Films set mainly on farms

Life on a farm is hard work. Only the toughest of individuals can manage the long and often arduous hours required to tend the land, year-round and in all sorts of weather. That’s why movies about farmers and farming make such great subject matter. And the best films tend to cultivate dramatic story lines that reap the benefits of some of the finest acting seen in cinema.

Click through the following gallery and plow through this list of films set mainly on farms.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘The Grapes of Wrath’ (1940)

Based on John Steinbeck’s 1939 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ details the arduous journey undertaken by the Joads, a Oklahoma family, who, after losing their farm during the Great Depression in the 1930s, become migrant workers and end up in California. Henry Fonda heads the cast in what is widely considered to be one of the greatest American films of all time.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘The Horse Whisperer’ (1998)

Robert Redford stars as Tom Booker, a talented trainer with a remarkable gift for understanding horses. The film is set on a ranch in the remote Montana mountains and costars Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Neill, and a young Scarlett Johansson. 



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Country’ (1984)

‘Country’ takes place in the early 1980s and centers around a rural family as they struggle to hold onto their Iowa farm during the economic slump experienced in the agricultural sector at the time. Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard star as the couple facing hardship and the prospect of losing their home and livelihood.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Places in the Heart’ (1984)

Set in Texas during the Great Depression, ‘Places in the Heart’ follows widowed Edna Spalding (Sally Fielding), who at the same time as looking after her two small children is forced to take charge of the family farm. In desperation she takes on two dubious-looking drifters, Moses “Moze” Hadner (Danny Glover) and Mr. Will (John Malkovich).



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Charlotte’s Web’ (2006)

This charming fantasy-comedy is set on a farm in Somerset County, Maine, and tells the story of Fern Arable (Dakota Fanning), who finds out her dad is about to kill the runt of a litter of newborn pigs. She saves the piglet, whom she names Wilbur, and that’s when the adventure begins.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Temple Grandin’ (2010)

This biographical drama stars Claire Danes as Temple Grandin, an autistic woman whose innovations revolutionized practices for the humane handling of livestock on cattle ranches and slaughterhouses.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Chicken Run’ (2000)

This magical stop motion animated feature centers on a band of chickens who see a laid-back rooster named Rocky as their only hope to escape the farm when their owners prepare to turn them into chicken pies. Mel Gibson provides the voice for Rocky.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Signs’ (2002)

A series of unexplained crop circles appear in farmer Graham Hess’ cornfield. Initially attributing the phenomena to vandals, Hess, portrayed by Mel Gibson, learns to his horror that they are in fact signs made by alien beings.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Field of Dreams’ (1989)

After seeing a vision of a baseball diamond in his cornfield and the great “Shoeless Joe” Jackson standing in the middle, farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) decides to build a baseball field on his property. Burt Lancaster, pictured with Costner, made his final screen appearance here, as Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Babe’ (1995)

Filmed in New South Wales, Australia, ‘Babe’ is all about a piglet called Babe who is raised by livestock and learns how to herd sheep. Farmer Arthur Hoggett (James Cromwell) lends the enterprising porker a helping hand.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Days of Heaven’ (1978)

Farm laborer Bill (Richard Gere) and his lover Abby (Brooke Adams) travel to Texas to harvest crops for a local farmer. Realizing that their employer is dying but also wealthy, Bill persuades Abby to marry him in order to claim his fortune.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Fly Away Home’ (1996)

Based on a true story, ‘Fly Away Home’ is about a 13-year-old girl named Amy (Anna Paquin) who finds an abandoned nest of 16 goose eggs. She decides to hand-rear the goslings in her dad’s barn. Later her father, Thomas (Jeff Daniels), uses an ultralight aircraft to teach the birds to fly and show them their migratory routes. But the geese have imprinted on Amy as their mother, and will only follow her.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Flicka’ (2006)

Flicka is the name of a mustang horse that Katherine “Katy” McLaughlin (Alison Lohman) finds while out riding. She sets out to tame the horse while at the same time nurturing dreams of eventually running her father’s Wyoming ranch. But dad is disapproving, and has other plans for his daughter.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Barnyard’ (2006)

Otis (voiced by Kevin James) is a carefree young cow who just wants to play, sing, and dance with all the other animals. But when Otis’ father Ben (Sam Elliot) suddenly dies, the youngster has to learn the value of responsibility fast after being elected as the new leader of the barnyard.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Our Vines Have Tender Grapes’ (1945)

A Norwegian immigrant farmer in Wisconsin, Martinius Jacobson (Edward G. Robinson), his wife Bruna (Agnes Moorehead), and their seven-year-old daughter Selma (Margaret O’Brien) live a contented and relatively successful life until one day tragedy strikes their peaceful rural community. How they and their neighbors cope in the face of adversity provides the narrative for this drama, set in the 1940s.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘The Conjuring’ (2013)

