Described as a political film, coupled with love, betrayal, and valor "The Cabin in the Cotton" successfully touches on everything that it promises. There is no denying that fact. Bette Davis plays the sultry love interest. Richard Barthelmess plays the hokey, dumbfounded man caught in the middle. The stage is set, angry plantation owners, angry growers, but (
and here comes the first analogy
) it feels as if "The Cabin in the Cotton" is a house, and while our players and writer may be doing the best they can, the foundation of it all was rushed, crafted by items found at a refuse lot, not new material. This film represents the idea of quantity over quality. Warner, head of the studio at the time, knew that he could use these raw goods and create a political mafioso about the current American economic standard. The problem, which became apparent 15 minutes into the film, is that this film has no direction. The cloud of romance is in one corner, the air of politics is in another, and then we have this deep lacking history of the south that seems to loom all around like a fog - yet none blend together. None built together a strong enough foundation, or subsequent walls, to make "The Cabin in the Cotton" anything more than just an opportunity to see Bette Davis use good lines.
Watched within a group, this reviewer was the only one to question the "Cabin in the Cotton" point. What was the focus of this film? When did poor construction pass for great film-making? From the opening definition of the obscure family to the over-hyped courtroom scene in which the point that two wrongs obviously make a right – nothing is defined or developed. But, let's begin at the start. Our actors. Bette Davis, playing a New York Southerner was worth the 78-minutes alone. She was handed some of the greatest lines, some of the sauciest scenes, and completely went perpendicular to her co-star, Barthelmess, who – honestly, didn't feel comfortable going from silent to sound. He was a classic example of a star that may have been big during the silent era, but couldn't translate well beyond that. As he lurched around everything in this film, he successfully was able to demonstrate that no chemistry was needed to act with Bette Davis. Then, with no emotion for nearly ¾ of the film, he is asked to inspire at the end. He is asked to raise his voice, demonstrate his chops, and ultimately fail miserably. If we couldn't believe that he could "woo" Bette Davis, why would I believe that he could inspire a group of angry men? I couldn't. The remaining actors fell into two categories; either angry or angrier. There was little sympathy coming from anyone, much less our main actors. Again, I ask, why would I then feel emotion for this film?
With our actors causing problems over problems (the excuse, "It was made in 1932" doesn't cut it), you are left with the story. Does "Cabin in the Cotton" work with just the story, as our characters (again, outside of Bette Davis) flounder throughout – does this political film work? To me, it did not. The lacking construction of developing the poor characters makes this film fail, on every level. Director Michael Curtiz, obviously working for the Hollywood factory, didn't even bother finishing scenes. He provided us with Point-A (the boy), Point B (the crime), Point C (the courtroom) and nothing else. There was a random lynching which was used to heighten an already depressed emotion, but it failed. When our only reaction between Barthelmess and his crew was anger, why would he be upset by a lynching? The consistency just wasn't there. Rumor had it that Mr. Norwood provided an education for Barthelmess' character – but again, my argument, there wasn't any connection between anyone. No connection between Barthelmess and his ladies, none between Barthelmess and the cotton pickers, none between him and the plantation owners – nothing. The glue to the film isn't even strong enough to keep our central guys together, why would it care about the background? Questions plague this review, but they plagued me while watching this film. I understood the political nature of the film, I loved Bette Davis' line, but everything else was atrocious. There was no redeeming value to this film, perhaps political, perhaps love story – who knows!?
As this review wraps, I continue to think perhaps I have misjudged what this film represents. Maybe it was only supposed to be a political film, an allegory to the truth of what conditions were like in the south, or in the USA, but then I think about other films, like "My Man Godfrey" made four years later – and how well developed that film was. Why couldn't "Cabin in the Cotton" be more like that? Why did our lead actor have to be so horrid at his job? Questions that will remain unanswered through the cinematic time vault. For anyone new to "Cabin in the Cotton" beware, it is worthy of only seeing a young Bette Davis nothing else.
