The Cabin in the Cotton (1932)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Harry Harrison Kroll (novel)
Paul Green (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 October 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Heart-racked by soul-stirring emotions...position and wealth beckoning...A seductive daughter of the rich madly yielding in his arms...The call of his people and childhood sweetheart ringing in his ears...Would you make the same decision as BARTHELMESS

Plot:

A tenant farmer's son is caught in the middle of owner-tenant disputes when he falls for the plantation owner's seductive daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Education | Poverty | Tenant Farmer | Cotton | Sharecropper

Cast

Richard Barthelmess	...	Marvin Blake
Dorothy Jordan	...	Betty Wright
Bette Davis	...	Madge Norwood
Hardie Albright	...	Roland Neal
David Landau	...	Tom Blake
Berton Churchill	...	Lane Norwood
Dorothy Peterson	...	Lilly Blake
Russell Simpson	...	Uncle Joe
Tully Marshall	...	Slick
Henry B. Walthall	...	Eph Clinton
Edmund Breese	...	Holmes Scott
John Marston	...	Russell Carter
Erville Alderson	...	Sock Fisher
William Le Maire	...	Jake Fisher (as William LeMaire)
Clarence Muse	...	A Blind Negro

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2725-R, 29 September 1936 for re-release)

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

Bette Davis said in an interview with Barbara Walters that "I'd like to kiss you but I just washed my hair" was her all-time favorite movie line.

Quotes:

Madge: Cigarette?
Marvin Blake: No Thanks.
Madge: Don't drink, don’t smoke... you'll be a preacher yet, won't you Marvin, or something different...? But you'll have to get loose from them.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Stardust: The Bette Davis Story (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Girl I Left Behind Me

Brave and original social issue picture.

The problems of Capital and Labor are well explored in this tight little drama set amongst cotton tenant farmers and their landlords. Striking cinematography and excellent direction, from Michael Curtiz, combine with a first-rate and intelligent screenplay to create a memorable film. The two sides are well presented, both good and bad, and, although the solution for reconciliation is never really explained, the result opens up areas for debate that are still relevant today.

The performances from everyone are very fine - the supporting cast is an extraordinary group of unique faces and personalities. And then there is Bette Davis, in one of her first roles, looking sensational (platinum blonde) and being very naughty - an implied nude seduction is a highlight - as is that famous line. She eats poor Richard Barthelmess for breakfast, spits him out at lunch, and devours his remains for dinner. Barthelmess' performance is wonderful - he was one of the best actors of the silent era and here is strong in one of his rare talkies. He is so good that he almost makes you forget that he is far too old for the idealistic boy straight out of school that he is supposed to be playing. Great film - see it.