The Farmer's Wife

The Farmer's Wife

1941 · 81 min · ★ 7.0 · Drama

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 · Written by Norman Lee

Your Rating

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

Make it a double feature

2h 56m together

The Farmer's Wife

Pastor Hall

Both from Leslie Arliss.

More from Leslie ArlissSee all →

Heat Wave

Heat Wave · 1935

MovieComedyMusic

Musical comedy telling the hilarious story of greengrocer Albert Speed’s (Albert Burdon) adventures with would-be revolutionaries in a mythical South American banana republic. He becomes mistaken for a gun-runner, and problems arise when Albert begins using the names of vegetables as code words for weapons and ammunition that they are smuggling! Albert saves not only his own skin, but also those of the Presidente and his attractive daughter.

The Innocents of Chicago

The Innocents of Chicago · 1932

The Innocents of Chicago

Naïve young Englishman, Silas P. Binns inherits a substantial business in Chicago. Unaware of the city's reputation for rampant organized crime during the Prohibition era, Silas arrives in America with idealistic expectations. Upon his arrival, he finds himself inadvertently caught in the middle of a fierce and dangerous turf war between rival gangster factions. The humor of the film stems from Silas's "innocent" and oblivious nature as he navigates the violent underworld of Chicago, often mistaking life-threatening situations for ordinary business or social interactions.

The Woman's Angle

The Woman's Angle · 1952

The Woman's Angle

MovieRomanceDrama

The organising force of a family of musical prodigies, Robert Mansell is a frustrated composer in seach of one thing personal happiness. This search, however, has landed him in the divorce courts and the judge's summary does not paint him in a favourable light.

Idol of Paris

Idol of Paris · 1948

The Idol of Paris is based on Paiva, Queen of Love, a novel by Alfred Schirokauer. Set in the mid-19th century, the film traces the rags-to-riches story of a girl named Theresa. Sleeping her way to the top, she becomes a highly sought-after Parisian courtesan, one worthy of the attentions of the Emperor Napoleon. But Theresa has no time for the Emperor, not with such virile lovers as Hertz around and about.

Pastor Hall

Pastor Hall · 1940

The village of Altdorf has to come to terms with Chancellor Hitler and the arrival of a platoon of Stormtroopers. The Stormtroopers go about teaching and enforcing "The New Order", but Pastor Hall, a kind and gentle man, won't be cowed. Some villagers join the Nazi party avidly, and some just go along with things, hoping for a quiet life, but Pastor Hall takes his convictions to the pulpit.

Insomnia is Good for You

Insomnia is Good for You · 1957

Insomnia is Good for You

Sellers as the same salesman character he was in Dearth Of A Salesman is unable to sleep for 62 hours as he frets over one weekend about a meeting with his boss on Monday that he doesn't know the reason for.

Rhodes of Africa

Rhodes of Africa · 1936

Rhodes of Africa

MovieDramaHistory

Rhodes of Africa is a 1936 British biographical film charting the life of Cecil Rhodes. It was directed by Berthold Viertel and starred Walter Huston, Oskar Homolka, Basil Sydney and Bernard Lee.

The Second Mr. Bush

The Second Mr. Bush · 1940

The Second Mr. Bush

A writer poses as a shy butterfly hunter who has a fortune and is hounded by reporters.

Good Morning, Boys!

Good Morning, Boys! · 1937

Good Morning, Boys!

MovieComedyCrime

Dr. Benjamin Twist (Hay) and his pupils become involved with art thieves on a trip to Paris. Hay’s seamy schoolmaster act is supported by a fine cast including Charles Hawtrey and Lilli Palmer.

A Man About the House

A Man About the House · 1947

A Man About the House

Handsome Italian laborer Kieron Moore works as caretaker of the Neopolitan villa inherited by plain-Jane Englishwomen Margaret Johnston and Dulcie Gray. Johnston is swept off her feet by the raffishly charming Moore, and before long they are wed.

The Adventures of William Tell

The Adventures of William Tell · 1958

The Adventures of William Tell

SeriesAction & Adventure

The Adventures of William Tell is a British swashbuckler adventure series, first broadcast on the ITV network in 1958, and produced by ITC Entertainment.

The Night Has Eyes

The Night Has Eyes · 1942

The Night Has Eyes

MovieThrillerMystery

Two teachers, man-hungry Doris and restrained Marian, visit the Yorkshire moors a year after friend Evelyn disappeared there. On a stormy night, they take refuge in the isolated cottage of Stephen, one-time pianist shell-shocked in the Spanish Civil War. Doris flees as soon as the flood subsides; but Marian's suspicions about Evelyn's fate, in conflict with her growing love for Stephen, prompt her to stay on among the misty bogs.

South American George

South American George · 1941

South American George

To help out his exact double, George Formby (in a dual role) takes the place of a noted South American tenor. This way he can help the opera star fulfill contract obligations and also win the heart of the man's lovely press agent, Linden Travers.

