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Duel in the Sun

Duel in the Sun

Western · Drama · Romance · 1946

Beautiful half-breed Pearl Chavez becomes the ward of her dead father's first love and finds herself torn between her sons, one good and the other bad.

Movie details

Duel in the Sun

“Emotions . . . As Violent As The Wind-Swept Prairie !”

1946 Western · Drama · Romance 2h 24m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

Beautiful half-breed Pearl Chavez becomes the ward of her dead father's first love and finds herself torn between her sons, one good and the other bad.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Duel in the Sun?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

King Vidor

Written by

David O. Selznick · Ben Hecht

Jennifer Jones

Jennifer Jones

Pearl Chavez

Joseph Cotten

Joseph Cotten

Jesse McCanles

Gregory Peck

Gregory Peck

Lewton "Lewt" McCanles

Lionel Barrymore

Lionel Barrymore

Sen. Jackson McCanles

Herbert Marshall

Herbert Marshall

Scott Chavez

Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish

Laura Belle McCanles

Walter Huston

Walter Huston

The Sinkiller

Court is in session

Put Duel in the Sun on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.