‘Duel in the Sun’: Power, Pain, and Passion in 1880s’ Texas

David Selsnick produces an uneven film of moral weakness on the Texas frontier.

Lewt McCandles (Gregory Peck) and Pear Chavez (Jennifer Jones), in "Duel in the Sun." Vanguard Films

NR | 2h 9m | Drama, Romance, Western | 1947 

Gregory Peck’s roles are of principled men of high character, if not outright gentlemen, as in 1958’s “The Big Country.” It might be a little jarring to see him play bad boy gunslinger-on-the-run Jimmy Ringo in 1950’s aptly titled “The Gunfighter,” and, here, in “Duel in the Sun” (1946).