Duel in the Sun

I love this movie. But it's a real departure from your classic western formula. Jennifer Jones as Pearl Chavez is hotter'n a Arkansas Rembrandt as a steamy little half-breed that wants to be a "good girl" but just can't resist all those wicked urges. Gregory Peck missed his calling...he is fantastic as Lewton McCanles, the ultimate bad boy who just takes what he wants, and kills who he wants without remorse all the while getting atta-boys from the old man with Lionel Barrymore in a familiar role of rich curmudgeon. Yeah, it's over the top melodrama and literally everything is way overdone but I still love it. The final scene with Pearl and Lewt is a classic example of timeless CAMP. Just hilarious. BTW, the DVD transfer is excellent. No disappointments here.

Too bad the Lewt character didn't carry over to The Gunfighter, a lesser western soap opera that has lent itself to over-analysis, and more praise than it's due.

Hey Reggie...stick to something you know about like Star Trek, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, and showtunes. haw haw haw

No! This is one of the worst MOVIES ever made! Of course, political correctness did not exist in 1946, but some responsible person should have been considerate to the feelings of Hispanics, cowboys, Native Americans, women, and old people. All are horribly stereotyped in this obvious big-budgeted epic.

Jennifer Jones is good on the eye but her believability as a half-breed is too much to take. Thankfully, Joseph Cotten had earlier scored with Orson Welles in "The Magnificent Ambersons" and "Citizen Kane," as well as with Hitchcock in "Shadow of a Doubt." He would have a long character-acting career, even with this turkey under his belt.

The same for co-star Gregory Peck. Acting in "Duel" has to be an embarrassment for the Oscar winner. "Atticus Finch" couldn't even defend his performance.

Lionel Barrymore is AWFUL as the family's overbearing and racist patriarch! Only Lillian Gish as his long-suffering wife succeeds despite such ear-shattering dialogue.

One can't believe that the man responsible for bringing "Gone with the Wind" to the screen produced this!

"Duel in the Sun" was David Selznick's attempt to outdo "Gone With the Wind". Sure, it has lavish and sweeping production, glorious cinematography. But nothing can outdo "Gone With the Wind". But it was still a valiant attempt.

The film revolves around Pearl Chavez, a half white/half Amerind girl whose became an orphan when her father was hanged for murder. She was sent to the family of her father's ex-fiancee (Lillian Gish). Unfortunately, the patriach of the family harbors racist attitude toward Pearl ("PEARL??? Why aren't you called POCAHONTAS?!!"). The two son, blond Jesse (Joseph Cotten)the saint and dark haired Lewt (Gregory Peck) the devil both fell for Pearl, and this love triangle eventually leads to the climatic event suggested by the film's title.

As usual, the ever reliable Jennifer Jones demonstrate her talents that other Hollywood actresses can only hope they had. If you are used to seeing Ms. Jones in goody two shoes virginal roles in films such as Song of Bernadette, Since You Went Away, Love Is A Many Splendored Thing, Portrait of Jennie, and even The Towering Inferno, Duel In the Sun shows that she can exude sex as well. Typical of Jennifer's performances, she don't just act with her face, she acted with her entire body as well. She BECOMES the character.

Gregory Peck is also excellent, being a rotten rakish rogue for once rather than the defender of right and virtue we use to get from him in films such as A Gentleman's Agreement and The Paradine Case.

Highly sexually charge in its day, Duel In the Sun was jeered by critics as "lust in the dust". But given how this film has gone on to be a classic, both Peck and Jones can jeer back. Their performances, and the film itself is still remembered and celebrated.

And where are the critics now?
Nuff said.

Duel in the Sun is an epic production. It is beautifully filmed -- with great music, expert stunt work, well-trained horses and a superb cast of superstars. ... end of story. It doesn't hold up as well most other films from the 1940s (or the 50's, 60's, 70' ,80's and rest of the century for that mattter), and the script (sic) which is corny, campy, unbelievable and painful to watch is an insult to discerning film-goers now, just as it must have been 60 years ago. King Vidor ( the name fits, and he wears it well) has teamed up with David O. Selsnick to foist this multi-million dollar spectacle on overzealous groupies of the film-classic genre who, (as you can read from the surrounding reviews) just adore it! It has three things which will please film lovers: 1.Jennifer Jones 2.great scenery (redundant) and 3.the best stunt horses this side of - - wait -- I already said that.
Despite a tremendous effort on the part of Gregory Peck, Jones, Lilian Gish and the rest of the talented cast to make this horrendous script come to some sort of life-form, the movie ultimately sinks to a level of jabberwocky so low that it makes the script of Paul Verhoeven/Elizabeth Berkley's "Showgirls" seem like "A Place in the Sun" by comparison.
This is two and a half hours of my life I can never get back.
I give it 2-stars -- only because of the stars.

Duel in the Sun was seen as overheated, over-hyped and over-done when it opened in l947, though it did huge business. Today I find again and again that I and many others it are hypnotized by it, find it fascinating, its outsized emotions, feelings, visual splendor, epic-geared acting all fascinate audiences. This is King Vidor in what is called his "delirious period" and Selznick as having his ambitions as well as his talent in full control, before he started down. Glorious "big" performances by the Jennifer Jones asnd Gregory Peck and world class supporting cast. Great music by Dmitri Tiomkin. A major treat!