliar with studio lights and filmmaking methods and hand him the lead in a major Hollywood production. Director Victor Fleming was willing to take the chance on Fonda and commit the extra work to familiarize him with Hollywood's ways.

    "With this first movie, Fonda established himself as an earnest screen presence - a young man of ideals and integrity," described film reviewer Paddy Lee. Fleming gave Fonda the film presence that reflected the humbleness the actor showed off camera. "The debut of that soon-to-be-iconic screen persona is immediately engaging," wrote reviewer Paul Mavis. "The tentative glances, the long, slow gait, the stillness and inner resolve, and the romanticized plaintiveness of his speech as he quietly rhapsodizes about simple rural pleasures. No wonder he was a big hit right out of the gate with this turn." Henry Fonda was a shy six-foot tall Omaha, Nebraskan native when his mother's friend recommended that he try out for a part in a local community theatre's play. The 20-year-old credit bank clerk got the part. Soon after he received the lead in another play, where he realized acting was something he enjoyed. He joined the University Players in Cape Cod, meeting his future wife actress Margaret Sullivan. Before long, Fonda journeyed to New York City, reconnecting with fellow University Players alumni Jimmy Stewart, where the two became roommates honing their acting skills on Broadway for the next several years. Fate took over after two major Hollywood stars were unavailable to play the canal driver. Fonda assumed the lead in the movie version of the Frank Elser/Marc Connelly play 'The Farmer Takes a Wife.'

    Janet Gaynor's character Molly Larkins was the love interest to Fonda's Dan Harrow in "The Farmer Takes a Wife." As one of the main stars for Fox Films, Gaynor's luster with the newly merged 20th Century-Fox dropped from number one to 24th. Her frustration in the two roles she played the following year caused her to seriously think about retiring. That's when producer David O. Selznick offered her a part of a rising actress in his 1937 "A Star Is Born."

    The framework of "The Farmer Takes a Wife" illustrates the transformation from canal transportation to the railways. Molly Larkins is a cook who works for Jotham Klore (Charles Bickford), a rough, rowdy canal driver who locks horns with Dan, who believes there's no future working on the canals. Ironically, although Bickford played a major role alongside Fonda in his movie debut, the two never acted in the same film again until Bickford's final motion picture, 1966's 'A Big Hand for the Little Lady.' Two other character actors, Andy Devine and Margaret Hamilton, also contributed largely to "The Farmer Takes a Wife." Devine's distinctive voice set him apart from other actors. The Arizonian performer claimed a curtain rod he was holding between his teeth as a child while running jammed into his mouth when he fell. One reporter later asked about his anodes causing his raspy voice. Devine replied, "I've got the same nodes as Bing Crosby, but his are in tune." The actor began his entertainment career in a comedy act called 'Three Fat Guys' with David Arvedon and Jackie Gleason, the well-known comic entertainer with his long-running TV show. Devine left for Hollywood, where he appeared in over 400 movies, mostly Westerns.

    Margaret Hamilton, known famously for her role in the Wicked Witch of the West in 1939's "The Wizard of Oz," initially loved teaching, earning a college degree at Wheelock College in Boston as a kindergarten instructor. But Hamilton gravitated towards the theater, and made her film debut in 1933's 'Another Language.' "A Farmer Takes a Wife" was Hamilton's sixth feature film appearance and was consistently active in movies and television well into the early 1980s.

    "The Farmer Takes a Wife" was remade into the Technicolor 1953 musical with Betty Grable and Dale Robertson. But the original film version is more known today as the movie that introduced the public to the unique talents of Henry Fonda.
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    • Jun 4, 2023

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 2, 1935 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Mot lyckans hamn
    • Filming locations
      • Sonora, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Fox Film Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 31 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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