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Duel in the Sun (1946)

6.9
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Ratings: 6.9/10 from 4,495 users  
Reviews: 80 user | 29 critic

Beautiful half-breed Pearl Chavez becomes the ward of her dead father's first love and finds herself torn between her sons, one good and the other bad.

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Writers:

(screenplay), (suggested by a novel by), 2 more credits »
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Title: Duel in the Sun (1946)

Duel in the Sun (1946) on IMDb 6.9/10

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Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win. See more awards »
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Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Pearl Chavez
...
Jesse McCanles
...
...
Sen. Jackson McCanles
Herbert Marshall ...
Scott Chavez
...
...
The Sinkiller
...
Sam Pierce
...
Lem Smoot
Joan Tetzel ...
Helen Langford
Tilly Losch ...
Mrs. Chavez
...
Vashti
Scott McKay ...
Sid
...
Mr. Langford
...
The Lover
Edit

Storyline

When her father is hanged for shooting his wife and her lover, half-breed Pearl Chavez goes to live with distant relatives in Texas. Welcomed by Laura Belle and her elder lawyer son Jesse, she meets with hostility from the ranch-owner himself, wheelchair-bound Senator Jackson McCanles, and with lustful interest from womanising, unruly younger son Lewt. Almost at once, already existing family tensions are exacerbated by her presence and the way she is physically drawn to Lewt. Written by Jeremy Perkins {J-26}

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Emotions . . . As Violent As The Wind-Swept Prairie ! See more »

Genres:

Drama | Romance | Western

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

12 September 1947 (Mexico)  »

Also Known As:

King Vidor's Duel in the Sun  »

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$20,400,000 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (roadshow)

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Recording)

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Joan Tetzel. See more »

Goofs

At end of Jesse's conversation through the window with Sid, Jesse's right hand moves from the sill to inside the window. See more »

Quotes

Pearl Chavez: If I'm not good enough to marry, I'm not good enough to kiss.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Showman (1963) See more »

Soundtracks

"I've Been Working on the Railroad"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by Gregory Peck
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Overblown, but entertaining and essential for Western fans.
1 December 2002 | by (Virginia, USA) – See all my reviews

In the trade, this film was derisively known as "Lust in the Dust" and the critics were lukewarm. The Catholic Film Office rated it "C" for "condemned," presumably due to its smoldering sexuality, and Protestant churches denounced it for Walter Huston's windbag and satirical preacher, "The Sinkiller." Just about the only people who liked it were producer David O. Selznick and the public.

By late 1980's, times had changed so much that "Duel in the Sun" was shown in the early evening on Baltimore's Channel 24, then a family-oriented station owned by a bible publisher, Thomas Nelson. It was available on video at that time from Playhouse Video, a family imprint of CBS-Fox! Today, nearly sixty years after its release, we can perhaps consider the film objectively.

In a filmed interview years later, King Vidor said that he signed on to this film expecting it to be a small scale psychological Western like the later "High Noon." However, producer Selznick, relatively young and already living in the shadow of his "Gone With the Wind," consciously or/and unconsciously tried to equal or outdo that film with this one. The result is a Western epic built upon a non-epic story, making it seem a bit grandiose or overblown. Tiomkin's grand and beautiful score for this film would seem better suited for a tale about a true epic, such as a story about the cavalry campaigns or the building of the Pacific railroads.

Inspite of itself, the core of this film is a fascinating psychological Western based on the interplay of varied and sometimes contrasting characters. The acting is excellent, a possible exception being Lionel Barrymore's hamming, which burns up the scenery like a prairie fire and is often irritating. The production values are superb and the scenes of the confrontation with the railroad should be studied by student filmmakers.




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