The Foreman Went to France

The Foreman Went to France · 1942

The Foreman Went to France

Based on the true story of Melbourne Johns, an aircraft factory foreman sent to France to prevent the Nazis getting hold of some vital equipment.

Love Story

Love Story · 1944

MovieDramaRomance

After discovering that she has only a short time left to live, concert pianist Lissa travels to Cornwall for the final fling of her life. While there, she falls in love with young mineral prospector Kit, a man whose dark secret prevents him from fighting in the War. Unbeknownst to Lissa, however, Kit's affections are also much in demand from a rival of hers.

The Buccaneers

The Buccaneers · 1956

SeriesDramaAction & Adventure

The adventures of privateer Captain Dan Tempest and his crew of former pirates as they make their way across the seven seas in The Sultana.

More Like This

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof · 1958

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

Good Bye, Lenin!

Good Bye, Lenin! · 2003

Good Bye, Lenin!

MovieComedyDrama

Alex Kerner's mother was in a coma while the Berlin wall fell. When she wakes up he must try to keep her from learning what happened (as she was an avid communist supporter) to avoid shocking her which could lead to another heart attack.

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul · 1974

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

MovieRomanceDrama

Emmi Kurowski, a cleaning lady, is lonely in her old age. Her husband died years ago, and her grown children offer little companionship. One night she goes to a bar frequented by Arab immigrants and strikes up a friendship with middle-aged mechanic Ali. Their relationship soon develops into something more, and Emmi's family and neighbors criticize their spontaneous marriage. Soon Emmi and Ali are forced to confront their own insecurities about their future.

The Killing

The Killing · 1956

MovieCrimeThriller

Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.

Yella

MovieDramaThriller

A young East German woman leaves her controlling husband/business partner and relocates to a West German city to start anew as an accountant, but he soon catches up with her.

A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born · 1954

MovieDramaMusic

A movie star helps a young singer-actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything · 2014

The Theory of Everything

MovieDramaRomance

Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of – time.

Death Watch

Death Watch · 1980

MovieDramaScience Fiction

In a future world where the disease has been finally defeated and everything can be sold, even the crude spectacle of death, the rare case of a dying woman becomes the morbid theme of a revolutionary reality show, broadcast through the curious eyes of a peculiar camera.

The Astronaut's Wife

The Astronaut's Wife · 1999

The Astronaut's Wife

MovieDramaScience Fiction

When astronaut Spencer Armacost returns to Earth after a mission that nearly cost him his life, he decides to take a desk job in order to see his beautiful wife, Jillian, more often. Gradually, Jillian notices that Spencer's personality seems to have changed, but her concerns fade when she discovers that she's pregnant. As Jillian grows closer to becoming a mother, her suspicions about Spencer return. Why does it seem as if he's a different person?

Mildred Pierce

Mildred Pierce · 1945

MovieCrimeDrama

A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.

Seance on a Wet Afternoon

Seance on a Wet Afternoon · 1964

Seance on a Wet Afternoon

MovieCrimeThriller

Working-class British housewife Myra Savage reinvents herself as a medium, holding seances in the sitting room of her home with the hidden assistance of her under-employed, asthmatic husband, Billy. In an attempt to enhance her credibility as a psychic, Myra hatches an elaborate, ill-conceived plot to kidnap a wealthy couple's young daughter so that she can then help the police "find" the missing girl.

Revolutionary Road

Revolutionary Road · 2008

Revolutionary Road

MovieDramaRomance

A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Based on a novel by Richard Yates.

Bluebeard

Bluebeard · 1963

MovieDramaCrime

Paris, France, during the First World War. While thousands of soldiers die every day on the battlefields, Henri Landru, a seemingly respectable furniture dealer, married and father of four children, relentlessly feeds his own sinister factory of death.

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs · 1978

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs

MovieRomanceComedy

Solange is seriously depressed, and her kindhearted husband, Raoul, makes it his mission to cure her doldrums. After many failed attempts to cheer her up, Raoul hits upon a possible solution: find his wife a lover. Unfortunately, his choice, Stéphane, proves to be just as ineffectual in restoring her flagging spirits. In the end, the gorgeous Solange finds her own, highly problematic tonic to her troubles in the form of a 13-year-old boy.

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 · 1966

MovieDramaScience Fiction

In the future, the government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers, known as “firemen,” to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of his vocation…

Enough

MovieDramaThriller

Working-class waitress Slim thought she was entering a life of domestic bliss when she married Mitch, the man of her dreams. After the arrival of their first child, her picture perfect life is shattered when she discovers Mitch's hidden possessive dark side, a controlling and abusive alter ego that can turn trust, love and tranquility into terror. Terrified for her child's safety, Slim flees with her daughter. Relentless in his pursuit and enlisting the aid of lethal henchmen, Mitch continually stalks the prey that was once his family.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter