Review of My Darling Clementine (1946) by Anders H — 02 Feb 2011

The great American story of Wyatt Earp has been told time and time again over the years in movies. Itâ(TM)s an American morality tale. Good overcoming evil. It speaks out to many Americans and has since become legend. Films like Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Wyatt Earp and Tombstone have told different interpretations of Wyatt Earp and his brothers fighting against the Clanton gang at the O.K. Corral in the lawless town of Tombstone in 1881. But none have them have become as famous as John Fordâ(TM)s version of that story. And that movie is My Darling Clementine. Despite the historical inaccuracies, My Darling Clementine is one of Fordâ(TM)s best Westerns along with The Searchers, Stagecoach, Fort Apache and The Man who shot Liberty Valance. It blends action, romance, comedy and drama to appeal to all viewers. Of all the Wyatt Earp movies, Fordâ(TM)s graceful and romantic interpretation of the Wyatt Earp legend is the most affecting version of the story.

Wyatt Earp was a famous lawman that tamed the town of Dodge City in Kansas before he came to Tombstone Arizona. He was already known for his work in Dodge City when he arrives in Tombstone in My Darling Clementine. At the beginning of the movie he is driving cattle with his brothers Virgil, Morgan and James. Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil go into the town of Tombstone for a shave due to the fact they have been out on the prairie along time and are a little dirty. While they are there having a shave they are disturbed by gunfire where Wyatt Earp comments by what kind of a town is this where a man can get a shave in peace and is shocked by its lawlessness. Wyatt takes care of the drunken gunfighter and people are surprised to hear that he is Wyatt Earp. He is offered a Marshalling job but turns it down. He changes his mind when he returns to find his cattle gone and his brother murdered. The audience and Wyatt already know who did it. The Clanton gang did the crime and were a famous outlaw gang of the west at this time run by Old Man Clanton played menacingly in this film by Walter Brennan. This prompts Wyatt to become Tombstoneâ(TM)s marshal along with his brothers as his deputies. Wyatt along the way meets and befriends famous gunfighter Doc Holliday who owns a saloon in the town. His time at Tombstone changes when he falls in love with Clementine. This is where the name of the movie comes from as well as the folk song the movie is named after. Clementine is portrayed as this virginal beauty from the east that hasnâ(TM)t been corrupted by the west unlike prostitute and Docâ(TM)s sometime lover Chihuahua. Clementine comes to Tombstone to bring Doc Holliday back to the east and try and save him. Doc wants nothing to do with her and tries to make her leave. Wyatt has fallen in love with her and they seem to have the same feelings for one another and there is a great scene where they dance at a church service where the church is halfway built. The almost built church is a symbol of the American spirit and it is one of the best scenes in the film as well as the scene where Doc quotes Shakespeare and the scene where Wyatt is at his brother Jamesâ(TM)s grave in the desert. The film ends with the legendary shootout at the O.K. Corral. To all you who donâ(TM)t know what the O.K. Corral, itâ(TM)s a stable. Wyatt, Doc and his brothers face off against the Clantonâ(TM)s once and for all.

The cast of this film is pretty good and it is filled with many John Ford regulars like Henry Fonda who plays Wyatt Earp. Henry Fonda was one of the famous John Ford collaborators along with John Wayne and James Stewart. Henry Fonda appeared in many of Fordâ(TM)s films like Young Mr Lincoln, Fort Apache and The Grapes of Wrath. Henry Fonda gives a very good performance as Wyatt Earp and gives a whole new side to the character. Cathy Downâ(TM)s plays Clementine and she portrays that innocence of the character that hasnâ(TM)t been spoilt by the west brilliantly. Victor Mature is unforgettable as Doc Holliday. When I first saw this film I was quite surprised that Doc was portrayed differently from the other ones Iâ(TM)ve seen. Actors like Val Kilmer and Dennis Quaid portrayed Doc Holliday as this loud, drunk, over the top and violent gunslinger. In this one he is portrayed as a tortured soul with violent tendencies. Doc Holliday came out West where he gambled and drank a lot and made his name for killing people. He was also suffering from Tuberculosis and this took his life some years after the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The saloon floozy Chihuahua is played by Linda Darnell and she is a splitting image of a girl from the west. She is in love with Doc and tries to scare Clementine off. Another John Ford regular Ward Bond plays Morgan Earp who gives a little comic relief, as he does in Fordâ(TM)s westerns.

John Ford had said that he knew Wyatt Earp and everything in this film happens is said to be true from Wyatt Earpâ(TM)s eyes. The film is slightly inaccurate in some details but itâ(TM)s John Fordâ(TM)s interpretation of the Wyatt Earp legend and his interpretation on the characters. Henry Fondaâ(TM)s Wyatt Earp is a much more sensitive and morally aware then his historical counterpart. Other interpretations of Wyatt have portrayed him as this flawed character. In this one heâ(TM)s very much redefined as this quiet Marshal wanting to take his revenge against the Clantonâ(TM)s the right way. The way of the law. Unlike some of the more revenge seeking Spaghetti Western characters like Django, he takes his time and waits for the right time to take down the Clantonâ(TM)s. For a man of action, he does spend a lot of the movie sitting around doing nothing. Clementine was a character that was just invented for the film and it is funny that the film is named after her and not Wyatt. The town of Tombstone was a very lawless town and in this film it is slightly more civilised and at the end of the film Wyatt leaves and Clementine says behind to teach the town about Civilisation. Teach it some eastern ways. The most tender moments of the film are with Clementine and Wyatt and there some good moments where Wyatt takes her to a church service and saves her from having been forced out of town by Doc. The film builds up to the ultimate showdown with the Earpâ(TM)s plus Holliday and the Clantonâ(TM)s. This gunfight only lasted a few minutes and it secured Wyatt Earpâ(TM)s place in history. The gunfight is played out a little longer in this film but itâ(TM)s only because no audience member in the Forties wanted to see a short gunfight. The gunfight is slightly inaccurate about some details but it is a very good cinematic moment of the film. Itâ(TM)s a splitting image of good versus evil.

Like all of John Fordâ(TM)s film, it is beautifully shot. Shot in glorious black and white and does portray good images of the landscape and the dust filled streets of Tombstone. John Ford was a master director of Westerns and this is one of his best. The last western John Ford ever did with Henry Fonda was Fort Apache. John Fordâ(TM)s first cavalry film. In the final moments of the film, Henry Fondaâ(TM)s Custer influenced character Lieutenant Colonel Owen Thursday tells John Wayneâ(TM)s character Captain York to fall back to the ridge with the rest of the men. Thursday then goes off to die with the rest of the troops. This scene can be seen as a passing of the torch to John Wayne as he became John Fordâ(TM)s famous collaborator. Henry Fonda was a great actor and gave some of his best performances in Fordâ(TM)s westerns. His performance in Young Mr Lincoln is fantastic. In My Darling Clementine he gives a wonderful quiet performance of Wyatt Earp and this film is not only one of Henry Fondaâ(TM)s best films but one of John Fordâ(TM)s greatest Westerns. If you are a Western Fan, you should not miss this film.

Sorry being a bit late with this one and have been meaning to do it. Hope to do more Western reviews and give people an idea of what other films I like. Westerns are my favourite genre and have grown up watching them. My next review will be something different and it will be The Green Hornet. Goodbye and have a good day.

A.H.