“A hut in cotton” , there are also options for translating the names “A hut in cotton”, “A hut among cotton” and “A hut on a plantation”; in the Soviet box office of the 1930s, he went under the name "Betrayal of Marvin Blake" ; on DVD in Russia was released by Svetla under the name Shadows to the South [comm. 1] ( The Cabin in the Cotton ) is an American film by Michael Curtis in 1932 . Paul Green's script is based on the Harry Harrison Kroll novel of the same name. The main role was played in the past by the popular silent movie star, actor of David Wark Griffith's masterpieces - Richard Bartelmes. However, the film was remembered by the audience and critics mainly for the striking appearance in the secondary role of Bette Davis. The 24-year-old young actress had already starred in 10 films before, but here she flashed for the first time, drawing attention to herself. In one scene, she utters a phrase with a southern accent, taken directly from the book: “I would love to kiss you, but I just washed my hair” [1] . With these words, Bett Davis, who played the first bad girl in her career, left all the young actresses behind, becoming one of the new popular movie stars. Davis began her film career the year before at Universal , but after several colorless roles, the studio fired her [1] . Warner Brothers offered her a contract, and already this year, 1932, Davis breaks with this role into the number of the most popular young actresses.
| Cotton hut | |
|---|---|
| English The Cabin in the Cotton in the USSR - “The Betrayal of Marvin Blake” on DVD in Russia - Shadows to the South | |
| Genre | drama |
| Producer | Michael Curtis |
| Producer | Hal B. Wallis , Jack L. Warner , Darryl F. Zanuk |
| Author script | Paul Green |
| In the main cast | Richard Bartelmess , Dorothy Jordan Bette Davis |
| Operator | Bernie McGill |
| Composer | Leo F. Forbstein |
| Film company | Warner brothers |
| Duration | 78 minutes |
| A country |  USA |
| Tongue | English |
| Year | 1932 |
| IMDb | |
Content
Story
In the opening shots of the film, a caption appears that tells the viewer the following: “In many parts of the south today there is an endless debate between rich landowners known as planters and poor cotton pickers, earned the nickname" rabble. " The planters met the simplest demands of the peasants, and in return they worked tirelessly in the fields. Not one volume could be written in defining the rights and obligations of both parties, but the creators of this film are not going to take the side of either of them. Our sole purpose is to truthfully describe this page of history. ”
Lane Norwood owns cotton plantations. After the death of Tom Blake, one of the tenants, he takes care of the education of his son Marvin Blake, in order to subsequently take him as an employee to his farm.
After leaving school, Marvin Blake works as an accountant and salesman in a Norwood store. The owner brought him closer to him. Norwood tells Marvin, “Now you are one of us, so you have nothing to talk to farmers. Although, in order to find out what they are talking about, what they are up to, you can also visit them. ”
In the eyes of the farmers, Marvin is a traitor, they are sure that he is on the side of his master. While Marvin himself still cannot decide who he should be with? The same situation is in his personal life. He is passionate about Betty, the daughter of farmer Joe Wright and Madge, the daughter of his master. When Marvin finds out that tenants are stealing cotton from the owner, he does not turn them in, as he is aware of their difficult living conditions.
Madge once called Marvin to a party at their house. Lurking behind the window of the master's house, some of the poor farmers watched the banquet and the dances that followed. They see Marvin as a guest in a rich house. Madge at this time tells Marvin that from now on he must live in their house, such is the demand of her father. Madge and Marvin kiss.
When Attorney Carter informs Norwood of the killing of the owner of a neighboring plantation by one of the farmers, a big hunt with the dogs for the fugitive begins. Marvin watched in horror at the subsequent lynching of the unfortunate. Farmers laden with debt to the landlord set fire to Norwood’s office in the hope that the fire would destroy the financial books that recorded their loans. Norwood is desperate, he thinks he is ruined, but Marvin reassures the owner, informing him that he kept all the files in duplicate and that he kept copies of the documents.
The next day, Marvin finds out that the sons of his acquaintance Jake Fisher were arrested for arson. Jake tells Marvin that his father died from inhuman treatment by Norwood and asks him to give copies of financial books he holds to farmers. Marvin refuses and undertakes to independently study the entries in these books. Drawing a conclusion from what he read, he realized that Norwood had driven his father into fictitious debts, after which he died of overwork, trying to pay off. Marvin throws words of anger and indignation in the face of the owner, after which he begins to pack things up, but still Madge was able to keep him with her declaration of love.
Marvin meets with Attorney Carter, who gives him advice to arrange a meeting of plantation owners with tenant farmers. Speaking to the audience, Marvin offers more acceptable terms of contracts between the owners and tenants. Some of the plantation owners agree with his plan. Norwood v. Only when Marvin accuses Norwood of his frauds to deceive farmers and threatens to expose, having provided the records he has, he is forced to agree with the proposed plan. Finally, Marvin wants everyone to sign new contracts, hoping from now on for better times for everyone.