Overall, in case it wasn't obvious, "Cabin in the Cotton" was a failure. Davis, and her lines, allow for one star, but that is it. Nothing worked, from the acting to the direction to the construction of the film, it just didn't work from one scene to the next. The value of this film was missing. What was this film? Political. Love story. Random family? Nothing made sense, and while I will remain in the minority, I ask you to revisit this film and see what makes it spark. In the end it was a wasted 78 minutes.
Grade: * out of *****
Watched within a group, this reviewer was the only one to question the "Cabin in the Cotton" point. What was the focus of this film? When did poor construction pass for great film-making? From the opening definition of the obscure family to the over-hyped courtroom scene in which the point that two wrongs obviously make a right – nothing is defined or developed. But, let's begin at the start. Our actors. Bette Davis, playing a New York Southerner was worth the 78-minutes alone. She was handed some of the greatest lines, some of the sauciest scenes, and completely went perpendicular to her co-star, Barthelmess, who – honestly, didn't feel comfortable going from silent to sound. He was a classic example of a star that may have been big during the silent era, but couldn't translate well beyond that. As he lurched around everything in this film, he successfully was able to demonstrate that no chemistry was needed to act with Bette Davis. Then, with no emotion for nearly ¾ of the film, he is asked to inspire at the end. He is asked to raise his voice, demonstrate his chops, and ultimately fail miserably. If we couldn't believe that he could "woo" Bette Davis, why would I believe that he could inspire a group of angry men? I couldn't. The remaining actors fell into two categories; either angry or angrier. There was little sympathy coming from anyone, much less our main actors. Again, I ask, why would I then feel emotion for this film?
With our actors causing problems over problems (the excuse, "It was made in 1932" doesn't cut it), you are left with the story. Does "Cabin in the Cotton" work with just the story, as our characters (again, outside of Bette Davis) flounder throughout – does this political film work? To me, it did not. The lacking construction of developing the poor characters makes this film fail, on every level. Director Michael Curtiz, obviously working for the Hollywood factory, didn't even bother finishing scenes. He provided us with Point-A (the boy), Point B (the crime), Point C (the courtroom) and nothing else. There was a random lynching which was used to heighten an already depressed emotion, but it failed. When our only reaction between Barthelmess and his crew was anger, why would he be upset by a lynching? The consistency just wasn't there. Rumor had it that Mr. Norwood provided an education for Barthelmess' character – but again, my argument, there wasn't any connection between anyone. No connection between Barthelmess and his ladies, none between Barthelmess and the cotton pickers, none between him and the plantation owners – nothing. The glue to the film isn't even strong enough to keep our central guys together, why would it care about the background? Questions plague this review, but they plagued me while watching this film. I understood the political nature of the film, I loved Bette Davis' line, but everything else was atrocious. There was no redeeming value to this film, perhaps political, perhaps love story – who knows!?
As this review wraps, I continue to think perhaps I have misjudged what this film represents. Maybe it was only supposed to be a political film, an allegory to the truth of what conditions were like in the south, or in the USA, but then I think about other films, like "My Man Godfrey" made four years later – and how well developed that film was. Why couldn't "Cabin in the Cotton" be more like that? Why did our lead actor have to be so horrid at his job? Questions that will remain unanswered through the cinematic time vault. For anyone new to "Cabin in the Cotton" beware, it is worthy of only seeing a young Bette Davis nothing else.
Overall, in case it wasn't obvious, "Cabin in the Cotton" was a failure. Davis, and her lines, allow for one star, but that is it. Nothing worked, from the acting to the direction to the construction of the film, it just didn't work from one scene to the next. The value of this film was missing. What was this film? Political. Love story. Random family? Nothing made sense, and while I will remain in the minority, I ask you to revisit this film and see what makes it spark. In the end it was a wasted 78 minutes.
Grade: * out of *****