Duel in the Sun (B or 3/4 stars)
7 yrs. after Gone with the Wind producer David O. Selznick wanted lightning to strike twice with this big, florid, overheated Western epic titled 'Duel in the Sun' (directed by the great King Vidor, among several others). It did very well at the box office, but not as good as GWTW, nor did it have the great reviews of the 1939 classic. In fact, 'Duel ...' was later dubbed 'LUST in the Sun', as critics were bemused/stunned/confounded by its liberal use of onscreen passion. Jennifer Jones stars as half-Caucasian, half-Native American Pearl Chavez, who the narrator (voiced by the great Orson Welles) calls a 'bad girl' foredoomed to a tragic end among the shadows of the craggy rocks of the old West {... that's pleasant}. Her father is Scott Chavez (Herbert Marshall), an ill-fated gentleman who murders his adulterous Native American wife & her lover (Sidney Blackmer), and gets a date with the noose for it.
Pearl is then taken into the home of the greedy, politically-incorrect rancher McCanles (Lionel Barrymore, at his grouchy best) & his kindly wife Laura Belle (Lillian Gish), who had been Scott's sweetheart way back in the day. In short, the film turns into a heated love triangle btwn. sexed-up Pearl and the ranchers' 2 sons: virtuous Jesse (Joseph Cotten) & bad boy Lewt (Gregory Peck). She falls for one brother, while the other falls for another girl, then the other brother gets information which makes him turn his eye to Pearl, then the other broth--, oh never mind, you get the picture. Romantic entanglements of all kinds ensue out in the hot, sweaty, sun-drenched desert. Oh, there's a subplot involving the Barrymore character and the encroaching railroad that wants to take-over his land but, that's all secondary to the main narrative thrust of the story ... who will duel in the sun? Who could possibly survive the outcomes?
Selznick's intoxicating, lurid, if also RIDICULOUS movie is entertaining despite itself. It's also gorgeous, with rich Technicolor photography, vast landscapes, great sets, beautiful costumes, & a romantic soundtrack by Dimitri Tiomkin. 'Duel in the Sun' benefits greatly from the forbidden passion in the story, as we see Jones & Peck sweating a lot, yelling at each other, smacking each other, & kissing with great ferocity. The scenes may look tame to our 21st century eyes, but for 1946, they simply throbbed with sexual tension & excitement (audiences & critics were not used to this, especially in the era of Hollywood's production code). Jones tries desperately to love the Joseph Cotten character as much as she loves the Peck character, but she just can't resist the latter. The whole thing is just funny to watch because these characters (particularly Jones & Peck) play their roles at such a fever pitch.
Jones is a stunner, here. But she plays Pearl Chavez with an animalistic quality that seemed, I don't know, a bit much. Still, she rivets; and her final moments on the mountainside are something to behold. Gregory Peck plays a sexual dynamo. I normally think of this actor as stoic & restrained ... but not here! Joseph Cotten is quite good; when isn't he? But his role doesn't call for the same flash that Jones/Peck enjoy. Butterfly McQueen steals scenes, just as she did in Gone with the Wind. Lillian Gish imparts her usual grace & warmth as Laura Belle. And I enjoyed watching her & Lionel Barrymore play off each other as the married ranchers. It's also fascinating to see the parallels btwn. these characters & the characters from GWTW. Jones has the 'Scarlett O'Hara' role. Gregory Peck is the charismatic 'Rhett Butler' type. Joseph Cotten is the dignified 'Ashley' type. Lillian Gish is the kindly 'Melanie'. Heck, the ranch even has a name, which reminds one of 'Tara'.
