Bright Leaf (1950)

Michael Curtiz directed melodrama set in 1890's North Carolina. The plot concerns conflicts between cigar makers and a new class of cheap cigarette makers, so its hard to know who to route for. The film features a couple of love triangles and a good hate triangle. This Overwrought offering reteams stars Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal from the previous years similarly over-the-top The Fountainhead. Lauren Bacall and Jack Carson are also along for the ride. Story is loosely based on the rivalry of tobacco tycoons Washington Duke and John Harvey McElwee, or so says McElwee descendent Ross McElwee in his 2007 documentary film also titled Bright Leaf. This movie reminded me that while I like it when similarly iconic star Jimmy Stewart plays dark, I don't like it when Cooper does. This films a bit of a mess. **