The Farmer's Wife (1941)
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.
Directors: Norman Lee, Leslie Arliss.
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Basil Sydney as Samuel Sweetland |
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Wilfrid Lawson as Churdles Ash |
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Nora Swinburne as Araminta Grey |
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Patricia Roc as Sibley |
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Michael Wilding as Richard Coaker |
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Bunty Payne as Petronell |
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Enid Stamp-Taylor as Mary Hearne |
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Betty Warren as Louisa Windeatt |
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Viola Lyel as Thirza Tapper |
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Edward Rigby as Tom Gurney |
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Kenneth Griffith as George Smerdon |
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A. Bromley Davenport as Henry Coaker |
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Jimmy Godden as Sergeant |
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Gilbert Gunn as Pianist |
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James Harcourt as Valiant Dunnybrigg |
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Mark Daly as P. C. Chave |
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Davina Whitehouse as Susie |
| Editing | Flora Newton | Editor |
| Sound | Guy Jones | Music |
| Art | J. Charles Gilbert | Settings |
| Production | Walter C. Mycroft | Production Director |
| Camera | Claude Friese-Greene | Director of Photography |
| Production | Hamilton G. Inglis | Production Manager |
| Directing | Norman Lee | Director |
| Writing | Leslie Arliss | Writer |
| Writing | Eden Phillpotts | Theatre Play |
| Writing | J.E. Hunter | Writer |
| Directing | Leslie Arliss | Director |
| Writing | Norman Lee | Writer |