Eden Philpotts' "provincial" comic novel and play The Farmer's Wife was first filmed in the silent era by Alfred Hitchcock. The 1940 talkie version was directed by Leslie Arliss, son of stage star George Arliss. The story remained the same: A middle-aged widower attempts to select a wife from his rural district's eligible females (Basil Sydney). Three unsuccessful dalliances later, the farmer settles for his housekeeper, whom the audience has been rooting for all along. The Farmer's Wife is a prime example of the sort of fare that struck a proper chord with British filmgoers, but whose appeal would be lost to any other nationality.
Leslie Arliss
Director, Writer
Norman Lee
Director, Writer
J.E. Hunter
Writer
Basil Sydney
Samuel Sweetland
Wilfrid Lawson
Churdles Ash
Nora Swinburne
Araminta Grey
Patricia Roc
Sibley
Michael Wilding
Richard Coaker
Bunty Payne
Petronell
Enid Stamp-Taylor
Mary Hearne
Betty Warren
Louisa Windeatt
Viola Lyel
Thirza Tapper
Shirley61%
Effie Gray59%
TalhotBlond63%
Normal66%
Farming62%
The Pumpkin Eater67%
Intrusion59%
Train Dreams73%
Girl in the Box66%
Holy Lands61%
Die My Love61%
The River64%
Deep Water58%
Iron Jawed Angels67%
Burton and Taylor62%
Starving in Suburbia65%
The Rain People66%
Fast Girls61%
Frontera65%
Cardboard Boxer63%