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as the real-life Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting, who in 1971 arrive at a farmhouse in Rhode Island to assist the Perron family, who are being terrorized by a dark and evil presence.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘The Astronaut Farmer’ (2006)

This odd tale about a Texas rancher who attempts to construct a rocket in his barn and launch himself into outer space stars Billy Bob Thornton as a former fighter pilot and astronaut-in-training who has to resign his position to take over his family’s ailing farm. But he still intends on orbiting the Earth.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘The Southerner’ (1945)

Directed by Jean Renoir, ‘The Southerner’ follows Texas share-cropper Sam Tucker (Zachery Scott) and his wife Nona (Betty Field) as they consider working for themselves and growing their own crops. But it’s the early 1940s and surviving baking hot summers and freezing cold winters in decaying shelters with little to eat and no money is a daunting prospect.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘The River’ (1984)

A struggling farm family in the Tennessee valley headed by Tom Garvey (Mel Gibson) and his wife Mae (Sissy Spacek) face bank foreclosures and floods as they fight to keep their business afloat. Furthermore, Tom faces the dilemma of having to work as a strikebreaker in a steel mill to keep his family farm from going under.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘The Messengers’ (2007)

This supernatural horror film takes place on a sunflower farm in North Dakota where newly arrived Jessica Solomon (Kristen Stewart) and her family become aware of an ominous darkness that pervades their idyllic retreat.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Home on the Range’ (2004)

This Western musical comedy features the voices of Roseanne Barr, Judi Dench, Jennifer Tilly, Cuba Gooding Jr., Randy Quaid, and Steve Buscemi in a tale about a group of farm animals who must capture an infamous cattle rustler for his bounty in order to save their idyllic ranch from foreclosure.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Rancho Deluxe’ (1975)

Jack McKee (Jeff Bridges) and Cecil Colson (Sam Waterston) rustle cattle for a living, their hunting ground being the wide open Montana plains. The pair hone in on wealthy ranch owner John Brown (Clifton James) and his bored wife Cora (Elizabeth Ashley).



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Love Me Tender’ (1956)

Elvis Presley, in his acting debut, stars as Clint Reno, the youngest of the four Reno brothers, who in real life were a group of Old West outlaws that operated in the Midwestern United States during and just after the American Civil War. ‘Love Me Tender’ is a fictionalized account of Clint’s time spent looking after his mother and the family ranch while his older siblings were away frighting for the Confederate cause… and robbing a Union train of its payroll!



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘The Land Girls’ (1998)

The Women’s Land Army operated during the First and Second World Wars and saw the recruitment of women to work on farms where most men had left to go to war. ‘The Land Girls’ follows the exploits of three of these “land girls,” portrayed by Catherine McCormack, Rachel Weisz, and Anna Friel, who arrive at a remote farm and despite their different backgrounds soon become close friends.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘At Any Price’ (2012)

A farming family’s successful business is threatened after patriarch Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) comes into conflict with his less ambitious son Dean (Zac Efron). An unexpected crisis further tests the relationship between the ruthless father and the rebellious son.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘The Egg and I’ (1947)

Young married couple Bob and Betty MacDonald (Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert) decide to become chicken farmers. Problem is their home is totally inadequate for such a venture. In steps a rich single woman with a new house and new farm equipment, who begins flirting with Bob. Jealous and confused, Betty begins to question their decision to move to the countryside in the first place.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’ (2014)

Timid sheep farmer Albert Stark (Seth MacFarlane) falls for a mysterious new woman in town (Charlize Theron) whose husband just happens to be a notorious gunslinger (Liam Neeson). Can Stark pluck up enough courage to face down his opponent and win her heart? An added incentive is the bounty on the outlaw’s head, which the farmer could use to buy more sheep.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘Children of the Corn’ (1984)

Inspired by the Stephen King novel of the same name, ‘Children of the Corn’ sees the small fictional town of Gatlin in Nebraska become the scene of nasty goings-on when a dangerous religious cult of children believe that everyone over age 18 must be killed. The film’s title refers to the fact that the ritualistic murders always take place in a cornfield.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

‘For Richer or Poorer’ (1997)

Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley star as Brad and Caroline Sexton, a wealthy couple in a difficult marriage. At the same time, Brad’s accountant is stealing millions from them. To avoid uncomfortable questions, the pair flee the Internal Revenue Service and hide out on an Amish farm in Pennsylvania. 

Sources: (Temple Grandin) (The Hollywood Reporter)

See also: Celebrities who secretly live as farmers.  



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


30/30 SLIDES