Aggiungi una trama nella tua linguaCharming love story set on the Erie Canal in the mid-19th Century. A farmer works on the canal to earn money to buy a farm. He meets a cook on a canal boat, but she can't even consider leavi... Leggi tuttoCharming love story set on the Erie Canal in the mid-19th Century. A farmer works on the canal to earn money to buy a farm. He meets a cook on a canal boat, but she can't even consider leaving the exciting life on the canal for a banal one on a farm...Charming love story set on the Erie Canal in the mid-19th Century. A farmer works on the canal to earn money to buy a farm. He meets a cook on a canal boat, but she can't even consider leaving the exciting life on the canal for a banal one on a farm...
- Regia
- Sceneggiatura
- Star
- Premi
- 2 vittorie totali
- Blacksmith
- (as Siegfried Rumann)
- Yorkshire Pioneer
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- Pioneer Wagon Father
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- Man Talking About Transcontinental Railroad
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- Mr. Vernoy
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- Fairground Fortune Teller
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- Boy Announcing Dan's Arrival Before Fight
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Recensioni in evidenza
The crew at Fox created Award-worthy sets and locations for this film, which photographer Ernest Palmer and director Victor Fleming display beautifully. More about gender roles than farm and boatmen, the story is very silly. Yet, Gaynor elevates it by using cooking as a metaphor for sex. She and Fonda, reprising his stage success as a debut film appearance, are a radiant couple. And, the supporting cast is excellent. Watch out for veteran actor Robert Warwick (as Junius Brutus Booth) and his politically-interested young son.
******* The Farmer Takes a Wife (8/2/35) Victor Fleming ~ Janet Gaynor, Henry Fonda, Charles Bickford, Slim Summerville
The setting takes place in New York State around the year 1850, where the Erie Canal is the most important means of transportation route through the area. Yet there is new means of progress that's to change all this, and that's the railroad rumored to become its rival force. Molly Larkin (Janet Gaynor), an Irish-spirited girl who comes from a long line of fighters, works as a cook on the boat "Emma" for Jotham Klore (Charles Bickford), known to many as both "the bully of the canal" and roughneck who's never lost a fight in his life. Entering the scene is Dan Harrow (Henry Fonda) who arrives in time to stop a fight between two men on the street, much to the dismay of Molly. Eventually Molly becomes acquainted with the quaint but soft-spoken Dan, who's come looking for work on the canal in order to earn enough money to buy a farm. He is soon hired as a driver boy of the "Starsey Sal" boat for Samson Weaver (Roger Imhof). After Klore becomes drunk and unruly towards Molly, she quits his employ and goes to work on Weaver's boat. Now sober, Klore learns about Molly leaving him, thus becoming violent enough to go after Dan. Before carrying on his threat, Klore is taken to jail for where he spends three months to think things over. After Weaver wins a $5,000 lottery, he makes Dan captain, offering him half interest on the boat, which would help him earn enough money to buy a farm within the year. Because of his good fortune, Dan, who thinks of nothing but Molly, proposes marriage to her. Her reply is that she will marry him in due time on the promise she not talk about the canal while he not talk about farming for an entire year. As the year passes, Dan goes against her wishes by buying a farm from Mr. Butterworth (Frederick Burton). While this upsets Molly, nothing can further get her Irish blood boiling when she comes to believe Dan is a coward for leaving for his farm rather than fight with Klore, who's come looking for him to settle a score.
Other members of the cast include: Andy Devine (Elmer Otway); Sig Rumann (The Blacksmith); Margaret Hamilton (Lucy Gurget); and John Qualen (Sol Tinker). Slim Summerville, then a new resident of Fox Films from Universal, offers some comedy relief as Fortune Friendly, a dentist, who, in his opening sequence with the apple on a stick eating Della (Jane Withers), explaining through the map of the process of the railroad, allowing himself to pull the wrong tooth from Ivy (Kitty Kelly), one of his first patients (or victims). There's even one moment of amusement where he's seen examining the teeth of a horse. Summerville comes in and out of the story with some more comedy relief, even to the point of getting Dan to break away from his farm to fight for Molly's honor.
Leisurely paced and traditional Fox Films production of early America with songs and background music as "Oh, Susannah" and "I've Been Working on the Railroad" to reflect the spirit of the times. Because Fonda has worked his way to a long range of motion pictures that ended shortly before his death in 1982, earning a Best Actor Academy Award for his final motion picture of ON GOLDEN POND (1981) indicates how such a performer had the rare distinction of starring in both his first and last movie in the span of 45 years. Even if Fonda made this this his one and only movie, somehow there would be something about his presence that would continue to stand out, even today. With Gaynor and Fonda being a good combination, this was to be the only time they worked together.
Remade as a Technicolor musical by 20th Century-Fox (1953) starring Betty Grable and Dale Robertson, the remake was fine but didn't seem to have the lasting appeal as the 1935 original. Regardless of its then success, the original THE FARMER TAKES A WIFE, never distributed to video cassette during the home video era of the 1980s and 90s, has become one of those rarely seen products, at least not until cable television resurrected it briefly in 1983 on Cinemax, and decades later on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: August 1, 2009).
This is where the legend of Henry Fonda begins. It's also a look back into the near forgotten career of both Janet Gaynor back in the days before the old Fox studio converted to 20th Century-Fox the year of its release. (***)
The all-out star is the star-spangled grey Percheron. WHAT A HORSE. I cannot say enough about this calm, perfectly mannered draft animal. You will never see another like him, i guarantee.
Then we have Canutt's usual "stage coach stunt" wagon team -- and a cool stunt where they hear a loud noise and take off running. Play it back and see if you can figure where Canutt is hiding, driving them on long reins.
There are some other great draft horses too -- a white one pulling a plow is out standing in his field.
As if that weren't enough. There is entire herd of lithe ponies being ridden by genuine Native Americans, just in from a wild west show -- and their horses are all glossy and alert.
Slim Summerville drives a buggy horse who steps out lightly, and there are dozens more horses towing barges pulling wagons, getting shod, and being led through the streets.
And amazingly, while all of these these magnificent animals are in action, not a one is shown being stressed, other than the bolting wagon team -- but they knew that routine from a hundred Westerns.
The Erie canal scenes are gorgeous set pieces, filmed with perfect lighting and a true eye for artistic compositition. The costumes are period-perfect. The male chorus is manly, and it is a pleasure to hear Janet Gaynor whistling "Oh, Don't You Remember Sweet Alice, Ben Bolt?," and then to hear it played on a genuine old music box. Such attention to detail!!
And as if all of this were not enough, Yak also stunts for Henry Fonda! My gosh, it can't get any better than that.
Oh, there's a plot. Folks fall in love. Complications ensue. A resolution may or may not be achieved. But who cares -- THAT BEAUTIFUL HORSE steals the entire show.
Lo sapevi?
- QuizHenry Fonda's debut film.
- BlooperThe map shown at the beginning of the movie contains several errors for the 1850s, including showing West Virginia as a separate state. The second map shows an arrangement of European states that would not be valid until 1871.
- Citazioni
Molly Larkins: [Hollering to a young girl leading a cow beside the canal] How much milk does she give?
Della: She don't give anything. You have to squeeze 'em.
- ConnessioniFeatured in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Henry Fonda (1978)
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- Tempo di esecuzione1 ora 31 minuti
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- 1.37 : 1