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.
as Samuel Sweetland
as Churdles Ash
as Araminta Grey
as Sibley
as Richard Coaker
as Petronell
as Mary Hearne
as Louisa Windeatt
as Thirza Tapper
as Tom Gurney
as George Smerdon
as Henry Coaker
as Sergeant
as Pianist
as Valiant Dunnybrigg
as P. C. Chave
as Susie
