DUEL IN THE SUN (1946) *1/2 More famous for being dubbed "Lust in the Dust" by critics, it should more accurately be considered "Cactus are Stupid" or some such. Banned at the time for reasons too obsolete to be comprehended-no it didn't have anything to do with boring people and wasting their time although avoiding that would have been the greatest good accomplished. King Vidor probably didn't consider it sleazy either, though it's no Wizard of Oz , but he doesn't get much out of actors who have been impressive at other times. Jennifer Jones has white teeth but isn't any good at trying to act sleazy, unless dancing (and then only slightly). Gregory Peck has the good lines as the bad brother, but is only terribly offensive once you realize that the film still isn't wrapping things up. Joseph Cotten is good clean fun, like tiddly winks. Lionel Barrymore isn't even particularly worth paying attention to until the very end when he says something like, "It seems hard to believe, but I was wrong about a lot of things." Yep, like taking this role, shoulda followed John Wayne's lead who read the script and walked. Lillian Gish sees Barrymore through most of the error of his ways but he doesn't let her talk much. Walter Huston presides over the best scenes in the film as "The Sin Killer," making them funny in ways that were intended and others besides. I suspect he's the one that really got the censors hackles up.
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