THE FARMER’S WIFE (1941)

GB
1941
1hr 21mins
Dirs: Leslie Arliss and Norman Lee
Starring: Basil Sydney and Patricia Roc

A farmer seeks a wife only to end up marrying his housekeeper

This comedy drama was based on the play of the same name by Eden Phillpotts which had previously been adapted by Alfred Hitchcock for a 1928 film of the same title. Whilst nothing railway related appears in the Hitchcock film, this one features a rare shot of Cole Green station on the Welwyn Garden City-Hertford line where we see a train arriving, standing in the station, and then departing. The locomotive can not be identified, but its train consists of a pair of LNER teak coaches. The use of Cole Green station was probably due to the fact that the film was produced by ABPC at Welwyn Studios, at a time when the company’s main Elstree Studios had been requisitioned for wartime use. As a result the film is not widely known and this is a shame. It is a lovely production, and the often imcomprehensible country accents add great depth to the characters and give a wonderful glimpse of a bygone era.

A train arrives into Cole Green station, the locomotive of which is just coming into view behind the waiting passengers
This shot has been included as it shows the difference in height between the more modern LNER coaching stock and the original platform. These low height platforms were very common back in the day meaning it would not always have been easy for women with big dresses to board.
During the station sequence we get a quick glimpse of this wood and glass building and the implication is that this is part of the main station building. Was this astonishing structure really part of Cole Green?
Nora Swinburne watches on as the train departs on its way