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Duel in the Sun

Duell in der Sonne
Retrospective 2020
© akg-images/Album/Selznick/Rko
After a tragic bout of jealousy costs the lives of both her parents, the “half-breed” Pearl Chavez is taken in by a distant relative, the wife of a Texas rancher, Senator Jackson McCanles. There she meets the couple’s two sons. The elder brother, Jesse, treats her with respect, while younger brother Lewt makes aggressive sexual overtures to Pearl that culminate in rape. From that moment on, the two are locked into a fiery hate-love relationship that inexorably advances towards the final scene, which gives the film its title … David O. Selznick may have set his sights on topping the success of Gone with the Wind (1939) with this outsized melodrama. Half a dozen directors and cinematographers were involved in the production, alongside a host of period advisors for, among other things, weapons, dances, and ranch life in the 19th century. In 1954, Vidor wrote, “the picture started out to be a moderate-sized western. When we had finished, it was just about the most super-duper-Technicolor ever made”. Although he left the production before the shoot was over, after a fight with the omnipotent producer, Duel in the Sun is still the film most closely associated with King Vidor’s name.
by King Vidor, William Dieterle
with Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, Lionel Barrymore, Herbert Marshall, Lillian Gish, Walter Huston, Charles Bickford, Harry Carey, Joan Tetzel USA 1947 English 135’ Colour Rating R16

With

  • Jennifer Jones
  • Joseph Cotten
  • Gregory Peck
  • Lionel Barrymore
  • Herbert Marshall
  • Lillian Gish
  • Walter Huston
  • Charles Bickford
  • Harry Carey
  • Joan Tetzel

Crew

Director King Vidor, William Dieterle
Screenplay David O. Selznick, Oliver H. P. Garrett
Story Niven Busch Duel in the Sun (1944)
Cinematography Lee Garmes, Harold Rosson, Ray Rennahan
Editing Hal C. Kern
Music Dimitri Tiomkin
Sound James G. Stewart
Production Design J. McMillan Johnson
Art Director James Basevi
Costumes Walter Plunkett
Assistant Directors Lowell J. Farrell, Harvey Dwight
Producer David O. Selznick

Produced by

Vanguard Films, Inc.

Additional information

Print: Restored by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, with support from The Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation