Powell drew his gun, the first time he had done so since accidentally killing a 13 year-old boy years earlier, and decisively shot him dead.In the voice of a young boy, he cried out: "Mommy, don""t let me drown.Mommy!"The killer""s demise caused him to revert back to his normal childhood self, a miraculous transformation, when the oxic waste subsided.The film""s opening itle credits included a studio disclaimer in an attempt to remain neutral and not take sides in its story of conflict between two societal classes - the rich land-owning planters and the poor, tenant cotton-picking farmers:In many parts of the South today, there exists an endless dispute between the rich land-owners, known as planters and the poor cotton pickers, known as tenants or ""peckerwoods"".Released in the first year of the Academy Awards, the film was honored with four nominations and it won all but Interior Decoration.