Western Mail (Perth) (19/Apr/1928) - Film Flickers

Details

• article: Film Flickers
• newspaper: Western Mail (Perth) (19/Apr/1928)
• keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Gibb McLaughlin, Gordon Harker, Jameson Thomas, Lillian Hall-Davis, The Farmer's Wife (1928)

Article

Film Flickers

When Alfred Hitchcock decided to screen "The Farmer's Wife" he was taking on a big job. It was a flimsy and not a filmy story. One thing he had to play with was some beautiful English scenery. It is the glorious "shots" of our countryside, with a hunt in full swing, and the magnificent panorama of glorious Devon as a background, which save this film from being rated second class. Hitchcock has made the most of the story, although there is too much "slap-stick" stuff, as, for instance, the business with Gordon Harker's beltless trousers, which too frequently show signs of coming down. It appears as if Jameson Thomas was suffering from over-direction. One could almost see Hitchcock telling him what to do. The tit-bits of the show are undoubtedly the character studies given by Harker and Gibb McLaughlin. Lillian Hall-Davis, as Araminta, is very sweet, but has few chances. But those "shots" in Devonshire make up for all the shortcomings in "The Farmer's Wife."