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Duel in the Sun (1946)
Runtime: 2 hrs 26 mins
Synopsis: Dubbed "Lust in the Dust" by Hollywood wags and, at $5 million, the most expensive film made up to that time, DUEL IN THE SUN stars Jennifer Jones as Pearl Chavez, a stunning young half-breed. After her father's death, she's taken in by distant relative Laura Belle McCanles (Lillian Gish),... Dubbed "Lust in the Dust" by Hollywood wags and, at $5 million, the most expensive film made up to that time, DUEL IN THE SUN stars Jennifer Jones as Pearl Chavez, a stunning young half-breed. After her father's death, she's taken in by distant relative Laura Belle McCanles (Lillian Gish), whose husband, Senator (Lionel Barrymore), is a Texas cattle baron of immense wealth. She soons finds herself attracted to the two McCanles sons: the magnetic hell-raiser Lewt (Gregory Peck) and the educated, restrained Jesse (Joseph Cotten). Since Pearl is presumed to have inherited her mother's hot-blooded disposition, she's tagged as a bad girl by Lewt, who quickly makes a pass at her without success. But with Jesse away on business, she and Lewt eventually become lovers, although she still can't decide which of the two she loves. Meanwhile, Senator is embroiled in a dispute over the invasion of his property by railroad interests, becoming enraged when Jesse chooses the pen over the shotgun as a negotiating tool. Saturated in sexual innuendo, this fabulously overripe, overproduced melodrama, which constantly teeters on the edge of camp, is, more than anything else, the product of David O. Selznick's megalomaniacal desire to top his earlier epic, GONE WITH THE WIND. That said, the acting is very good, as is Dimitri Tiomkin's score, and the crowd scenes are superbly orchestrated. [More]
Genre: Westerns
Starring: Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Gish
Producer: David O. Selznick
Screenwriter: Oliver H. P. Garrett
Story: Niven Busch
Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin
Screenwriter: David O. Selznick
Director: B. Reeves Eason, Otto Brower
DVD Info
Release:
Jan 5, 2006
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Full-Frame - 1.33
Audio:
- Mono - English
Additional Release Material:
- Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
Reviews
So many directors worked on this preposterous Western that it's impossible to tell whose signature it bears; the final, overheated shoot-out between the lovers (Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones), much discussed at the time, is worth the price of admission
O romance entre os personagens de Jones e Peck é fascinante, já que ambos possuem caráter dúbio - e o desfecho é fabuloso.
It's big, it's sprawling, it's overheated, it's colorful, but it's not very good.
One big, overblown stinker. A pretentious B-Western not worthy of its all-star cast.
Duel in the Sun (1946) was branded "Lust in the Dust" at the time of its release, a classic epic western

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