The Farmer's Wife (play)

The Farmer's Wife is a romantic comedy play by the British writer Eden Phillpotts, based on the scenario of his novel Widecombe Fair (1913).[1] It was first staged in Birmingham in 1916. Its London premiere was at the Royal Court Theatre in 1924.[2][3] By 1926 when Laurence Olivier went on tour in the lead role, the play had already been performed 1,300 times.[4]

Synopsis

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After his wife dies, a farmer goes through an elaborate attempt to persuade one of his various female neighbours to marry him without realising that the ideal woman is already working as his housekeeper.

Adaptations

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Film

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The source novel was itself made into a separate film in 1928, directed by Norman Walker. The play was twice adapted to film: the 1928 silent film The Farmer's Wife, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Jameson Thomas and Lillian Hall-Davis, and the 1941 sound film The Farmer's Wife, directed by Leslie Arliss and starring Basil Sydney and Patricia Roc.[1]

Television

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Two versions of the play were made for UK television: in 1955, adapted and directed by Owen Reed,[3] and in 1959, directed by Patrick Dromgoole as part of the Saturday Playhouse series.[5]

Radio

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In 1934, a recording for BBC Radio was adapted and produced by Cyril Wood.[6]

Stage

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The Farmer's Wife was adapted into a 1951 Broadway musical entitled Courtin' Time with a creative team including lyricist Jack Lawrence, composer Don Walker, and writer William Roos.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Alfred Hitchcock Collectors' Guide: The Farmer's Wife (1928)". Brenton Film.
  2. ^ Williams p.172
  3. ^ a b "The Farmer's Wife". 1 February 1955. p. 26 – via BBC Genome.
  4. ^ Coleman p.27
  5. ^ "Saturday Playhouse presents: The Farmer's Wife". 5 December 1959. p. 27 – via BBC Genome.
  6. ^ "'The Farmer's Wife'". 12 February 1934. p. 28 – via BBC Genome.
  7. ^ Dan Dietz (2014). "1951-1952 Season: Courtin' Time". The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 77-79. ISBN 9781442235052.

Works cited

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  • Coleman, Terry. Olivier: The Authorised Biography. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005.
  • Williams, Gordon. British Theatre in the Great War: A Revaluation. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2003.
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