Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #137963 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-07-17
• Format: NTSC
• Running time: 92 minutes

Amazon.com
A cotton picker tries to make a better life for his family and tries to farm the cotton instead. They are unlucky and the crop is diseased and then there is a flood.

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Customer Reviews

Part of cinematic history and underrated
I have to admit, I am a fan of both Zachary Scott and Betty Fields. As a youngster, I got to meet both of them when they were on the summer stock circuit on the East Coast. They were outstanding and talented stage performers, and exceptionally, kind individuals.

After appearing in "The Mask of Dimitrios" at Warner Bros., Scott's portrayal of Sam Tucker, cotton farmer, was one of his few, non-heavy roles in film that he was able to get away from Warner to complete. Betty Field was also well-known for her wonderful performance in "Of Mice and Men" with Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney, Jr.

Together, in "The Southerner", Scott and Field have a striking chemistry and are thoroughly convincing as husband and wife, loving parents, and struggling farmers.

Apparently, Jean Renoir refused to become involved in the film production, unless he was allowed to the rewrite the screenplay, himself. The film, in black and white, has an expressive, gritty, graphic quality, due to Renoir and cinematographer, French-born, Lucien Andriot.

However, this particular, DVD version, has no support material and, no main menu. It is solely the film, which should have been restored. Having said that, we're lucky to have the film on DVD, at all.

At the same time, I am also enjoying the (2006) biography, Zachary Scott: Hollywood's Sophisticated Cad by Ronald L. Davis. It's a good read, and underscores Scott's struggles and frustration to become a complete, dramatic star in Hollywood.

I almost wish, when Scott visited London, as a young man, that he would have remained there to continue his studies in Shakespeare. Instead, he choose to quickly return to the New York stage, and eventually, seek his fortune in Hollywood. I wonder, how far he would have been able to stretch his dramatic skills?