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.
Directed by Leslie Arliss, Norman Lee
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Cast
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
Edward Rigby
Tom Gurney
Kenneth Griffith
George Smerdon
A. Bromley Davenport
Henry Coaker
Jimmy Godden
Sergeant
Gilbert Gunn
Pianist
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