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Farmer's Wife | 
| Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Actors: Jameson Thomas, Lillian Hall-davis, Gordon Harker, Gibb Mclaughlin, Maud Gill
Studio: Republic Pictures
Category: Video
List Price: $9.98
Buy Used: $0.53
You Save: $9.45 (95%)
New (6) Used (12) from $0.53
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 65422
Format: Black & White, Ep, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 6303073778
UPC: 017153125535
EAN: 9786303073774
ASIN: 6303073778
Theatrical Release Date: January 4, 1930
Release Date: May 19, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Essentially a one-joke story line based on Eden Philpotts's comic play, the 1928 silent film The Farmer's Wife makes up for its lack of substantive material with a noticeable leap in Alfred Hitchcock's cinematic skills. Jameson Thomas stars as a rustic farmer named Sweetland whose recently deceased wife has left a hole in his home and life. The subsequent marriage of his daughter inspires Sweetland to contemplate the altar again, and he enlists the aid of his lovely housekeeper, Minta (Lillian Hall-Davies), to draw up a list of available if ill-considered candidates. One by one, Sweetland proposes to the ladies and is rebuffed, then huffs his way home to a warm reception by the woman he should obviously be with: Minta. In almost anyone else's hands, this slight and silly tale would instantly evaporate, but Hitchcock takes it as an opportunity to make a lively, good-looking film full of delightful transitions (this is the kind of movie where a wordless exchanged glance leads us from one world and into another), at least one early experiment with a rapid dolly shot (all roads lead to Vertigo, don't you know), and a remarkable amount of suggestively grim humor. One paving stone on the path to Hitchcock's full, brilliant career, The Farmer's Wife reveals a great talent still growing. Tom Keogh
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 A very young promise in progress! March 9, 2007
Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Believe or not, this is a slapstick comedy, in spite of the fact we are talking about an early Hitchcock. The dramatis personae turns round a humble farmer who seeks desperately a bride after his wife has died. He doesn't seem to realize his housekeeper is in love with him since a long time. A very interesting proposal of a director in progress by then.
Strictly for the Film Historians August 30, 2006
Randy Keehn (Williston, ND United States)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
OK, let's get this over with; none of us would even consider watching this movie if it weren't for the fact that it was directed by a young Alfred Hitchcock. Indeed, it's doubtful that the movie would have even survived into the 21st Century if it weren't for the director who was to go on to much greater heights. Yet Hitchcock WAS the director and we KNOW he was a masterful director so he must have done a GREAT job, right? Well, not really. I found myself interested somewhat in "The Farmer's Wife" because there is a fair amount of humor in it. I don't know if I laughed out loud but I smiled a few times. I considered asking my wife to waych it and see if she thought I'd end up the same way. However, the one real problem with this movie is that it is TOO long. Frankly, I breathed a sigh of relief when I thought the movie was over. "Maybe it wasn't all that long afterall" I told myself. Yet when the film actually did end about 10 minutes after I thought it would, I had to admit, a lot of it belong on the film editor's floor. For the record, this is a silent movie (Hitchcock directed England's first "talkie" shortly after he made "The Farmer's Wife"). Silent movies need good expressive acting to succeed and I felt that this movie had that. It was proably it's stregth (along with the humor). It's the story of a widower who decides he'll take another wife and how he is angered when his choice of spouse isn't receptive to the idea. He goes through several disappointments all seemingly in the same day before he discovers the obvious choice.
I got this movie as part of an "Early Hitchcock" set. In that sense, I have no qualms that I bought the DVD. I would have been disappointed to have bought this by itself. I liked it well enough but I doubt (due to its' length) that I'll ever watch it again.
 Wrong running time January 21, 2001
keviny01
22 out of 25 found this review helpful
Even though the film originally ran about 97 minutes, and even though Amazon's info shows the running time to be 93 minutes, this Laserlight's DVD version of THE FARMER'S WIFE runs 129 minutes. Apparently, the wrong film speed was used in transferring the film to DVD, stretching the film by an additional half hour. The film's tempo is therefore slowed down a great deal, and the pacing and timing of the various comedy scenes are very much ruined. The DVD does have decent picture and sound (mono) quality.This dated and predictable film was nevertheless well-acted by Jameson Thomas as the farmer and Lillian Hall-Davis as his housekeeper. Hall-Davis also starred in another Hitchcock's silent comedy "The Ring" (a much better film), also available as a Laserlight DVD.
 Imperdible... September 25, 2000
Carlos Gabri (Capital Federal, Buenos Aires Argentina)
3 out of 17 found this review helpful
En esta era de la tecnologia y el gusto por lograr las mejores imagenes y los mejores efectos, esta coleccion nos lleva a darnos cuenta que las grandes obras de arte se deben edificar a partir de eso, "El Arte". Y esto es precisamente lo que demuestra este box set. El arte de la cinematografia puesta en las manos del genial Hitchcock. Ni que hablar de la produccion: Siete discos, cada uno en su propio estuche, excelente sonido, y todo el material subtitulado (includo extras, introduccion y trailers), ademas de que los discos son multizona. Cabe destacar que esto no fue obra de una gran empresa sino de LaserLight Video, pero es algo que los grandes estudios deberian tomar como ejemplo, hartos ya de ver peliculas con extras sin subtitulos. Si a eso le sumamos el costo del set, nos encontramos con una joya que no podemos desperdiciar. Muy recomendable.
A Hitchcock Film In Name Only That Goes On For Ever June 25, 2000
E. Parsons
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
I have nothing against silent films. In fact Clara Bow's 'It', Lon Chaney's 'The Phantom of The Opera' and Louise Brooks's 'Pandora's Box' are amongst my all-time favourites. But with the exception of 'The Lodger', Hitchcock never really got going in silent films. 'The Farmer's Wife' certainly had the potential for an easy going, enjoyable comedy, but NOT when it lasts over 2 hours. I challenge anyone to watch this film in one sitting without their eyelids feeling increasingly heavy. On the plus points, Laserlight has dispensed with one of those embarrassing Tony Curtis introductions, and has provided us with a newly recorded (and very good) score. The picture quality is also very good. If you're tempted to buy this DVD because it's a Hitchcock film, I'd say don't. It is only worth a look to anyone with an interest in silent films or a genuine Hitchcock enthusiast.
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