The Farmer Takes a Wife

The first thing that's striking about this film is just how much taller Henry Fonda ("Dan") is than his diminutive co-star "Molly" (Janet Gaynor) - and it's quite endearing. She's the best cook amongst the fleet of narrowboats that work the Erie canal and he is working there for as long as it takes for him to buy his dream farm. The two hit it off, but she has no desire to live amongst the muck and bugs so their romance looks a bit doomed... Gaynor is on good form here, she almost dances around the sets with her expressive eyes always following the camera. Fonda is adequate, still learning the ropes but he still he offers up quite a charming performance. Charles Bickford ("Klore") makes up the trio as the heavy looking for a fight and there is the instantly recognisable voice of Andy Devine as "Elmer" to keep this light and entertaining. It's offers a slight nod to history, explaining just how goods come from Queen Victoria to New York and at how crucial the canal is at getting goods inland; but it doesn't shy away from the fact that the railroad is coming and that these presently vital forms of communication may well be doing the way of the buffalo. The photography and dialogue are pretty standard, but I always thought Gaynor really was a star - and she lights this up nicely.