Duel in the Sun (1946)

Directed by King Vidor

For a good example of what an over-produced movie looks like, Duel in the Sun is a good place to start.

It’s a melodrama given a western setting although, despite the physical look of the sets, landscape and costumes, it’s about as close to a western as The Sound of Music would be if they had worn cowboy hats.

Where the best westerns tend to involve restraint, simplicity, even minimalism, Duel in the Sun is about excess.

And as amusing as some of it might be, it’s a tough slog to get through.

After what seems to be an endless narrative opening where the film pretentiously announces how important it is (there are some nice images however), the movie gets started and the long ride is underway.

The story is relatively simple: a beautiful young girl named Pearl (Jennifer Jones), part white, part Cheyenne, has been raised within morally questionable circumstances.

She finds herself suddenly parentless and is sent to live with the white family of her father’s sister.

There she finds two brothers – the good brother (Joseph Cotten) and the bad brother (Gregory Peck). Trials and tribulations follow in a very soap opera fashion.

Basically, it boils down to Pearl’s desire to be a “good girl” being compromised by a passion for the “bad boy.” In some ways, it’s not a bad portrayal of the psychology of an abuse victim.

Despite the ongoing ill-treatment she receives from Peck’s character, she returns to him again and again.

Dysfunction is, I suppose, a key element in soap opera.

In the process we’re treated to a lusty tale filled with emotional histrionics.

The movie is interesting for a few things – Gregory Peck’s portrayal of the self-indulgent, nasty brother (a bad guy is something we didn’t often see from him).

Poor Joseph Cotten on the other hand is wasted in a role chiefly characterized by blandness. (Perhaps Pearl’s passion for Peck’s character has less to do with the bad brother than how extremely boring the good brother is.)

Jennifer Jones looks fabulous in the movie. She appears to be slathered in body make-up to make her skin appear darker – thus her teeth and eyes stand out as if they were neon.

Unfortunately, she’s forced to play an over-sexed twit.

From what I’ve read, those who like this movie like it for its camp quality. In other words, they find fun in how bad it is. For me, it’s just bad.

Twenty minutes of a bad movie might have been funny but at almost two and a half hours, it’s a painful experience.