Bette Davis in Cabin in the Cotton.

Richard Barthelmess was fifteen years past his prime when he starred opposite a young Bette Davis in Cabin in the Cotton. At one time he had been a major star. Although not well-known today, he was one of the few silent stars to make a comeback in the talkies. In Cabin In the Cotton he plays Marvin Blake, a poor sharecropper's son living in the rural south. 

Due to his intelligence and honest reputation Marvin is handpicked by Lane Norwood, the wealthiest of all the local landowners, for a position as a clerk/bookkeeper in his store. He also catches the eye of Norwood's attractive yet shallow daughter Madge (Bette Davis as the first of many southern belles she would play in her venerable career).

Several plot twists ensue and Marvin quickly finds himself caught in the middle of a class struggle between the rich tenants and the poor sharecroppers. He must also choose between Betty, his faithful childhood sweetheart and the intoxicating charms of the high-spirited Madge.

As Madge, Bette Davis gets to deliver one of her best-known lines of dialogue… “I'd like t'kiss ya, but I just washed m' hayuh."  While clearly a supporting role, she makes the character memorable and gives hints of the formidable talent she would soon become.

Directed by Michael Curtiz, who would go on to direct Casablanca, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Mildred Pierce and many other classic movies, Cabin In the Cotton is a true potboiler. The drama never wavers from start to finish. And though it is mainly remembered today by fans of Bette Davis, it is worth watching as a fair and honest depiction of the rural south during the depression. The director wisely tells the story without choosing sides. Instead letting the audience decide with whom to identify. The author of this script realized what today's politicians - conservative and liberal alike - seem to have forgotten.  Namely that corruption and virtue, alike, are to be found on both sides of any given coin.

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