Bette Davis plays a PAINTR in a PRE-CODE FARM DRAMA? 1932 was unhinged.
Acting
Stanwyck ages 20 years without makeup tricks—pure technique.
Costume
Selina's transformation from city girl to weathered farmer is visual poetry.
Writing
Pre-code dialogue cuts deeper than Hays Code allowed later.
Director
William A. Wellman
Barbara Stanwyck
Selina Peake De Jong
George Brent
Adult Roelf Pool
Dickie Moore
Young Dirk De Jong
Bette Davis
Miss Dallas O'Mara
Mae Madison
Julie Hempel
Hardie Albright
Adult Dirk De Jong
Alan Hale
Klass Pool
Earle Foxe
Pervus De Jong
Robert Warwick
Simeon Peake
Dorothy Peterson
Maartje Pool
Noel Francis
Mabel
Dick Winslow
Young Roelf Pool
Max Barwyn
Bald Waiter (uncredited)
Lionel Belmore
Reverend Dekker (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Bette Davis fought for the small role of Dallas O'Mara because she recognized it was the film's moral compass—and she was right.
Ferber's novel was a deliberate feminist epic; Wellman's film softens the socialism but keeps the rage at how America consumes its women. This was Stanwyck's first Oscar nomination, and she reportedly hated the film—proving even icons have bad opinions.
US
