Another then-popular, but talky, play (The Farmer's Wife, by Eden Philpotts) brought off successfully as a silent film, with surprisingly few title cards, by the visually-gifted Hitchcock.

           A comedy, at times a full-out slapstick, The Farmer's Wife concerns the farmer Samuel Sweetland (James Thomas), a recent widow who attempts to secure a new bride.  With the help of his faithful housekeeper/maid Araminta (Lillian Hall-Davis) Sweetland tests out several matrimonial prospects, each with hilariously unsatisfactory results, only to find that true love was with him all along, in the person of helpful Armanita.

          A very funny film, full of innovative cinematic grace notes.

            (Screenplay by Hitchcock himself, based upon the aforementioned play.)