Bright Leaf is a 1950 film drama based on a 1949 novel by Foster Fitzsimmons. It stars Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal and Lauren Bacall, directed by Michael Curtiz. The works derive their name from the type of tobacco grown in North Carolina after the American Civil War. Loosely based on the rivalry of tobacco tycoons Washington Duke and George McElwee, Bright Leaf follows tenant farmer Brant Royle, who returns home after his family is driven from its farm by tobacco baron Major Singleton and becomes a rich and ruthless tyrant himself. Royle and Singleton battle for their respective empires while... Royle becomes obsessed with the Major's beautiful but devious daughter, Margaret. In the process he betrays Sonia, a business partner who loves him. Thanks to the creation of a revolutionary cigarette manufacturing machine by inventor John Barton, the Royle tobacco business grows internationally by leaps and bounds. Singleton, who abhors cigarettes and has made his fortune with pipe tobacco and cigars, fails to heed the signs of progress. His debts mount until Royle buys up control of Singleton stock. Rejecting an offer by Royle to save face, Singleton challenges his rival to a duel.
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| Release date: | July 2, 1950 |
| Directed by: | Michael Curtiz |
| Runtime: | 110 Minutes |
| Producer: | Henry Blanke |
| Editor: | Owen Marks |
| Music by: | Victor Young |
| Cinematography: | Karl Freund |
| Screenplay by: | Ranald MacDougall |
| Adapted from: | Bright Leaf |