What a delightful period comedy and romance is "The Farmer Takes a Wife." As others have noted, this was Henry Fonda's first film role. He got the male lead in his first film on the strength of having starred in the role in the Broadway play, and after the first two choices were unavailable. It was all uphill after that for Fonda. He makes a nice showing here, and even as a 30-year-old, he has the look of an older youth. But, most film fans will remember Fonda as the more mature looking man of early to late middle-age in which he played his most memorable roles in the 1940s through 1960s.
Yet, make no mistake about it, this is a mostly Janet Gaynor film all the way. The successful star of the late silent film era had transitioned well into sound pictures. She was the leading actress for Fox in the 1930s, and helped that studio compete favorably with the pioneering sound studio of Warner Brothers. In 1929, Gaynor won the first best actress Oscar of the Academy Awards, and she remains the only performer to have ever won an Oscar for multiple films and roles. That first year of the Oscars, performers were nominated for their body of work - their most recent films, rather than a single film, as would be the case from then on. And, her films by Fox were the only ones from among more than 20 pictures by Warner Brothers that dominated the 1927 sound pictures. It should be noted that Warner's "The Jazz Singer" of that year was the first truly "talkie" film - and the only one of that year, with part of it actually filmed in sound. The bulk of the early sound films, before the end of 1928 were recorded silent films that then had sound recordings made and transposed onto the film.
The three Janet Gaynor films of her 1929 Oscar were all dramas and highly successful and recognized films. Two were from 1927 and one from 1928. "7th Heaven" was released as a silent and then re-released with sound added. "Sunrise" of Nov. 4, was a silent film with a music and special effects sound track. Finally, "Street Angel" of April 9, 1928, had a full sound track transposed onto the film.
This film, and others of the sound era, gave the very talented Gaynor the opportunity to show her great versatility with language. Her Molly Larkins is superb in this story about mid-19th century life in, on and around New York's Erie Canal. The whole story revolves around Molly and her character's persona makes it a delightful film.
Besides the leads, some other well-known actors have very good parts in this film. Charles Bickford plays Jotham Klore who had been the meanest and toughest boat operator on the canal. Andy Devine plays Elmer Otway, Slim Summerville is Fortune Friendly, Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of "The Wizard of Oz") is Lucy Gurget, John Qualen is Sol Tinker and Sig Ruman is the Blacksmith. I was amused to see Ruman's early film billing as Siegfried Rumann.
The movie was filmed in and around the Sierra Nevada Range near Sonoma, California. The only water I know of there is New Melones Lake, which didn't come into existence until 1979. So the Fox crew did a remarkable job of creating a set for canal scenes and scenery that resemble the area and what the Erie Canal must have looked like in the mid-19th century. I have driven across much of New York State. On a 2005 trip along the Mohawk River and valley, I stopped to watch boats pass through locks at a couple of locations.
The Erie Canal has a great history. It opened in 1825 and the tolls from the first year completely paid for its construction. It was just over 360 miles long when built originally. And the first third of its distance, from the Hudson River at Albany, upstream to Utica and Rome, New York, is the actual Mohawk River. Fonda's character, Dan Harrow, several times remarks that the canal will soon be put out of business from the competition of the railroads. But this was in 1850, when the 25th anniversary of the canal's opening was to be celebrated. And, the canal wasn't soon put out of action. The railroad had some effect, but it was gradual. And a complete rebuild and expansion of the canal from 1905 to 1918 kept it going strong as a major commercial route between the Port of New York and the Great Lakes area.
It took two later big events to end the commercial reign of the Erie Canal. In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened. That, and the building of modern highways that helped the trucking industry, led to the canal's last regular scheduled barge operation in 1994. But, the canal continues to operate today, now used mostly by boats and pleasure water craft. And, it remains a tourist attraction with museums and historic sites along its route. In 2000, Congress established the Erie Canalway as a national heritage corridor. Interstate 90 across New York parallels the canal route, just south of it.
So, with the scenes, events and places of record along the Erie Canal, and the boats and other settings, this film has a little historical interest as well. I think most people would still enjoy it today. It's a nice story of a slowly developing romance set in mid-19th century America, along the Erie Canal.
One of the funniest exchanges of lines in the film occurs when Molly, from her boat hails a young girl leading a cow beside the canal. Molly and others know the young girl, Della, who is played by Jane Withers. Molly hollers, "How much milk will she give?" And, little Della replies, "She don't give anything. You have to squeeze 'em."
