El rey del tabaco

I think that Warner Brothers liked the performance that Gary Cooper gave in Edna Ferber's Saratoga Trunk which was released under their auspices a few years earlier. So when Cooper signs with Warner Brothers, Bright Leaf which is about the tobacco industry which has an Ferber like quality to it seemed perfect for him.

It didn't turn out that unfortunately. Brant Royle may be the most unsympathetic character Gary Cooper who was THE archetypal screen hero ever played. He's come back to his home which is in a valley in the tobacco growing country of North Carolina looking for vengeance on Donald Crisp the tobacco baron who ruined his father. All he has as the family heir is a closed factory. But when Crisp refuses to take an interest in Jeff Corey's new cigarette rolling machine, Cooper latches on to Corey and with medicine show doctor Jack Carson to sell the product, the three form a partnership.

Lauren Bacall who runs the town's house of joy with Gladys George helps kick start the firm with a financial investment. She likes Cooper well enough, but he's got eyes on Patricia Neal who is Crisp's daughter. Neal is a southern to the manor born heiress like Bette Davis in Jezebel and Vivien Leigh in Gone With The Wind. Those are high maintenance women and Cooper finds out just how high maintenance she is before the film concludes.

Though this is a Gary Cooper film, the female co-stars really steal this film from the men. Neal and Bacall are whom you watch and remember from Bright Leaf and of course Gladys George who is never bad in anything.

Though Bright Leaf is about a typical Edna Ferber empire builder the ending is anything like what you would find in a Ferber novel. Bright Leaf is a bit too melodramatic for my taste, but fans of the stars should find it good.

This 1950 film starred Gary Cooper, Lauren Bacall and Patricia Neal in the leading roles and brought drama within the tobacco industry, although in the 50s it was okay to smoke. Doubt this film could make it this day and age.

Interesting to see real-life lovers Cooper and Neal tear up the scenery with their love scenes. Cooper seemed a bit on the reserved side even though he was out for revenge. But, that's Coop. He's a master of do nothing on the screen and manages to hold his own. Spencer Tracy is another one of those dynamic actors. Here he plots to take over the tobacco industry from a man (splendidly played by that veteran character actor of distinction, Donald Crisp) who in the past had run him out of town for kissing his daughter (yes, just kissing) played by the lovely Patricia Neal.

In the meantime Coop courts long time girl friend, Lauren Bacall, somewhat miscast in this, for money to start up a cigarette making factory invented by Jeff Corey, another great actor. Lauren doesn't look her best in this. How can we forget all those marvelous Bogart/Bacall films with her slinky hair and sultry body. In this her hair is up and curled and her gowns of the period don't look good on her. Bring Baby back. She doesn't have the chemistry with Cooper as she did with Bogart. And obviously the chemistry was flying with Neal and Cooper instead.

Also in the cast are Jack Carson, in a small and not so well written role that wasted this fine actor. Gladys George (remember her in MADAME X) was also wasted in a thankless role.

However, it's fine drama of the time and good to see the stars playing out their roles.

I prefer to remember Coop in such films as SERGEANT YORK, FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS, SARATOGA TRUNK, FOUNTAINHEAD, HIGH NOON and ALONG CAME JONES.

The subject matter of this film, the tobacco industry, is a subject that makes this a bit dated. Back in 1950, it worked fine up on the big screen but today some might see these folks as mass murderers.

When the movie begins, Brant Royle (Gary Cooper) arrives back in his home town in North Carolina. He's been gone for many years and he's back to settle his uncle's estate. However, the local tobacco czar, the Major (Donald Crisp), has decided that Brant is not welcome and makes it very clear. But, around the same time, a smart inventor (Jeff Corey) approaches Brant with an automated cigarette rolling machine. Soon, Brant is rich and slowly the Major and his old money are being driven into the ground.

At the same time, one woman loves Brant and another completely cold and indifferent. So, naturally he ignores the nice woman (Lauren Bacall) and chases the nasty one...the Major's daughter (Patricia Neal). Why does he want this cold, conniving and annoying woman? Perhaps he wants to do to her what he metaphorically wants to do to the Major...who knows?

