Ross McElwee travels through the North Carolina tobacco belt in search of the ancient southern traditions associated with tobacco growing and use, while comparing his filmmaking to commercial cinema, represented by Bright Leaf, a melodrama directed by Michael Curtiz in 1950, starring Gary Cooper, apparently based on the life of his great-grandfather.
Cast
Ross McElwee
Himself - Narrator (voice)
Brian Baucom
Unknown
Susan Bennett
Unknown
Ed Bivens
Unknown
R. Bullock
Unknown
Jack Clayton
Unknown
Mary Clayton
Unknown
Marian Fitz-Simmons
Unknown
Alan Gurganus
Unknown
Steve Herman
Unknown
Robbie Lane Jackson
Unknown
Elizabeth King
Unknown
Mack Lackey
Unknown
Paula Larke
Unknown
Jim Lewis
Unknown
James MacDougal
Unknown
Emily Madison
Unknown
Matti McClain
Unknown
Adrian McElwee
Unknown
John McElwee
Unknown
Tom McElwee
Unknown
Jamie McPhail
Unknown
Howard McPherson
Unknown
Kathleen Money
Unknown
Patricia Neal
Unknown
Jamie Newnam
Unknown
Vlada Petrić
Unknown
Jack Rhodes
Unknown
William E. Smith
Unknown
Sherwood Stewart
Unknown
Dooley Strange
Unknown
Charleen Swansea
Unknown
Kerry Walter
Unknown
Ashzi Welborn
Unknown
David Williamson
Unknown
Kitty Fisher
Unknown
Gary Cooper
(archive footage)
Marilyn Levine
Unknown
Ross McElwee Jr.
Unknown
