Duel in the sun

Duel in the Sun (Duel in the Sun) (1946) is an American western, based in Niven Busch's novel about the biblical story of Cain and Abel, directed by King Vidor -with the collaboration of Otto Brower, William Dieterle, Sidney Franklin, William Cameron Menzies, David O. Selznick and Josef von Sternberg- and starring, in Lead roles by Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, Lionel Barrymore, Walter Huston, Lillian Gish, Harry Carrey, Charles Bickford, Herbert Marshall, and Otto Kruger. The film was nominated for two Oscars in 1947: one for Best Leading Actress, Jennifer Jones, and the other for Best Supporting Actress, Lilian Gish.

Synopsis

Pearl (Jennifer Jones) is a young mixed-race Indian who is sent to live in the home of Texas Senator McCandless (Lionel Barrymore), where she attracts the attention of his two sons: the proper Jesse (Joseph Cotten) and the fierce Lewton (Gregory Peck), who will not take long to compete for the love of the young woman.

Reception

Selznick hoped Duel in the Sun would surpass the success of Gone with the Wind. It was a highly controversial film at the time due to its eroticism and the sentimental relationship that Selznick and Jones had in real life and which ended their marriages. The film was a great box office success although it did not surpass 'Gone with the Wind'. It raised 11,300. $000 in North America only.

Cast

• Jennifer Jones.... Pearl Chavez
• Joseph Cotten.... Jesse McCanles
• Gregory Peck.... Lewton "Lewt" McCanles
• Lionel Barrymore.... Senator Jackson McCanles
• Herbert Marshall.... Scott Chavez
• Lillian Gish.... Laura Belle McCanles
• Walter Huston.... Sinkiller
• Charles Bickford.... Sam Pierce
• Harry Carey... Lem Smoot
• Charles Dingle.... Sheriff Hardy.
• Sidney Blackmer.... The lover
• Butterfly McQueen... Vashti
• Otto Kruger.... Mr. Langford
• Joan Tetzel..... Helen Langford
• Tilly Losch... Mrs. Chavez
• Orson Welles.... Narrator