Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

MartinHafer 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.

thejcowboy22 A turn of the Century twist with another Cooper, O'Neal romance. NOT!!! Don't let that stop you at the Gates of the Singleton Plantation. Gary Cooper,(Brandt Royle) the last of his families line,a wannabee businessman meets Northerner Mr. Barton with a cigarette rolling machine that could make them millions. Enter Bordello owner Sonia, (Lauren Bacall) who has feelings for Mr. Royle. Royle needs money to start up his cigarette business but Sonia knows all to well that she's being used as his love interest. This movie is not about the money or the success that it brings. This movie shows how old fashioned ways, traditions and family hatred get in the way of just about everything. Cooper does a fine job of transforming from a humble upstart to a drunken self absorbed entrepreneur. In my opinion Lauren Bacall could have played Patricia Neal's role but the casting dept had other ideas. The supporting cast does a fine job of holding the story together. Donald Crisp as the irascible old school Tobacco King and Jack Carson who starts out a down on his luck charlatan running a medicine show at the beginning of the story into a well polished boardroom businessman at movie's end. Does this movie teach us to love our superficial business world or should we search for our true passions instead? This question haunts the masses for centuries and this movie may or may not give us the answers but you will be entertained by an all star cast.

atlasmb 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.

utgard14 Southern melodrama that has Gary Cooper seeking revenge on tobacco plantation owner Donald Crisp, who ran his family out of town years before. Tawdry stuff with ample amounts of unintended comedy, mostly from the poor Southern accents. Last film from great cinematographer Karl Freund. After this he would work strictly in television for the rest of his career. It's a good looking movie, if nothing else. Also the last movie on Lauren Bacall's contract with Warner Bros., where she had been since her debut. She's the best part of this. Coop is fine, I guess. Patricia Neal, an actress I've never fully gotten the appeal of, is awful here. Bacall out and Neal in surely was a sign of the times at Warner Bros. and pretty much the industry as a whole. The movie stars they were making from this point on just weren't as glamorous as before. Not a lot of likable characters in this one. Aside from Bacall, there's Jack Carson. Everybody else is a villain or villain-approximate.