The Farmer Takes a Wife (1953)

Director:

Henry Levin

Writers:

Walter Bullock (screenplay) &
Sally Benson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

July 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Plot:

A romantic triangle develops on Erie Canal boats in 1850.

Plot Keywords:

Boat | 1850s | Erie Canal | Railroad | Cook

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Betty Grable	...	Molly Larkins
Dale Robertson	...	Dan Harrow
Thelma Ritter	...	Lucy Cashdollar
John Carroll	...	Jotham Klore
Eddie Foy Jr.	...	Fortune Friendly
Charlotte Austin	...	Pearl Dowd
Kathleen Crowley	...	Susanna
Merry Anders	...	Hannah
May Wynn	...	Eva Gooch (as Donna Lee Hickey)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #15989) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The play opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 30 October 1934 and closed in January 1935 after 104 performances. The opening night cast included Henry Fonda, Margaret Hamilton and Francis Pierlot.

Quotes:

Lucy Cashdollar: Don't forget, I'm a five time widow, and when they died they all left me everything they owned. Rest their souls.
Fortune Friendly: What do you want with me? I'm broke.
Lucy Cashdollar: Well, I figure after five rich husbands, the next one would be on the house.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)

Soundtrack:

We're in Business

Navigating On The Erie Canal

It's sad that The Farmer Takes A Wife was owned by 20th Century Fox instead of Warner Brothers. Had Jack Warner been in charge he had the right person for the female lead in Doris Day. As it is this musical adaption of the Frank Elsner-Marc Connelly play has a most miscast Betty Grable doing a part that had Doris stamped all over it. When Betty says 'Uticky' it doesn't quite come out right.

The original play ran for 104 performances in the 1934-35 season and was the vehicle that made Henry Fonda a star. In fact producer Walter Wanger took the highly unusual step in bringing Fonda to Hollywood to star in the role that made him. Playing the parts that Betty Grable and John Carroll have in this version are Janet Gaynor and Charles Bickford.

Of course with this being changed to a musical and the billing reflecting it, the emphasis was changed from the male to the female lead. Seeing Dale Robertson as Dan Harrow though, he makes an admirable substitute for Fonda.

Too bad that Harold Arlen and Dorothy Fields didn't write anything memorable in the score. And for the life of me I can't figure why John Carroll who does sing well, wasn't given more to do musically.

The story is an old fashioned rustic one set during the final days of the Erie Canal. Everyone but Betty seems to realize the railroad will eventually put the canal out of business as the major venue of transportation. Still she and soft spoken farmer Robertson do eventually come together as Robertson wins her over Carroll who is a real lout in this film. I can readily see Charles Bickford in that part in the first film version.

At the same time Betty was doing this, Doris Day was doing Calamity Jane over at Warner Brothers in a similar role with much better songs. Maybe with a better score, The Farmer Takes A Wife would have been more memorable.

Still I think it would have needed Doris Day.