The Cabin in the Cotton

"The Cabin in the Cotton" is a 1932 American drama film directed by Michael Curtiz. The screenplay by Paul Green was based on a novel by Harry Harrison Kroll. The Warner Brothers film perhaps is best known for a line of dialogue spoken by a platinum-blonde Bette Davis in a syrupy Southern drawl - "Ah'd like to kiss ya, but ah jest washed ma hair" - immortalized by Davis impersonators and quoted in the 1995 film "Get Shorty".

Plot synopsis

Marvin Blake is a sharecropper's son who wants to better himself by getting a college education. Initially plantation owner Lane Norwood is opposed to the idea, but he grudglingly helps Blake achieve his goal and gives the young man a job as a bookkeeper when his vampish daughter Madge intercedes on his behalf. Blake uncovers irregularities in Norwood's accounts and soon finds himself embroiled in a battle between management and workers and torn between the seductive Madge and his longtime sweetheart Betty Wright.

Principal cast

*Richard Barthelmess ..... Marvin Blake
*Bette Davis ..... Madge Norwood
*Dorothy Jordan ..... Betty Wright
*Berton Churchill ..... Lane Norwood
*Hardie Albright ..... Roland Neal
*Henry B. Walthall ..... Eph Clinton

Principal production credits

*Producers ..... Hal B. Wallis, Darryl F. Zanuck, Jack L. Warner
*Original Music ..... Leo F. Forbstein
*Cinematography ..... Barney McGill
*Production Design ..... Esdras Hartley
*Costume Design ..... Orry-Kelly

Critical reception

In his review in the "New York Times", Mordaunt Hall described it as "a film which seldom awakens any keen interest . . Richard Barthelmess gives a careful but hardly an inspired performance. His general demeanor lacks the desired spontaneity and often he speaks his lines in a monotone . . . Michael Curtiz is responsible for the direction, which is uneven, and sections of the narrative are rather muddled." [ [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9802E0DA1331E633A25753C3A96F9C946394D6CF "New York Times" review] ]

"The Cabin in the Cotton" was one of nine 1932 releases in which Davis appeared. Still relatively unknown, she managed to draw the attention of many critics with her performance. In the "New York American", Regina Crewe described her as "superb." Richard Watts, Jr. of the "New York Herald Tribune" stated, "Miss Davis shows a surprising vivacity as the seductive rich girl." And "Variety" declared that her "rising popularity is the film's best chance for business." Davis also caught the eye of director John Cromwell, who was impressed enough to cast her as the slutty waitress Mildred in his 1934 film "Of Human Bondage", which went on to cement Davis' reputation as one of the best actresses of the era [ [http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=133168&mainArticleId=133164 "The Cabin in the Cotton" at Turner Classic Movies] ] .

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022735/ "The Cabin in the Cotton" at the Internet Movie Database]