The Farmer's Wife

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Audience Member I enjoyed the music very much, which is saying something for a film this long with no other audio (i.e. dialog) to break up the soundtrack. Not surprisingly, it isn’t a thriller like the director is known for - I imagine it’s difficult to build suspense without some verbal exposition. Quote cards are only used here and there so much of the plot and character motivation comes from camera work and the actor’s expressions - typical for a sufficient no-talkie. A bit lengthy so the novelty of a silent B&W film does wear off after some time and as others have said the characters are a little tiresome but being nearly a century old from a long-gone era I believe it holds up well for a romantic comedy. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/16/24 Full Review Matthew B I have a sneaking fondness for one of Hitchcock's comedies from the silent era, The Farmer's Wife. This early offering, made while Hitchcock was still learning his trade, shows few of the trademark features that we associate with the famous director. It is not a thriller. There are no murders. There is not even a cameo walk-on part for Hitchcock. What we are left with is a charming and underrated comedy, which was very successful in its day, but is little known now. Black-and-white movies are greeted with little enthusiasm by modern audiences, and silent movies do not even appeal to many people who like watching black-and-white films. As a result, most people know the silent era (if at all) from a handful of its more famous works, and many hidden treasures are buried. I will not pretend that The Farmer's Wife is an undiscovered great film. I will not even say that it is one of Hitchcock's best films. I will say only that the film would have been better-known and better-liked if it had been made in the era of talking pictures. One unusual touch (for the time) that Hitchcock employed was to take the stage play outdoors and show us scenes of the countryside. We see the farm and its animals, horse riding, and an assembly of foxhunters and their dogs setting off. Much of this photography was completed by Hitchcock himself after his regular cinematographer Jack E Cox fell ill. This opened up the play and made it seem more like a film. There is no profound message about anything in The Farmer's Wife. It is merely a light and amusing comedy in which a young Alfred Hitchcock showed some of the potential that he would later fulfil when he was given the budget, the stars, and the benefits that later developments in filmmaking would bring. There are many better Hitchcock films, but nonetheless The Farmer's Wife is enormous fun. I wrote a longer appreciation of The Farmer's Wife on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2020/03/24/the-farmers-wife-1928/ Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/24/23 Full Review michael d Meandering early rom-com. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member One of Hitchcock's only straight-ahead comedies, he shows such skill in that arena, giving us a charming & sweet little romantic comedy, & a clear predecessor of the modern genre. Thomas as the farmer is a wonderfully endearing yet out-of-touch lead, sifting through a hilarious variety of women sutiors. The misunderstandings, the high-concept silliness, the broad performances, the sharp dialogue, the foolishness of the main characters to recognize their own fate. My favorite of Hitchcock's silent pictures. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review joel h The Farmer's Wife is an old-fashioned silent comedy, but it's much too long. The story does a number of circles before it finally gets where it's going. Also, the protagonist is kind of a jerk. If I didn't already know this was a Hitchcock film, I would have never guessed it was. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review bill t Forgettable film known only for being directed by Hitchcock. Widowed farmer thinks it's about time he got remarried, and chooses three possible women. The conclusion to this is painfully obvious from the get go, and you're just screaming to get with it and wrap this thing up. Doesn't help that there's another film in this in a bumbling farmhand being buttle a large party for the first time. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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