in the jail cell scene with Pearl's father played by Herbert Marshall, that he was irritated by her overacting. He's trying to give a shakespearean type of speech that I felt was lost because we were distracted by Jen's maulin and bawlin all over him. LOL I bet he was glad for that scene to be over.
shareI'm laughing because I just saw the movie for the first time, and I totally see what you mean. If you looked up the world "melodramatic" in the dictionary, the definition should be "Jennifer Jones' performance in Dual in the Sun." I mean, it made telenovas look realistic!
shareYou know Marshall had a prosthetic leg (shrapnel destroyed the right (?) one in World War I) Bet he had to restrain himself from pulling it off and smacking Jen upside the head.
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"
I know you're just making a joke here, but just to mention: Marshall was shot in the right knee during the First World War by a sniper and after several operations, eventually had his leg amputated well above the knee. (Ronald Colman got hit with shrapnel during WWI, but that's another story and he kept his leg, though he did have a bit of a limp.)
In regard to the OP: I think they were really imbalanced together too. Marshall was working with expressing his character through vocal inflections and nuanced changes of facial expression, while Jones was flailing about wildly all around him. I still think he was able to make something of his little role though fortunately.
Re: Herbert Marshall's performance in "Duel in the Sun"; not one of his better acting efforts. He was an older man and looked it, was costumed and given make-up which was unattractive, and so was his rival Mr. Blackmer. The mismatch between his traditional style and Ms. Jones' somewhat too distraught acting style is pretty obvious. I would recommend Mr. Marshall's films up to and including "The Letter" (both sound versions) if one wishes to see him in his acting prime.
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