Overview
A tale of passion and conflict unfolds in the heart of Texas, where family ties are tested by desire and betrayal.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- operatic
- passionate
- tragic
- classic western night
- melodramatic film evening
What critics said
Critics broadly praise the film's striking western melodrama, performances, and visual scale while finding its extended runtime and slow pacing limiting.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Pearl's sexual obsession, family rivalries, and violent fate are presented with unusually grand emotional intensity.
Pearl's arrival at the Texas ranch intensifies hostility and makes her racial identity central to the family's conflict.
Pearl is caught between the decent Jesse and the lustful, unruly Lewt, whose rivalry drives the drama.
Wheelchair-bound Senator McCanles dominates the ranch household while his sons contend with his authority and legacy.
Films like Duel in the Sun, and why
The Searchers
shared classical western setting, doomed romance, family conflict, and heightened melodrama
The Furies
shared revisionist western atmosphere, forbidden desire, and tragic emotional intensity
Giant
shared sprawling western melodrama, romantic rivalry, and conflict between family power and personal desire
Movie Details
- Director
- King Vidor
- Release Date
- 1946-12-31
- Runtime
- 144 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (201)
Cast
- Jennifer Jones
- Joseph Cotten
- Gregory Peck
- Lionel Barrymore
- Herbert Marshall
- Lillian Gish
- Walter Huston
- Charles Bickford
- Harry Carey
- Joan Tetzel
Common questions
- What is Duel in the Sun about?
- A biracial orphan’s arrival at a powerful Texas ranch ignites a doomed triangle of desire, family rivalry, and frontier violence.
- What is Duel in the Sun like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Duel in the Sun as slow, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Duel in the Sun violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Duel in the Sun as moderate.
- What did critics think of Duel in the Sun?
- Critics broadly praise the film's striking western melodrama, performances, and visual scale while finding its extended runtime and slow pacing limiting.
- Which films are like Duel in the Sun?
- Films with a similar feel include The Searchers, The Furies, and Giant.
- How long is Duel in the Sun?
- Duel in the Sun runs 144 minutes.
