You won't be disappointed!

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

In the case of every situation having three sides, only the truth is right here. The "Peckerwoods" (cotton field workers) and "Planters" (basicaly the man who gets the money...) all have pros and cons for each of their concerns in this depression era issue picture that showed slavery wasn't really dead. It just had a different name.Berton Churchill owns a large plot of land which he rents out to the "Peckerwoods" to tend. What they raise, they sell back to him. One of those "PW's" is David Landau who has worked for Churchill his whole life and ends up dying having barely hit middle age. He has raised an intelligent son (Richard Barthelmess) who wants to go to school, and Churchill notices potential in him, so he hires him. Already in love with poor, sweet Dorothy Jordan, Barthelmess must decide between her and Churchill's equally beautiful daughter Bette Davis, a flirt who has eyes on Barthelmess herself. Then, learning that some of the other PW's are stealing the cotton rather than selling it back to Churchill, Barthelmess is put in the position of betraying his own people.There is no real side to take. Both Churchill and the PW's are guilty of various crimes, Churchill for cheating his tenants and the PW's for theft and vandalism. This all sets up for a good plot, but unfortunately, due to some embarrassingly poor acting by Barthelmess, this ranks among Warner's weaker "poor man fighting rich man" dramas. This will always be known for a famous line uttered by Bette Davis (which was admittedly her favorite), and she really is the best thing about this movie. Her smile is radiant; Like that quote from "The Women", "She's got those eyes that run up and down a man like a searchlight." Churchill, too, is excellent; He instills his character with likability even though he's not totally honest. His character reminded me of Donald Crisp in "The Valley of Decision", a basically very good man with power trying to do the best he can, but sometimes abusing it a little. But Barthelmess was perhaps Warner Brothers' weakest leading men, genuinely boring. Something tells me he was better in silent movies. Davis had more "heat" from George Arliss. Someone like George Brent or Paul Muni would have had more presence, particularly in the final court room scene. The ending wraps everything up too neatly, something I fear would never have happened in the south in real life.

This film is probably most important because it showcases two stars - Bette Davis and Richard Barthelmess - whose careers are traveling in opposite directions. Barthelmess actually headlines here, but he is a silent star whose career is on the decline, and he has a hard time getting parts after 1934. Bette Davis is a star on the rise, in only her first year of her contract with Warner Bros. where she will become a major star.Unlike many silent era stars, Barthelmess' problem was not his voice but his acting style. He was just a little too wooden to turn in a truly dynamic performance, and this film is no exception. The story is pretty interesting - Barthelmess plays Marvin Blake, a sharecropper's son who is educated by the plantation landowner and ends up keeping his books. His loyalty is torn between the planter who is sponsoring him, and whose daughter attracts him, and the sharecropper families with whom he grew up. The planter owns everything and is always charging high fees and interest via the company store and thus cheating the sharecroppers out of what they need. The sharecroppers have cooked up a plan to short the planter some of their cotton and sell it themselves and reap the rewards.It's really hard to take sides in this film because everyone seems so unsympathetic - both sides are stealing from the other without any remorse or much redeeming value for that matter. It is worth a look if you can find it, although it is not yet on DVD.

This was not a "big" movie from Warner Brothers, but a relatively inexpensive film starring its lesser actors. It just so happens that one of these "lesser" actors turned out to be a very young and vivacious Bette Davis. Sure, her accent is a bit broad, but she does a lovely job playing the happy-go-lucky daughter of a rich Southern land owner. Richard Barthlemess plays a poor but decent guy caught between loyalties to the land owner and the sharecroppers he knows and loves. Perhaps the biggest down-side to this film is Barthelmess--his character often seems very weak and wussy--though he does a great job in the end standing up to both sides. On the plus side, the dialog and direction is generally very good, and like most Warner films it's great entertainment tied to an interesting social message. Not the best film by any means, but well-made and worth seeing.

The problems of Capital and Labor are well explored in this tight little drama set amongst cotton tenant farmers and their landlords. Striking cinematography and excellent direction, from Michael Curtiz, combine with a first-rate and intelligent screenplay to create a memorable film. The two sides are well presented, both good and bad, and, although the solution for reconciliation is never really explained, the result opens up areas for debate that are still relevant today.The performances from everyone are very fine - the supporting cast is an extraordinary group of unique faces and personalities. And then there is Bette Davis, in one of her first roles, looking sensational (platinum blonde) and being very naughty - an implied nude seduction is a highlight - as is that famous line. She eats poor Richard Barthelmess for breakfast, spits him out at lunch, and devours his remains for dinner. Barthelmess' performance is wonderful - he was one of the best actors of the silent era and here is strong in one of his rare talkies. He is so good that he almost makes you forget that he is far too old for the idealistic boy straight out of school that he is supposed to be playing. Great film - see it.