Tonight's Movie: The Farmer's Daughter (1940) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

THE FARMER'S DAUGHER (1940), a cheery minor musical comedy from Paramount Pictures, was just released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.

This is the kind of "little" movie I love to be able to check out, and it's also a film a lot of labels might otherwise ignore. I'm grateful to Kino Lorber for putting it out -- and in a lovely print!

Broadway producer Nickie North (Charlie Ruggles) has a backer for his latest show, as long as it stars Clarice Sheldon (Gertrude Michael) and rehearses out of town. There are devious reasons for that stipulation...

Nickie finds a likely rehearsal spot on a farm owned by the Binghams (William Duncan and Ann Shoemaker). The Binghams' daughter, clutzy but cute Patience (Martha Raye), falls head over heels for young leading man Dennis (Richard Denning), which is complicated by Clarice having a similar interest in handsome Dennis.

There are myriad troubles getting the show up and running over the film's 60 minutes, including Clarice suddenly deserting the farm, but the show must go on...

This is one of those "nothing very special but I sure enjoyed spending an hour with it" kind of movies.

Any film which puts together a cast which also includes William Demarest, William Frawley, Darryl Hickman, Inez Courtney, Tom Dugan, Jack Norton, Benny Baker, and Sheila Ryan (billed as Betty McLaughlin) is worth watching, as far as I'm concerned.

I've never been a particular fan of Martha Raye, finding her too often loud and boisterous, but although her Patience has issues, she's nicely subdued in this film and I quite enjoyed her. I also liked the way young Denning interacts with her, charmed from the start.

Denning had been in films in small parts since 1937 and was on a steady upward trajectory; while he was never a huge star, he worked very steadily until 1980, including playing the governor on HAWAII FIVE-O (1968-1980). He was long married to actress Evelyn Ankers; they each appeared in BLACK BEAUTY (1946), which I reviewed a few years ago.

The large group of pros, notably including Ruggles and Michael, all "do their thing" pretty much as one would expect, making THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER a fun hour which leaves the viewer smiling -- and perhaps with a craving for buttermilk and apples.

The movie was directed by James P. Hogan. It's of note that the script was written by another director, Lewis R. Foster, from a story by future director Delmer Daves. Foster had recently won an Oscar for Best Story for MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939). There's quite a bit of talent behind the screen.

The movie was nicely shot in black and white by Leo Tover; I especially liked a scene where the camera tracks along a porch while Raye sings from inside the house, heard through the open windows. It's lovely.

As Farran Smith Nehme notes in her commentary, one of the movie's pleasures is that many scenes were filmed not only outdoors, but not on a backlot. It gives the film a nice "fresh air" feel which helps elevate the film above the ordinary.

I have listened to the full commentary track and found it both enjoyable and informative, exploring many topics including the career of Gertrude Michael and the nuances between programmers and "B" films.

Also included on the Blu-ray are half a dozen trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber, though a trailer for this film is not included.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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