Overview
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.
Cast
Samuel Sweetland
Churdles Ash
Araminta Grey
Sibley
Richard Coaker
Petronell
Mary Hearne
Louisa Windeatt
Thirza Tapper
Tom Gurney
George Smerdon
Henry Coaker