Bright Leaf

Bright Leaf is a 1950 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Gary Cooper, Lauren Bacall and Patricia Neal. It is adapted from the 1948 novel of the same name by Foster Fitz-Simons. The title comes from the type of tobacco grown in North Carolina after the American Civil War. According to Bright Leaves, a 2003 documentary film by Ross McElwee, the plot is loosely based on the rivalry of tobacco tycoons Washington Duke and John Harvey McElwee, the filmmaker's great-grandfather.

Bright Leaf is a 1950 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Gary Cooper, Lauren Bacall and Patricia Neal. It is adapted from the 1948 novel of the same name by Foster Fitz-Simons. The title comes from the type of tobacco grown in North Carolina after the American Civil War. According to Bright Leaves, a 2003 documentary film by Ross McElwee, the plot is loosely based on the rivalry of tobacco tycoons Washington Duke and John Harvey McElwee, the filmmaker's great-grandfather.

Cast

Gary Cooper as Brant Royle Lauren Bacall as Sonia Kovac Patricia Neal as Margaret Jane Singleton Jack Carson as Chris Malley, aka "Dr Monaco" Donald Crisp as Major Singleton Gladys George as Rose, one of Sonia's prostitutes Elizabeth Patterson as Tabitha Singleton, Margaret's older relation and companion Jeff Corey as John Barton Thurston Hall as Phillips, a tobacco grower Taylor Holmes as Lawyer Calhoun Celia Lovsky as Dressmaker (uncredited) Ralph Moody as Blacksmith (uncredited) Cleo Moore as Louise (uncredited) Paul Newlan as Blacksmith (uncredited) Edward Peil Sr. as Train Conductor (uncredited)

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther called wrote: "There is a great deal about the tobacco business and its history which is fascinating ... the main fault of this drama, so far as flavor is concerned, is that it soon drifts away from the aura of the pungent tobacco industry and becomes just an old-fashioned conflict between a love-crazy man and a pitiless girl ... The screen play by Ranald MacDougall, from Foster Fitz-Simons' book, is a literate piece of writing, with a couple of taut dramatic scenes, but virtually every twist in it can be seen a mile away." William Brogdon of Variety wrote: "It's overlong and tedious at times in telling its drama of the tobacco industry, love and revenge during the last decade of the 19th century. Star names provide some boxoffice help, but there's not enough good solid interest in the footage to sustain it." Harrison's Reports wrote: "Adult in dialogue and in treatment, the picture is overlong, plot-heavy and slow-paced, and its theme of love and revenge somewhat unpleasant. The performances are uniformly good, and there are a number of individual scenes that are outstanding, but there is so much plot and counterplot that, for the most part, the drama fails to come through on the screen with telling emotional impact." According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $1,702,000 domestically and $744,000 foreign.

Notes

References

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1352255556 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.