I wasn't intending to watch this film when I turned on TCM early this morning to see what was on, but as a classic film buff found it interesting enough to sit down and see. What grabbed my interest was not the hokey, homespun, highly predictable story. It was that unlike most films of it's day, much of the film was shot outdoors with highly mobile and fluid camera-work. The outdoor back lot sets were fairly elaborate, and the scenes at the hero's farm were shot on location in a beautiful rural area (I'm pretty sure the same area was used by Fox several years later for Drums Along The Mohawk).I strongly suspect that the large supporting role played by Slim Summerville was intended for Fox star Will Rogers, who died in a plane crash in 1935.In the 1930's a high percentage of Fox films were aimed at rural and small town audiences, unlike most of the films of the other major studios. I've read that this was because a large percentage of the theaters that Fox owned were in those areas, rather than urban ones.

Henry Fonda was imported from the original Broadway cast (104 performances) to make his screen debut opposite winsome Janet Gaynor and learned an important lesson in screen technique. Director Victor Fleming pointed out after the first day that Fonda was mugging - the ultimate insult that can be made to an actor. But, of course, as a stage actor he was playing to the back row and he was always grateful to Fleming for setting him straight. Henry is pretty near perfect as the shy, softly spoken young man who is quite determined that feisty Molly Larkin (Gaynor) will become his wife but just as determined to become a farmer. When he tries to explain to Molly that the earth means life, his sincerity makes you believe in him and when he becomes exasperated at her love of the Erie Canal, he says "I never spoke so much in my life" - the audience must have laughed.Walter D. Edmond's rustic comedy drama (based on his book "Rome Haul") about life along the Erie Canal fitted Henry Fonda's talents like a comfy slipper. He did two more Edmonds based movies, "Drums Along the Mohawk" and the enchanting, under rated "Chad Hanna". The Erie Canal was an important waterway that officially opened in 1825 but the film is set during a tenuous time in the late 1840s when the canal was threatened by the encroaching railway. The film also incorporated a few folk songs as well.The time frame is established by the only chilling scene in this folksy movie. A visiting actor's son spends a day aboard a canal boat and overhears a couple of old timers talking about up and coming senator Abraham Lincoln - how people are going to hear of him etc. He pipes up and claims he has never heard of him (Lincoln) but everyone is going to hear of him someday - of course he is John Wilkes Booth!!!Apart from Fonda and Gaynor, the film's biggest drawcard is it's homespun characters who populate the water front where the most popular entertainment are the fights that frequently occur between rival boat owners. A man is measured by how eagerly he wants to engage in a brawl, so when Dan Harrow (Fonda) leaves the river on business just at the moment fighting Jotham Klore (fantastic Charles Bickford) is looking for him, Molly is left shamed and snubbed by the townsfolk. Bickford attacked every role he was given with gusto and this part was no exception. His Klore is always the centre of attention whether walking alone drunk, in the centre of a crowd or commanding Molly to fix him some food (she was originally his cook). The anticipated brawl between Dan and Klore is over all too quickly but from what you see, Dan seems to be on the receiving end of some ferocious punches.As well as Bickford, there is Slim Summerville as Fortune Friendly, a newly qualified dentist badly in need of some patients, Andy Devine as a "hog carrier", Jane Withers as Della, a pesky little girl always in the front row whenever a fight is announced and Kitty Kelly as Fortune's first unfortunate patient. Also Margaret Hamilton as a no nonsense towns woman who is Molly's good friend and last but not least that beautiful "starry" dapple grey horse (it looked like the horses coat was covered with stars).Janet Gaynor had finally found her niche after years of being a sweet young thing in films such as "Delicious", "Adorable" and worse. She had always fought for roles with more depth and after "State Fair" (a film she was reluctant to do) she got her wish. Her peppery Molly Larkin was just the perfect contrast to Fonda's bashful Dan Harrow - she would pace up and down as word went around "Molly's got her dander up". But after "A Star is Born" she didn't take any more chances and retired at the top.

Bucolic and slow-moving in the '30s Fox tradition, this comedy-drama from a mild Broadway hit preserves what was probably best about it--Henry Fonda, in his film debut--and adds some beautiful photography that may be back-lot but sure looks like the real Erie Canal in the 1850s, complete with morning haze, small-town unpaved streets, and modest canal skiffs. Not a lot happens as would-be farmer Fonda romances a proud Canal gal (Janet Gaynor, feistier and less goody-goody than usual), but it gets by on mood and a gallery of vivid supporting roles, ably handled by Charles Bickford, Slim Summerville, Andy Devine, Margaret Hamilton, and the appealingly un-cute child actress Jane Withers. Victor Fleming brought a lot of feeling to this, and Alfred Newman's scoring, for a change, isn't overemphatic. It's a lazy, outdoorsy movie that builds nicely to an unsurprising, satisfying conclusion.

This film is set along the Erie Canal in New York in the mid-19th century. Henry Fonda (in his first film) plays a gentle man who is spending time on the river but who is only doing this until he can buy a farm and settle down. Janet Gaynor plays a lady who was raised on the canal and cannot imagine living anywhere else. So, in a coincidence that only Hollywood could love, they naturally fall in love. However, a bully of a man (Charles Bickford) loves Gaynor and has vowed to whip any man who takes her. When Fonda seems unwilling to fight Bickford, the shallow Gaynor is upset--she wants a man who loves a good scrap. Eventually, it's inevitable and Fonda proves he's neither a wimp nor is he about to become another one of Bickford's victories. Then, and only then, Gaynor is willing to marry Fonda and move to the farm.If you think about it, this plot is an awful lot like a Popeye Cartoon--with Gaynor playing the Olive Oyl role and Bickford as Bluto! However, an even closer parallel is if you've ever seen "The Quiet Man". In fact, although the films occur in different countries and at different times, the main plot points are just about identical and must have inspired this John Ford classic. Unfortunately, while this seems true, THE FARMER TAKES A WIFE is far from a classic. It is very watchable and worth seeing (especially so that you can see Fonda in his first role), but the film just doesn't have the wonderful supporting characters and feel like "The Quiet Man". Good--especially for Fonda who carries the film almost single-handedly.