Duel in the Sun

If ever a Western deserved the title of horse opera, this is it: a soaring extravaganza variously described as 'Lust in the Dust' and 'Liebestod Among the Cactus' as two brothers play Cain and Abel in rivalry for a steamy halfbreed sexpot while their father broods over his crumbling empire. Luridly beautiful, with stunning passages jostling near-bathos in a patchiness not surprising since Selznick went through three cameramen and half-a-dozen directors in his vaulting ambition to outdo Gone With the Wind, it has rare power and a great supporting cast. The climax, which has Peck and Jones consummating their tempestuous passion by orgasmically shooting each other to bits has an absurdist magnificence that defies criticism.