Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Jameson Thomas, Lillian Hall-Davis, Gordon Harker, Gibb McLaughlin, Maud
Gill, Louise Pounds, Olga Slade, Ruth Maitland, Antonia Brough, Haward
Watts
Hitchcock: The Beginning is a new
11-disc bluray boxset from Studiocanal featuring 10 of Alfred Hitchcock's early films and a new documentary, Becoming Hitchcock, which explores the legacy of Hitchcock's first sound film,
1929's Blackmail.
In the third part of our 11-part review of the boxset, we look at The Farmer's Wife.
1928's The Farmer's Wife is a classic case of a filmmaker
being obliged to follow up a personal project with "one for them."
Alfred Hitchcock's first film for British International Pictures,
The Ring, allowed the director to indulge his passion for what he termed "pure
cinema," with a near absence of interstitial dialogue and elaborate
set-pieces. But then Hitchcock found himself lumbered with adapting a
play, Eden Phillpotts' The Farmer's Wife, which had enjoyed a hugely successful run on the London stage.
In his famous interview with François Truffaut, Hitchcock is dismissive
of The Farmer's Wife, making it clear that it was a project he simply got through with his
head down. It's certainly not what he would consider a "Hitchcock
picture," being a rather bland romantic comedy with little scope for
cinematic invention, but it does have its moments of Hitchcockian
brilliance. Not nearly enough however to justify its near two-hour running
time.
The plot centres on Samuel Sweetland (Jameson Thomas), a
farmer whose wife passes away in the opening scene, leaving him with just
his housekeeper Minta (Lillian Hall-Davis) and farmhand Churdles
(Gordon Harker) for company. A couple of years later Samuel marries
off his daughter, and the occasion sets his mind to thinking about finding
a new wife. Enlisting the aid of Minta, who harbours secret affections for
her employer, Samuel draws up a list of four local woman he views as
potential Mrs Sweetlands and sets off on a series of failed
proposals.
Much like the adulteress played by Hall-Davis in The Ring, Thomas's Samuel is portrayed as so irredeemable that it's near
impossible for the audience to root for him to reciprocate Minta's
affections. In his disastrous attempts to propose to his prospective
spouses, Samuel presents himself as arrogant at best, downright
misogynistic at worst, resorting to personal attacks on their physical
appearances upon rejection. We're given no hints that he even views Minta
as another human, let alone a romantic partner, so the "romantic" climax
comes off as Samuel settling for a consolation prize. Given the class
dynamics of 1920s Britain, the original audience might have cheered on
Minta's shaking off her apron and becoming the lady of a manor, but it
plays as cynical and decidedly unromantic today.
Hitchcock opened up the play by adding outdoor scenes, capturing some
striking images of the British countryside, but even his genius can't
smoothly translate such a dialogue-heavy play to the medium of silent
cinema. What few laughs there are in The Farmer's Wife come
via the dialogue we see in the interstitials (mostly courtesy of Churdles'
cynicism regarding matrimony), and as we watch the actors mouth wordless
dialogue, we're left to wonder what witty lines we're missing out
on.
Though rare, there are moments where Hitchcock works his magic here.
Early on he conveys the passage of time through a montage of Minta drying
Samuel's long johns, outside in the summer and indoors by the fire in
winter. This serves the dual purpose of showing the passing seasons while
the choice of undergarment establishes Minta's intimate connection with
her boss. Later on, when Samuel has admitted defeat in his quest to find a
partner, he stares forlornly at the empty fireside chair once occupied by
his late wife. Hitchcock superimposes images of the four cackling women
who have rejected Samuel, only for Minta to sit in the chair and make the
farmer realise what has been in front of his eyes all along. If we
actually cared about this prospective coupling, there wouldn't be a dry
eye in the house.
The only other interesting aspect of The Farmer's Wife is
how it might be read as featuring the first of several Hitchcock
characters commentators have surmised to be homosexuals. While three of
the women on Samuel's delusional list reject him directly,
one, Thirza Tapper (Maude Gil), makes it clear that she has no
interest in becoming involved with ANY man. Add the seemingly jealous way
her housemaid side-eyes Samuel and it's not hard to draw the conclusion
that Thirza might be the only gay in this village.
The Farmer's Wife is part of
Studiocanal's 'Hitchcock: The Beginning' bluray boxset, available from
December 16th.