During the depths of the Great Depression a hitch-hiker Steve Talbot and jukebox-joint hostess Lola Mears stumble into Cat-Tail Florida where farmers and pickers struggle under the buyer who rules by monopoly, dirty contracts and violence. Steve helps organize against the buyer, leading to further escalation ending in a lynch mob.
Acting
Ann Sheridan's weary resilience steals every scene
Direction
Bernhardt's German Expressionist shadows in Florida swamps
Writing
Dialogue that punches harder than the actual punches
Director
Curtis Bernhardt
Ann Sheridan
Lola Mears
Ronald Reagan
Steve Talbot
Richard Whorf
Danny Frazier
George Tobias
Nick Garcos, the Greek
Gene Lockhart
Henry Madden
Alan Hale
Yippee 'Yip'
Betty Brewer
Skeeter
Howard Da Silva
Cully
Donald MacBride
'Muckeye' John
Willard Robertson
Mister Just
Faye Emerson
Violet 'Murph' Murphy
Willie Best
Jo-Mo
Fuzzy Knight
Ike Harper
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Reagan learned to roll cigarettes for this role, a skill he showed off at Hollywood parties for years. The things actors did before Instagram.
Made during WWII but set in the Depression, this was Warner Bros' sneaky way of keeping New Deal messaging alive while pretending to make wartime entertainment. Studio execs: the original chaotic good.
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