Horny hicks and lascivious ladies seeded the loamy Georgia soil of Erskine Caldwell's imagination for decades, beginning in the early Thirties with "Tobacco Road," made into a masterpiece by John Ford in 1941 and "God's Little Acre" directed by Anthony Mann in 1958. Gordon Douglas does a good, professional job with this 1959 novel about a teenaged girl, daughter of an impoverished sharecropper, who slowly discovers, and learns to use, her sexual power over men. Diane McBain triumphs in the title role, with strong support from a good cast. There's no arguing with Mr. Caldwell, who farmed these parts for generations and spins a moving, engaging yarn.
Review of Claudelle Inglish
