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.
Basil Sydney
as Samuel Sweetland
Wilfrid Lawson
as Churdles Ash
Nora Swinburne
as Araminta Grey
Patricia Roc
as Sibley
Michael Wilding
as Richard Coaker
Bunty Payne
as Petronell
Enid Stamp-Taylor
as Mary Hearne
Betty Warren
as Louisa Windeatt
Viola Lyel
as Thirza Tapper
Edward Rigby
as Tom Gurney
Kenneth Griffith
as George Smerdon
A. Bromley Davenport
as Henry Coaker
