I wish I would have seen the shortened version because 2 hours 9 mins was to long for this movie,, I like silent movies and I have a Russian Silent that's 4 hours long,, Miss Mend,, and it's a much better movie.. I don't know why I didn't like it but I can sure speculate,, there's no action what so ever,, no suspense,, basically in a nutshell the story is about a man who sees his young daughter get married,, and him being a widow he figures it's about time to get his life together and find someone,, he goes through a couple of different woman, and just cant' seem to find the right one.. to me it seems like there was a lot that should have been cut from the movie, because it was entirely too long,, maybe I will have to watch it again,, and see if I can find something about the movie that I like,, but until then...

If you loved Sir Alfred Hitchcock and his contributions and services to the film industry, you should see all of his films for study and preservation. This is one of his early silent films. If you have the patience to watch a two hour silent film, it's not that easy. We're so used to speeches and conversations that we forget to watch and see their facial reactions in the early age of cinema. This film is more comedic than dark and dramatic. While the story is more farcical, it is nice to see Hitchcock have a sense of humor since he became more known for the macabre in his films. It is not hard to believe that film audiences didn't laugh and enjoy this film in the cinema in 1928 long before the Great Depression. Still, I would watch it again if I had too. It's not a bad film. You wouldn't know Hitchcock directed it.

For me Alfred Hitchcock has always been a hit or miss director and in this case he is definitely a miss. The film is about a farmer named Samuel Sweetland whose wife dies so he starts looking for another wife to take her place. Throughout the film he ends up asking five different women to marry him which really makes the viewer feel like Samuel is simply looking for a wife just to have a wife rather than him actually having any genuine feelings for the women. The story is really boring and extremely predictable. For the movie being around one and a half hours it really feels like it drags on with a lot of unnecessary parts.The acting is another flawed part of the film. Jameson Thomas plays Samuel but he really doesn't create enough emotions for the character. He just seems like a guy who keeps trying to go after one lady after another so you really don't feel that he has enough feelings for these people for you to care. He also insults every woman that turns him down which really doesn't help you sympathize with Samuel. Lillian Hall-Davis plays Araminta Dench (a housekeeper) and she does the best acting job in the movie but not as good of a job as she did in The Ring (1927, Hitchcock). All other actors in the film with the exception of Gordon Harker as Churdles Ash (a handyman) do a horrible job which doesn't help this movie at all.There really aren't any special effects shots in the film. As for the music, it is really bad and is hard to listen to. None of the music seems in the right place and even when it is the music is truly horrible and hurts my ears beyond belief.Even though Alfred Hitchcock has provided so many movies that I have enjoyed over the years this is one of his biggest duds. The story is predictable and boring, the film feels far to long, the acting is really bad, and the music makes me want to mute the television. So this film really isn't worth your time no matter what your interests are. For a worthwhile Hitchcock silent film check out The Ring (1927, Hitchcock). Score: 2/10

The Farmer's Wife (1928)Like many of Alfred Hitchcock's more famous films, The Farmer's Wife begins with pure innocence (a beautiful day in the country, followed by two adorable puppies, maybe the cutest things in any of his movies). And unlike almost all of his movies, it remains pure and happy throughout. Even the fact that a woman (the main character's wife, we learn) is dying in the first scenes is no impediment to the joy of life in the beautiful countryside--her last words are a reminder to the maid to "air out the master's pants." Can't you hear Hitchcock laughing?This is no diabolical thriller. The only suspense here is who the man might marry next, and I think we are meant to know the answer to that pretty early on, as well. There is a nice montage of him getting dressed around forty minutes into the film. And just before that a fun trick of imagining future wives and seeing them fade in, sitting on a chair, and then fade back to an empty chair. (This reprises toward the end, as well, and it's briefly hilarious.) Some of the scenes are genuinely beautiful, and others have a candor and quickness to the actions that is fresh and honest. And when everyone leaves for the hunt, the number of cute little dogs used is quite astonishing--over a hundred, I think.Yes, a lighthearted, nicely felt film, a bit slow all along and over two hours long, but there is a feeling of competence here. Is it recommendable? Only if you are really just interested in a calm, sweet tale. The man's quest for a mate is a comedy, with one rejection after another. The acting is generally quite good, especially the many women. The bum caricature isn't a help, and the main man, played by Jameson Thomas, is merely appropriate at being strong and irritable. Some of his lines are pretty funny because he's mean when he doesn't need to be, and the women either squeal or laugh.And how's this for a line to a woman to persuade her to marry him: "You'll only feel the velvet glove and never know I was breaking you in." She says no.