Cast
- Richard Bartelmess - Marvin Blake
- Dorothy Jordan - Betty Wright
- Bette Davis - Madge Norwood
- Hardy Albright - Roland Neal
- David Landau - Tom Blake
- Burton Churchill - Lane Norwood
- Dorothy Peterson - Lilly Blake
- Russell Simpson - Joe Wright
- Tully Marshall - Slick
- Henry B. Walthall - Clinton
- Edmund Breeze - Holmes Scott
- John Marston - Russell Carter
- Erville Alderson - Stoke Fisher
- William Le Mayr - Jack Fisher
- Clarence Muse - Blind Ebony
Premieres
- USA - September 26, 1932 the premiere took place in the town of Dyersberg, Tennessee, USA, and from October 15 of the same year, the film began to be shown in American cinemas [2] .
- Sweden - in Europe, the film was first shown on March 10, 1933 in Stockholm ( Sweden ) [2] .
- France - in France, the film was shown on June 10, 1933 [2] .
- The USSR - in the Soviet film distribution was shown since May 25, 1934 , subtitles - "Soyuzintorgkino", 1934 [3] .
About the movie
When producer Darryl F. Zanuck directed director Michael Curtis to try Bette Davis for the role of Madge Norwood, the director objected: “Are you kidding? Who wants to go to bed with her? ” [4] . Enraged by the producer’s decision, against his will, he went to the set, calling Davis out loud a bad actress (“damned lousy actress”) [4] .
Years later, Davis commented: “Mr. Curtis, I must admit, was a monster and a great European director.” He was not an acting director ... We had to be very energetic with him. Truly, he was the most cruel person I knew, but he knew how to make a good film ” [5] . The actress made six films with Curtis, including "The Private Life of Elizabeth and Essex " ( 1939 ).
Davis liked her partner Bartelmess, but he was restrained by his playing style. “He did absolutely nothing in the scenes from a distance, mainly followed theatrical markup for medium plans and reserved all acting talent for close-ups, so it was necessary to use almost all of his close-ups” [4] . Bartelmess said of Davis: "There was a lot of passion in her, it was impossible not to feel her ..."
Davis later admitted that she was still a virgin when she worked on this project. “Yes, that’s absolutely true. No one asked, ”she said. “But my character was characterized by violent sexuality. (Well, if they knew that I was still a virgin, they would not believe that I could get used to the image.) They would not believe me if they knew, but no one asked. Maybe they thought that every young actress had a wild life ” [5] .
Comments
- ↑ The Russian name “The Cabin in the Cotton” is common in Soviet film studies, including in the latest edition of the “Film Dictionary” of the 1986 edition (p. 630); in encyclopedic publications “Director's Encyclopedia. Cinema of the USA ”and“ Acting Encyclopedia. Cinema of the USA. " Under the name "Cabin in Cotton", the film is mentioned in the old edition of the Cinema Dictionary of 1966-1970. (p. 1405) and on some sites on the network, for example , Kino-Teatr.ru . Under the name "Plantation Cabin", the film was screened on Russian TV. The name "Cabin among the cotton" is also found in RuNet. Under the title “Marvin Blake’s Betrayal”, the film was screened in cinemas of the former USSR The name "Shadows to the South" was coined by the company "Svetla", which released the film on DVD already in modern Russia and under the same name information about the film can be found on some sites on the network, for example, at KinoPoisk .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 The Cabin in the Cotton on TCM ( Turner Classic Movies )
- ↑ 1 2 3 Shadows to the South (1932) —Release Info on the IMDb website
- ↑ List of foreign films at the box office of the USSR on the forum of the Phoenix Film Club (Russian)
- ↑ 1 2 3 Stine, Whitney, and Davis, Bette, Mother Goddam: The Story of the Career of Bette Davis . New York: Hawthorn Books 1974. pgs. 36-38
- ↑ 1 2 Chandler, Charlotte, The Girl Who Walked Home Alone: Bette Davis, A Personal Biography. New York: Simon & Schuster 2006. pgs. 83-84
Links
- The Cotton Cabin in the Internet Movie Database
Literature
- Stine, Whitney, and Davis, Bette, Mother Goddam: The Story of the Career of Bette Davis . New York: Hawthorn Books 1974. ISBN 0-8015-5184-6 , pgs. 36-38
- Chandler, Charlotte, The Girl Who Walked Home Alone: Bette Davis, A Personal Biography. New York: Simon & Schuster 2006. ISBN 0-7432-6208-5 , pgs. 83-84