Review of My Darling Clementine (1946) by Jérôme V — 05 Aug 2009

John Fordâ??s taking on the shootout at OK Corral is another great western, wellâ?¦ another great movie all genre taken into account. What would set My Darling Clementine (even the titleâ??s a treat!) is the fact that, instead of playing with all the clichés of what we think is a pure western, Ford decided to filmed his flick as a touching story of love, friendship and redemption in the now classic theme of how the west was won.

Henry Fonda is really good as the stoic western legend Wyatt Earp, his acting giving the perfect hint of mystery and humanity to a role he was clearly born to play; Victor Mature as Doc Hollyday is equally good and charming, biting into his role of good-bad guy with panache. Those two characters have everything we wants in western heroes.

As in every Fordâ??s picture, the set design are some of the most impressive things to watch and My Darling Clementine is no exception. Filming again in his beloved Monument Valley, Ford shows again his ability to create great images that enhance the mood and emotions of the characters. His knack to make us actually feel the life of the settlers while keeping the focus on the story going on is nothing short of amazing. And his use of lighting in a black and white film is perfect.

While not necessarily having the psychological touches and so fascinating darkness of Fordâ??s The Searchers, My Darling Clementine is, with all its artistic achievement and dynamism, a masterpiece nonetheless. Every westernâ??s aficionados should see this one.