Review: The Farmer’s Wife
Widowed farmer (Jameson Thomas) tries out a series of not terribly suitable candidates for a mate after his wife dies. Lillian Hall-Davis plays the man’s clearly adoring housekeeper. OK silent era Alfred Hitchcock ( “The Lodger” , “Strangers on a Train” , “Vertigo” , “The 39 Steps” ) film from 1928 never quite gets past its unlikeable, oafish main character in order to really make the grade. I’m sorry, but this farmer doesn’t even deserve a wife at all with the way he carries on. Feminists will certainly hate it, with our protagonist referring to women as ‘fat hens’ and so forth. I try to remember and appreciate a film for the time in which it was made, but that doesn’t extend to me liking this jerk. The central concept is amusing, even though you know exactly where it’s headed. There’s a funny bit where a spinster and a maid both end up in tears, and it’s amusing that none of this guy’s options seem remotely suited to him. I also liked the nice, simple bit where t...