Search - Duel in the Sun on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Not For Children Movie Release: 1946 DVD Release: 01/19/1999 Format: DVD - Pan and Scan SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 8 mins Studio: Anchor Bay Members Wishing: 3 Genres: Drama, Western, Romantic Drama, Melodrama, Epic Western See Also: Duel in the Sun [Roadshow Edition], Duel in the Sun

In David O. Selznick's Duel in the Sun, Jennifer Jones stars as Pearl Chavez, whom everyone has tagged as a "bad girl" foredoomed to an unhappy end. She is taken into the home of wealthy, greedy rancher McCanles (Lionel Barrymore) and his kindly wife Laura Belle (Lillian Gish), who'd once been the sweetheart of Pearl's recently executed father (Herbert Marshall). Almost immediately, Pearl becomes the object of an emotional tug-of-war between McCanles' virtuous son Jesse (Joseph Cotten) and wicked ne'er-do-well offspring Lewt (Gregory Peck). After killing a man (Charles Bickford) who'd tried proposing to Pearl, Lewt becomes a fugitive, secretly working to undermine the railroad that threatens to cut across McCanles' land. The level-headed Jesse tries to negotiate with the railroad men, and as a result is ordered from the ranch by McCanles. While all this is going on, Pearl, sick to death of being told what a bad job she is, decides to become the Jezebel everyone assumes she is. Duel in the Sun was based on the novel by Niven Busch, who'd written the work hoping that his wife Teresa Wright would play Pearl--but that was before Selznick fell head over heels in love with Jennifer Jones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Griff Barnett - The Jailer
Jennifer Jones - Pearl Chavez
Gregory Peck - Lewt McCanles
Charles Bickford - Sam Pierce
Joseph Cotten - Jesse McCanles
Lionel Barrymore - Senator McCanles
Sidney Blackmer - The Lover
Harry Carey - Lem Smoot
Lillian Gish - Laura Belle McCanles

King Vidor directed Duel in the Sun, but it is very much David O. Selznick's film. The DVD release offers a standard full-frame 1.33:1 image (as any film produced before 1955 should). An English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo. There are no closed-captions or subtitles on this release. Fans of this classic film will most certainly want to see this disc, but considering its infamous history, one can hope for a new release that will incorporate some historical information about the production. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide