Powerful tobacco king Donald Crisp is angered when Gary Cooper, the son of a man whose property Crisp took away from him, returns to his home town after a seven year absence, more prosperous, but like "Wuthering Height's" Heathcliff, determined to even the score. It happens that Crisp's beautiful daughter, Patricia Neal, once had her eye on Cooper, but the ruthless father made his displeasure clear by destroying any chance they had of being together by running Cooper out of town. Now back to settle his late uncle's estate, Cooper becomes involved in a plan to mass-market cigarettes with the help of the man who invented the cigarette rolling machine. Town madame Lauren Bacall loans Cooper the money to patent the machine, and before you can say, "Do you have a light?", Cooper has totally taken over the tobacco market, virtually wiping Crisp out, and driving the man to a desperate act of revenge.
When first seen, Cooper is a determined man, not totally consumed with revenge, but as he gets more power, he becomes just as bad (possibly even worse) than Crisp ever was. He uses the two women in his life, particularly Bacall, whose obvious whorehouse is disguised as a boarding house occupied by her large amount of cousins. Neal and Bacall sadly do not share any scenes, but after being in the background for a quarter of the earlier part of the film, suddenly emerge in strong character studies. Neal, in particular, has a particularly triumphant juicy moment that reveals everything we know has been building up inside this spoiled beauty. Like "The Furies", Neal defies her powerful father, but the father/daughter relationship is obviously stronger than any love match could be. Fortunately, unlike "The Furies'" Wendell Corey, "Bright Leaf" (which is actually the name of the plantation that Cooper ends up in control of), Cooper is a stronger and more magnetic actor. With the real-life love affair between Cooper and Neal going on during this and the magnificent "The Fountainhead", they show more on-screen sparks than Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor had in most of their films.
The one sour note in this film is the presence of Jack Carson as the medicine man who ends up being Cooper's partner. He really seems to have no reason for being here other than to give box-office name to a film, that with Cooper, Neal, and Bacall really didn't need it. Donald Crisp, who played a wealthy steel mill owner of a sympathetic nature in "The Valley of Decision" just five years before this, gets to add some delicious ruthlessness. In comparing Crisp and Neal's relationship to "The Furies'" Walter Huston and Barbara Stanwyck, you will notice some similarities as I mentioned. Then, in smaller roles, are Elizabeth Patterson and Gladys George as Neal and Bacall's confidantes. They do respectable work as usual. This is modern Greek tragedy at its finest, and a rare chance to see Cooper playing a very unsympathetic character. The ending is very satisfactory, both a typical Hollywood finale and a moral lesson as well.
When first seen, Cooper is a determined man, not totally consumed with revenge, but as he gets more power, he becomes just as bad (possibly even worse) than Crisp ever was. He uses the two women in his life, particularly Bacall, whose obvious whorehouse is disguised as a boarding house occupied by her large amount of cousins. Neal and Bacall sadly do not share any scenes, but after being in the background for a quarter of the earlier part of the film, suddenly emerge in strong character studies. Neal, in particular, has a particularly triumphant juicy moment that reveals everything we know has been building up inside this spoiled beauty. Like "The Furies", Neal defies her powerful father, but the father/daughter relationship is obviously stronger than any love match could be. Fortunately, unlike "The Furies'" Wendell Corey, "Bright Leaf" (which is actually the name of the plantation that Cooper ends up in control of), Cooper is a stronger and more magnetic actor. With the real-life love affair between Cooper and Neal going on during this and the magnificent "The Fountainhead", they show more on-screen sparks than Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor had in most of their films.
The one sour note in this film is the presence of Jack Carson as the medicine man who ends up being Cooper's partner. He really seems to have no reason for being here other than to give box-office name to a film, that with Cooper, Neal, and Bacall really didn't need it. Donald Crisp, who played a wealthy steel mill owner of a sympathetic nature in "The Valley of Decision" just five years before this, gets to add some delicious ruthlessness. In comparing Crisp and Neal's relationship to "The Furies'" Walter Huston and Barbara Stanwyck, you will notice some similarities as I mentioned. Then, in smaller roles, are Elizabeth Patterson and Gladys George as Neal and Bacall's confidantes. They do respectable work as usual. This is modern Greek tragedy at its finest, and a rare chance to see Cooper playing a very unsympathetic character. The ending is very satisfactory, both a typical Hollywood finale and a moral lesson as well.