Acting
Cooper's quiet fury vs. Bacall's smoldering independence.
Direction
Curtiz somehow makes cigarette manufacturing visually compelling.
Costume
Bacall's wardrobe alone deserves its own cigarette brand.
Director
Michael Curtiz
Gary Cooper
Brant Royle
Lauren Bacall
Sonia Kovac
Patricia Neal
Margaret Jane Singleton
Jack Carson
Chris Malley
Donald Crisp
Major Singleton
Gladys George
Rose
Elizabeth Patterson
Tabitha Singleton
Jeff Corey
John Barton
Taylor Holmes
Calhoun - Lawyer
Thurston Hall
Phillips
John Alvin
Poker Player (uncredited)
Frank Baker
Man in Hotel Bar (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on a novel by Foster Fitz-Simmons, whose family actually owned tobacco farms — the revenge plot was pure fiction, but the industry details are suspiciously authentic.
Released when smoking was still glamorous, the film's cynical portrayal of tobacco capitalism feels almost accidentally subversive — like Mad Men if Don Darcy lost everything.
US
