Runtime: I saw the 97 minute theatrical cut
Directed by: John Ford
Starring: Henry Fonda, Victor Mature, Linda Darnell, Cathy Downs, Walter Brennan
From: 20th Century Fox
Now this is a dad-blasted good movie! In fact, I’ll say it’s great. As stated before, October won’t entirely be devoted to horror or adjacent films for Spooky Season. This (the theatrical cut of the movie, that is) was added to the Criterion Channel this month and as I’m always down for discussing John Ford pictures, and this is probably one of the best ones he did…
My Darling Clementine is about Wyatt Earp, his brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Clanton clan. Due to films like Tombstone, you’re probably familiar with those real-life figures. What was presented here was largely fictional (after all, it was set in 1882 instead of 1881, among other obvious details) but then again I’m sure that can be said about all the movies featuring them. Wyatt meets Old Man Clanton in the opening minute, neither having any idea what their futures will entail. Earp becomes Marshal of Tombstone, Arizona, meets a TB-suffering Holliday who’s an anti-hero… there’s also Linda Darnell as Chihuahua and Cathy Downs as a lady named Clementine-a former love of Doc.
I don’t always excuse historical inaccuracies in film but Clementine was such a great movie I’m overwilling to excuse that when the film was never not stunning in a visual sense, whether it be the Monument Valley (but of course w/ the director) setting that was the filming location, the lighting, or the editing. Some scenes were tremendous, including one where I was shocked that a few minutes of literal Shakespearean dialogue were spoken. Ford directed the hell out of the film and it looked stunning in black and white between the settings and the lighting. The film is more about the drama and character interactions than
Furthermore, Henry Fonda and Victor Mature did great at playing these versions of Earp and Holliday, respectively. Those characters were fascinating as presented and with how they interacted w/ each other. They were different than Kurt Russell (no relation) and Val Kilmer, Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid, or Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas… I’ve noticed that many great actors have played those roles, but Fonda and Mature nailed their parts. It was also nice seeing Doc as a doctor in one scene.
Not a scene was wasted as it builds up to-naturally-the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. I have to presume that this was accurate to Earp’s version of what happened; Ford actually got to know Earp when the latter visited silent movie sets back in the day and John got to hear about the brief battle from one of the participants. For all the Ford fans and/or old Western fans, this a no-doubter to watch even if you’re a history buff and notice the fiction.
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