Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Brainsbell The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

vincentlynch-moonoi Although this film is not as famous, it reminds me a lot of the general patriotic theme that you find in "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington", and while James Stewart's performance in that film was a blockbuster, Loretta Young's performance here earned her an Oscar.The story is simple. Swedish country girl living in the Midwest travels to the big city. Gets somewhat taken advantage of, but land with her feet on the ground. Scores a job as a maid in a politician's home (Joseph Cotton, a member of the House Of Representatives), whose mother (Ethel Barrymore) is a party leader. Boy falls in love with girl. Girl runs for Congress herself. Blackmailer steps forward. The mother and son do what's wright. Girl wins seat in Congress...and a husband. Illogical? Yes. But charmingly so, and again, there's that Capracornish patriotism, though Frank Capra had nothing to do with this film.Loretta Young is excellent here, particular in a role which would have been easy to play over the top. But she played it square, and that leads to the success of the film. Joseph Cotton is excellent as the Congressman...in fact, now that I think of it, a very underrated actor. Ethel Barrymore is superb...but, then, wasn't she always? Charles Bickford -- not always high on my list of supporting character actors -- is perfect here...believable as the butler who is a real part of a powerful family. The only disappointment here is Harry Davenport, one of my favorite character actors...who is on screen less than 2 minutes. Interestingly, James Arness plays one of Young's brothers, but he is listed as James Aurness (note the spelling; his real family name).The only other time I saw this film was years ago on the late show...I remember a scratchy print that I thought was pretty stupid. So I am glad to see this again to correct my opinion. A classic that is well worth watching, and perhaps buying for your DVD shelf.

blanche-2 Loretta Young and Joseph Cotten star in The Farmer's Daughter, a 1947 film also starring Ethel Barrymore and Charles Bickford.Young, in a role originally intended for Ingrid Bergman, won an Oscar for her portrayal of Katie Holstrom, a young woman who lives on a farm with her family. She saves her money and goes off to the big city to become a nurse. Unfortunately, thanks to taking a ride from someone who once worked for her family, she ends up loaning him her money and he won't pay her back. So she takes a temporary job as a second maid in the house of a Congressman (Cotten) until she can save enough for school.It turns out that Katie is pretty outspoken when it comes to politics and, not only that, knows her stuff. When a congressman dies, Katie goes to a rally for the replacement that the party has put forward and embarrasses him with her questions. Political leaders from the other side are impressed and want her to run against him.It's always fascinating to me, and a little sad, that films with political themes, no matter how old they are, always seem timely. I guess that's where the term "politics as usual" comes from, though no one adds "for the last hundred years." In this film, 100$ American is described by Finley, the party's candidate, as "white, not foreign born, of the right religion." Now tell me that couldn't be a scene today. The search for dirt is in this film, as is all the back office manuevering.Loretta Young as a blond is every bit as beautiful as she was as a brunette, and she is a delight as the efficient, intelligent Katie. One can easily see how Joseph Cotten could fall for her. Ethel Barrymore, as Cotten's mother and the widow of a political great, does a wonderful job, strong-willed, clever, and no-nonsense. Charles Bickford, as the family's butler and friend is excellent as tough taskmaster who is nevertheless very impressed with his new charge.This is a very warm film with a terrific cast that will give you some chuckles and make you realize that the more things change, the more they remain the same - in politics. In movies - well, that's another matter.

PudgyPandaMan I love the premise of this movie - not only is a woman running for Congress, but she's the daughter of an immigrant, and on top of it, she is currently employed as a maid! Talk about aspirations and dreaming big! Not too bad considering women just won the right to vote in 1920 and this movie was released in 1947. "Women's participation in national political life remained low long after the right to vote was gained in 1920. No more than two women served in the Senate at any time until 1994, and fewer than a dozen were Congressional Representatives until 1955. Current representation is 16 senators and 67 representatives, around 15% of the United States Congress." (Wikipedia - History of Women in The U.S.) And here we are some 60+ years since this movie and we have a woman running for President!But I think this film was ahead of its time showing a woman running for Congress in the 40's. I'm sure it must have raised a few eyebrows in spite of its success and awards. I'm sure there were detractors in its day that dismissed the premise as foolishness or pure Hollywood fantasy. Either way, it is a great movie that stands the test of time and is just as relevant today (especially being an election year).Happy viewing!

gabby2001 I was truly impressed with this movie. It entertainingly told us how important our votes are. It was not heavy handed, but showed us how important each and every voice is. How anyone can run for public office and represent certain values. It showed us how ugly politics can get, the smear campaigns, the lying and payoffs. It is something many of today's voters are painfully unaware of. In this day of apathy, it is time for films such as these to be released and remind us of how wonderful this country is, and how important a single vote is. It is a personal right, a way of running our own government, something that is woefully ignored in today's filmmaking. Capra said it many times over in films such as "Meet John Doe" and "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" -- they were big hits. Hollywood -- it is time to do something right for our country!