Grade: C-
Synopsis: The educated son (Richard Barthelmess) of a cotton-picking family finds himself torn between his roots and his boss’ daughter (Bette Davis).
The Cabin in the Cotton is a slightly sub-par melodrama notable chiefly for an early performance from Bette Davis.
Despite good production, and a reasonably short running time, the film has two problems, one with the lead and the other with the script.
In the lead, Richard Barthelmess looks a bit too much like Dracula’s Renfield and lacks the charisma to carry the picture. A fact made all the more painfully obvious during his scenes with third-billed Davis, who positively glows and gets all the best lines.
As for the script, it works well enough until it gets to the third act. The first two-thirds do a good job of exploring both sides of the film’s central issues without placing blame or preaching. Unfortunately, the film’s final third abandons this position entirely as Barthelmess’ character has a bit of a breakdown, along with the film. Fortunately, the ending leaves a smidgen of welcome ambiguity, but not enough to save the picture.
Bottom Line: The Cabin in the Cotton will make for interesting viewing for die-hard Bette Davis fans, but others needn’t bother.