Eventually, Brant is able to get everything he wants...wealth, power and the girl. However, in the process he becomes a heartless, nasty jerk-face. He also manages to destroy the good will of his friends and is eventually left an empty man. What's next? See the film.

In many ways, this reminds me of previous films like "Citizen Kane", "Honky Tonk" and "Edward, My Son"...three films about guys who do anything in order to gain power and yet lose everything that's really important in the process. It's a timeless morality tale and the more you watch, the more you are just waiting to see the mighty fall due to their own awfulness and arrogance. Fortunately, it does end a bit differently...there isn't exactly a 'Rosebud' moment.

Overall, an interesting and well acted epic from Warner Brothers. Better than I expected...mostly because occasionally the script caught me by surprise...and in good ways.

By the way, Lauren Bacall's character is described as running a 'boarding house' but she clearly is a madame with a stable full of prostitutes when the film begins. I found these euphemisms a bit funny but understand that this was all done to comply with the rigid Production Code.

"Bright Leaf" is a 1950 Warner Brothers southern extravaganza starring Gary Cooper, Lauren Bacall, Patricia Neal, and Jack Carson.

Gary Cooper is Brant Royle, who in 1894 returns to his southern town of Kingsmont, where his family was driven out of the tobacco market by Major Singleton (Donald Crisp). Royle has returned to get his revenge and reinstate the family name in the area. There are two women in his life: a madam, Sonia (Lauren Bacall) and Singleton's beautiful daughter Margaret (Patricia Neal).

With the help of Sonia, Royle buys into a machine that actually rolls cigarettes, which drives down the cost of producing them. He eventually takes over nearly the entire tobacco industry. But Royle won't be happy until he has brought Major Singleton to his knees and marries Margaret. But in his determination to get what he wants, he loses even more.

The moral of "Bright Leaf" is two-fold: Beware of what you want; and big talent won't really help a mediocre movie. The novel was probably inspired by "Gone with the Wind," but the quality of the story - in the film, at least - doesn't come close. There are two likable characters - Sonia and Carson's role of Chris. The rest of the main characters are odious.

Patricia Neal and Gary Cooper were in the midst of their passionate affair, but the relationship between the characters they play is pretty frosty. Given their romance, perhaps the Bacall role would have been better for Neal.

Bacall took this job to finish off her contract with Warners. She's good, but her character isn't really fleshed out. Cooper is a great presence, but he has a difficult job because the character is not sympathetic. Also, I suspect that at age 50, the character was supposed to be younger. Neal is beautiful, and her performance has some real bite.

All in all, not up to the talents on screen.

Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal starred in 1949's "The Fountainhead", an adaptation of Ayn Rand's novel about an architect who refused to sacrifice his integrity or principles. A year later, the same two starred in this film, "Bright Leaf", a period piece in which Cooper plays a damaged man who becomes successful in the tobacco industry. In "The Fountainhead", Cooper is a strong man of principle, but he is probably the weakest part of that film, perhaps because he did not understand the film (as he himself admitted), perhaps because the role did not suit him. I think Cooper better understood his role in "Bright Leaf". His character, Brant Royle, feels more authentic. But Royle is not a man of principle. He is a caricature--the uncaring, destructive capitalist. He is a man with a chip on his shoulder and as far from a man of principle as one can get.

"Bright Leaf" actually has more in common with the movie "Giant", in which Rock Hudson and James Dean play warring oilmen. But "Giant' is a much better film. Cooper, like Hudson, is headstrong. And Dean's character is like Brant Royle--a man with a chip on his shoulder, who only wants payback for perceived slights. But "Giant" is a bright and shining production, where "Bright Leaf" is a dingy film of sordid intents.

There is a bright moment in "Bright Leaf"--near the end of the film, when Royle discovers the true intentions of his wife, Margaret. In that scene, Patricia Neal virtually glows as she burns with the intensity of her revealed emotions.

But otherwise, this film is only as compelling as a grudge match between two self-absorbed and boring factions. It's not the director's fault; the writing defines these characters and drives them. It's not a horrible film, but it falls short of "The Fountainhead", which--even with the miscasting of Cooper--contains a striking story of principles.