Though this film has been maligned in some circles, it actually has some interesting themes/ideas floating around amidst the pulpy melodrama. For example, Jones falls for the bad guy; attracted to a sexy, arrogant man whom she's willing to 'go down with the ship' for. And since the character of Pearl is met with disdain by many for being a half-breed (and lacking self-esteem), her falling for the brutish-type over a more straight-&-narrow type makes some sense. Director King Vidor was known for his silent era films of the early 1920s and, it makes sense that he makes his actors here use so much of their faces & bodies to express emotion, rather than dialogue. Having said that, he lets his actors go too wild with that direction. But flaws & bombast aside, I found the sexual undertones in this movie to be fascinating. The Western genre had never seen an epic quite like 'Duel in the Sun', and it would be decades before they saw another like it.
Pearl is then taken into the home of the greedy, politically-incorrect rancher McCanles (Lionel Barrymore, at his grouchy best) & his kindly wife Laura Belle (Lillian Gish), who had been Scott's sweetheart way back in the day. In short, the film turns into a heated love triangle btwn. sexed-up Pearl and the ranchers' 2 sons: virtuous Jesse (Joseph Cotten) & bad boy Lewt (Gregory Peck). She falls for one brother, while the other falls for another girl, then the other brother gets information which makes him turn his eye to Pearl, then the other broth--, oh never mind, you get the picture. Romantic entanglements of all kinds ensue out in the hot, sweaty, sun-drenched desert. Oh, there's a subplot involving the Barrymore character and the encroaching railroad that wants to take-over his land but, that's all secondary to the main narrative thrust of the story ... who will duel in the sun? Who could possibly survive the outcomes?
Selznick's intoxicating, lurid, if also RIDICULOUS movie is entertaining despite itself. It's also gorgeous, with rich Technicolor photography, vast landscapes, great sets, beautiful costumes, & a romantic soundtrack by Dimitri Tiomkin. 'Duel in the Sun' benefits greatly from the forbidden passion in the story, as we see Jones & Peck sweating a lot, yelling at each other, smacking each other, & kissing with great ferocity. The scenes may look tame to our 21st century eyes, but for 1946, they simply throbbed with sexual tension & excitement (audiences & critics were not used to this, especially in the era of Hollywood's production code). Jones tries desperately to love the Joseph Cotten character as much as she loves the Peck character, but she just can't resist the latter. The whole thing is just funny to watch because these characters (particularly Jones & Peck) play their roles at such a fever pitch.
Jones is a stunner, here. But she plays Pearl Chavez with an animalistic quality that seemed, I don't know, a bit much. Still, she rivets; and her final moments on the mountainside are something to behold. Gregory Peck plays a sexual dynamo. I normally think of this actor as stoic & restrained ... but not here! Joseph Cotten is quite good; when isn't he? But his role doesn't call for the same flash that Jones/Peck enjoy. Butterfly McQueen steals scenes, just as she did in Gone with the Wind. Lillian Gish imparts her usual grace & warmth as Laura Belle. And I enjoyed watching her & Lionel Barrymore play off each other as the married ranchers. It's also fascinating to see the parallels btwn. these characters & the characters from GWTW. Jones has the 'Scarlett O'Hara' role. Gregory Peck is the charismatic 'Rhett Butler' type. Joseph Cotten is the dignified 'Ashley' type. Lillian Gish is the kindly 'Melanie'. Heck, the ranch even has a name, which reminds one of 'Tara'.
Though this film has been maligned in some circles, it actually has some interesting themes/ideas floating around amidst the pulpy melodrama. For example, Jones falls for the bad guy; attracted to a sexy, arrogant man whom she's willing to 'go down with the ship' for. And since the character of Pearl is met with disdain by many for being a half-breed (and lacking self-esteem), her falling for the brutish-type over a more straight-&-narrow type makes some sense. Director King Vidor was known for his silent era films of the early 1920s and, it makes sense that he makes his actors here use so much of their faces & bodies to express emotion, rather than dialogue. Having said that, he lets his actors go too wild with that direction. But flaws & bombast aside, I found the sexual undertones in this movie to be fascinating. The Western genre had never seen an epic quite like 'Duel in the Sun', and it would be decades before they saw another like it.