Bright Leaf

Bright Leaf
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Curtiz
Screenplay byRanald MacDougall
Based onBright Leaf
by Foster Fitz-Simons
Produced byHenry Blanke
Starring
CinematographyKarl Freund
Edited byOwen Marks
Music byVictor Young
Color processBlack and white
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • July 2, 1950 (1950-07-02) (USA)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,944,000
Box office$2,446,000
$1,750,000 (US/Canada rentals)

Bright Leaf is a 1950 American Drama Western film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Gary Cooper, Lauren Bacall and Patricia Neal. It is adapted from the 1949 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.