Duel in the Sun

Pearl, you're curved in the flesh of temptation.

Duel in the Sun is predominantly directed by King Vidor and is produced and written by David O. Selznick who adapts (with help from H.P. Garrett & Ben Hecht) from Niven Busch's novel. It stars Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, Lillian Gish and Lionel Barrymore; with a huge support cast list that contains the likes of Herbert Marshall, Walter Huston, Charles Bickford & Harry Carey. The plot centres around Pearl Chavez (Jones), a half Indian girl who is orphaned after her father kills her mother and her lover. Pearl is sent to live with an old sweetheart and friend of her fathers, Laura Belle McCanles (Gish), here she becomes involved in prejudice and forbidden love that turns the McCanles family inside out.

David O. Selznick had hoped to recreate, even surpass, the success he had had with Gone With the Wind 7 years previously, only in a Western setting. Plagued with controversy both on and off the screen, the film, in spite of poor reviews, was a box office hit. Tho it's believed that due to high production costs and a cash driven advertising campaign, that the film ultimately only broke about even. The controversy on the screen stemmed from the sexual nature of the story, something that earned the film its famous "Lust In The Dust" nickname. Yet were it not for the Hays Code censors and religious review boards, the film would have been far more controversial, out went rape and a downplaying of the overt sexuality that existed prior to the cuts. Off screen controversy came in the form Selznick's relationship with Jones, a coupling that would break up both their respective marriages. The role of Pearl was originally meant for Hedy Lamarr, and even Teresa Wright was lined up too, but both women fell pregnant. Thus Selznick got the chance to shoehorn in his love and push her to the forefront of the movie with almost tyrannical urgings. 8 directors, 3 writers, 3 cinematographers & 4 editors would ultimatel...

The story here - a sort of Cain and Abel style topic that causes no end of pain for Jennifer Jones ("Pearl") is gorgeous to look at, gritty and very well put together. It is also, however, far too long and for the most part devoid of much pace. Joseph Cotton ("Jesse") and Gregory Peck ("Lewt") are both the sons of ruthless senator "McCanles" (Lionel Barrymore) the former a decent, if rather weak sort of character, the latter much more of a lethal loose cannon - but both vie for the love of the beautiful, sultry "Pearl". When the railroad arrives, wanting to cross the old man's land, "Jesse" sides with them alienating his father and his brother, and so is soon isolated as the young woman vacillates between him and his much more visceral and enticing brother - now the story really begins to smoulder. There are also an engaging series of appearances from Lilian Gish as the boys' mother - a lady who lays the blame for her sons errancy squarely at the door of their father. A fine supporting cast offer richness to an already complicated human story - Herbert Marshall, Charles Bickford amongst them. At it's best the film is effective - challenging views on race, loyalty, sexism, it looks at the pioneering spirit of those who want to take their country forward and the reticence of those who are scared of anything new, or of altering the status quo - and the last ten minutes are pretty unique amongst the films of this genre. There is too much padding, which does allow us to inhale the grand cinematography, but does deflate the potency of the narrative just a bit too much, a bit too often. Still - a fine piece of cinema well worthy a big screen with a sound system that can immerse you in Dimitri Tiomkin's rousing score.