Double Feature Friday: Duel in the Sun and Lust in the Dust

Finishing western week with a double feature of movie ads.

Duel in the Sun from 1946 (this ad, however, is from a re-release in 1954) stars Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, Walter Huston, Lionel Barrymore, Butterfly McQueen and Harry Carey (not that Harry Carey).  Jennifer Jones plays half-breed Pearl Chavez who moves to a distant relative's ranch in Texas after her father is hanged for killing her unfaithful mother and lover.  At the ranch, Pearl butts heads with the ranch owner and scandalously entertains the attentions of his womanizing younger son, Lewt. The movie garnered the nickname "Lust in the Dust" for it's highly sexualized characterizations of Pearl and Lewt's relationship.

This movie was produced and sometimes directed by David O Selznik.  He envisioned it as a big budget, hugely epic western in the same vein as his previous Gone with the Wind.  He got his way as production delays and the hiring/firing of 7 different directors caused the movie's run time to balloon up to 26 hours and the production cost to reach a then unheard of $6 million.

Lust in the Dust from 1985 was a cheesy comedy western. It starred Tab Hunter, Divine and Cesar Romero.  John Waters was originally asked to direct but he turned it down because he didn't write the script.  The movie took its title from Duel in the Sun's tongue-in-cheek production nickname.  The movie is about a bunch of unscrupulous characters searching for buried treasure in the old west.

Take a look at the hilarious taglines in this ad.  Ninfa: The hooker with the chest of gold.  Hardcase Williams: They called him garbage wrapped in human skin.  I think those get across the tone of the movie quite nicely.

If you look under Lust in the Dust, you'll see also playing is Rustler's Rhapsody, which is another comedy western and one of my favorites. However, I didn't get to that ad this week.  Some other time.

Check out other western movie ads here.

Watch the 1946 trailer for Duel in the Sun


Watch the 1985 trailer for Lust in the Dust

A Nightmare on Elm Street - June 1985

Finishing my look at famous serial killer movies this week.

Here's an ad for the VHS release of the original Nightmare on Elm Street in Summer 1985.

Other famous serial killer movies:
- Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- Psycho (1960)
- Halloween (1979)

Watch the Nightmare on Elm Street trailer:

Rappin' - May 9, 1985

We're looking at hip hop movies this week.

Here's an ad for Rappin' starring Mario Van Peebles, Eric La Salle, Kadeem Hardison and Ice-T. The ad is actually from my 11th birthday, May 9, 1985.  Unlike our previous two entries, Krush Groove and Disorderlies, this movie is not good.  Not even in the "so good it's bad" category.  It's awful, actually.  Peebles' character name is John Hood and, in the movie, they actually call him Rappin' Hood.  They seriously call him that, you guys.

Other hip hop movies:

- Krush Groove (1985)
- Disorderlies (1987)

Here's the horrible, horrible trailer for Rappin':

Krush Groove - Nov 15, 1985

I'll be looking at "hip hop" movies this week.

Let's start with the most popular. And probably the best.  Here's an ad for the hip hop classic, Krush Groove.  Krush Groove was the fictional story behind the founding of Def Jam Records.  It included stars like Kurtis Blow, Run-DMC, The Fat Boys, The Beasties Boys, New Edition and Full Force.

Krush Groove turned 25 years old last October. And it's as good now as it was then. The only problem with the movie is Sheila E. She brings the entire thing to a grinding halt. Regardless, it's a great movie.

Check out the trailer.



And, as a bonus, check out LL Cool J's electrifying motion picture debut. It truly is awesome.

Back to the Future - July 4, 1985

Looking at movies that celebrated a big anniversary this year. Here's an ad for Back to the Future which turned 25 years old this year.  This ad was for Back to the Future's opening day on July 4, 1985.

Other movies that celebrated an anniversary this year:
- Young Guns (22 years old)
- Young Guns II (20 years old)
- Back to the Future Part III (20 years old)
- Clue the Movie (25 years old)

D.A.R.Y.L. - June 14, 1985

And now, finishing up our celebration of Clue the Movie's 25th anniversary, here is an ad for D.A.R.Y.L. starring Barrett Oliver (Neverending Story) plus two Clue alumi; Michael McKean (Mr Green) and Colleen Camp (Yvette).

Barrett Oliver plays the titular child who is found wandering alone and without any memories about how he got there.  A couple takes him in to help him find his way home and they discover he has several mysterious abilities no other kids his age have.

Clue the Movie - Dec 14, 1985

Clue the Movie started 25 years ago this week. Here is another Clue ad this time featuring Mrs White (Madeline Kahn).

Clue the Movie - Dec 13, 1985

This ad is from opening night. Clue the Movie started 25 years ago this week.