Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

OK, so "The Farmer's Daughter" contains some outdated depictions of gender relations. What's important about the movie is how it addresses the issue of democracy, even though it does so in a hokey manner. Loretta Young's country girl accidentally wanders into politics and has the most direct proposal for what an honest government should be. It reminded me of "Born Yesterday", wherein Judy Holliday's character learns about the US Constitution.The obvious cliche is that it's a wholesome rural person who comes in and challenges the power structure. But most of the movie still has some enjoyable stuff. As to the issue of whether or not Young deserved her Oscar win for this, I haven't seen the other nominees for that year, so I can't judge.Anyway, an OK movie.

This is a Horatio Alger story. Loretta Young, as immigrant farm girl Katie Holstrom, plans to go to nursing school now that her brothers have returned from the armed services to help run their farm. But, her plan is altered when the painter of their barn offers her a ride to her school, saving her bus fare. But, he has a bad idea with her, wrecking his jeep in front of a motel so that they have to stay at the motel until his car is fixed. Since he is broke and has no insurance, she must pay the damages to the other car. This takes all her money, so after hitchhiking the rest of the way to school, she immediately looks for a job as a maid(with no references,). By luck, she immediately gets a job as a maid for the wealthy, politically influential, Morley family, consisting of the matriarch Agatha(Ethel Barrymore), and her son and US congressman, Glenn(Joseph Cotton). We don't discover their background, but presumably the absent father was/is an important political figure, leaving Agatha an important political powerbroker. Initially, Katie is met by the house majordomo Joe Clancey(Charles Bickford). She initially planned to work only a few months, to get back on her financial feet. However, she is so talented at household chores, they want her to stay longer. She gets involved with a political campaign to fill a congressional seat left vacant by the death of a local congressman. She digs up some shady dealings by the man favored by Agatha: Finley(Art Baker)and tells them at a political rally. This catches the attention of the opposition party, who decide to run her as their candidate. Of course, Katie has no prior political experience, so she runs on a platform of honest and fair dealing, without bias toward financial supporters of her campaign. She champions certain liberal policies, such as a living minimal wage. Presumably, this would include unemployment insurance, programs that support living prices for agricultural products, the rights of organized labor, and various safety net programs. She seems to have good practical organization skills, as well. Finley, her opponent, says he believes in "Americanism". By his, he seems to mean policies that favor businesses, the status quo, smaller government footprint, WASPS(White, Anglo-Saxon Protestants) and which minimize welfare programs, and opposes subversive political parties(Communists, included). Eventually, it's realized that her platform encompasses some goals that both parties subscribe to, hence, she is endorsed by both parties, and including Agatha. After it's revealed that Finley tried to smear her private reputation by false evidence, she wins the race by a landslide. Along with the political aspects, there is a growing romantic attraction between Katie and Glenn, despite their sometimes political differences. There's even an exciting brawl between Glenn plus her 3 brothers vs. Finley's goons plus the painter.So, what are the apparent take home messages?1)Political campaigns should stress specific issues, general philosophy and character, rather than personal wealth or conformity to a political machine.2) Policies that promote the general welfare, whether they involve strengthening or maintaining safety nets and livable wages, or promotion of meaningful job-creating businesses, should be favored. 3)Women, even immigrants, can make useful politicians. They are less likely to be involved in scandal or corruption, tend to have more practical experience in certain specialties, and tend to be more compassionate toward the disadvantaged and children issues. In 1947, when this film was released, women made up only 1.5-2.0% of the House of Representatives, and there were no women senators. As of the recent election, women made up about 20% of both the House members and senators. This shows the great increase in women involved in national politics since this film was released.(I'm not claiming that this increase was substantially promoted by this film).

Farmer's Daughter, The (1947) *** (out of 4) Loretta Young won an Oscar for her performance of a Swedish maid who goes to work for a Senator (Joseph Cotten) but then ends up running against his party for a seat in Congress. This film really is two separate movies with the first half being a romantic comedy and the second half being a political drama. The first half is decent but nothing special, although Cotten really steals this half with his comic timing. The second half belongs to Young who really goes powerhouse with her political speeches and hopes for the country. I think the film should have paid more attention to the political side of things because it made for some nice drama while the love story is very predictable. Cotten and Young have wonderful chemistry together but the supporting cast is just as good. Ethyl Barrymore and Charles Bickford nearly steal the film Rhys Williams, Harry Davenport and Tom Powers adding nice support. The film has Frank Capra written all over it and I'm sure he would have made more out of the overall film but for what's here there's plenty to enjoy.

This one's a winner all the way, not a silly comedy but a wry comment on American politics then, before, and since with some humor sprinkled in every now and then. Too bad there aren't more like Katrin Holstrom and Glenn Morley on Capitol Hill. Strange this movie based on a play and directed by a man noted more for stage direction than for film direction should play like a movie should play and not be just another stage play on celluloid. Also the romantic attraction between Katrin and Glenn seems natural with no saccharine added.Talk about a cynical approach to mass political rallies to introduce new candidates for popular vote: Joseph Clancy (Charles Bickford) seeing that Katrin Holstrom (Loretta Young) is confused about what is happening before her eyes remarks that the crowd will approve thunderously of anything said aloud. He proceeds to stand up and yell "Fish for Sale" and the entire auditorium roars with unequivocal approval.And what acting down to the minutest part. Loretta Young deservedly won best actress. Charles Bickford was nominated and should have won best supporting actor. He stands tall above them all and competition is heavy in this flick. You have to be on your toes to out act the likes of Ethel Barrymore and Joseph Cotten, two of the finest acting talents ever, but Loretta Young and Charles Bickford succeed in doing just that.This is one of those pictures that Hollywood used to make that is fun from start to finish with surprising twists and turns from time to time. Though all comes out well in the finish, getting there is worth the journey. Plus this happy ending fits and is not just tacked on for custom and tradition. This little film actually speaks more appropriately for what is good in America than movies with more ballyhoo such as "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."