My Darling Clementine
1946
In another of his classic Westerns, John Ford again reflects upon the advance of civilisation on the receding frontier, recounting the events leading up to and including the legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral. As they drive their cattle toward California, Wyatt Earp (Henry Fonda) and his brothers, Morgan (Ward Bond), Virgil (.. Read more
| Starring | Henry Fonda, Victor Mature, Walter Brennan, Linda Darnell |
|---|---|
| Director | John Ford |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Drama |
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My Darling Clementine
In another of his classic Westerns, John Ford again reflects upon the advance of civilisation on the receding frontier, recounting the events leading up to and including the legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral. As they drive their cattle toward California, Wyatt Earp (Henry Fonda) and his brothers, Morgan (Ward Bond), Virgil (Tim Holt), and young James (Don Garner), stop outside Tombstone, Arizona, where they refuse an offer for their stock made by Old Man Clanton (Walter Brennan) and his son, Ike (Grant Withers). The three older brothers ride into town, and, after Wyatt subdues a drunk, return to the wagons to find James dead and their cattle stolen. With little doubt about who the perpetrators are, Wyatt decides to accept the offer to be marshal of Tombstone that he had just recently refused. Despite Wyatt's tense first encounter with melancholy gambler and gunslinger Doc Holliday (Victor Mature), a wary, tacit friendship grows between the two men, which is soon complicated by the arrival of Doc's former love, the demure Clementine Carter (Cathy Downs). Although ostensibly focused on the famed gunfight, MY DARLING CLEMENTINE's more concerned like many of Ford's films with the creation of a community, the rule of law, and the civilising influence of women on the wild and woolly West. When the showdown finally comes, it's without blood lust, as the Earp brothers conduct themselves with the ritual solemnity of samurai warriors. Given Samuel Engel's terse, elliptical screenplay, Fonda gives a subtle, brilliantly understated performance in the lead role, establishing a naturalist motif that is picked up and furthered by Joseph MacDonald's magnificent, barely lit shots of Ford's beloved Monument Valley..
| Starring | Henry Fonda, Victor Mature, Walter Brennan, Linda Darnell, Cathy Downs, Tim Holt, Ward Bond, Alan Mowbray, John Ireland, Jane Darwell |
|---|---|
| Director | John Ford |
| Studio | 20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 32 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 27 Feb 2006 Production year: 1946 |
| Format | DVD |
My Darling Clementine (2 discs) (1946)
Or you can rent each disc individually:
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Critics' reviews (4)
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In this classic western, Henry Fonda's Wyatt Earp and Victor Mature's Doc Holliday are heading for that close shave at the OK Corral. Owing rather less to historical accuracy than more recent movies — Tombstone and Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp — this John Ford picture boasts some fine sequences. The best is a dance in an unfinished church, a fine symbol of the “garden being fashioned from the wilderness” by the strong-arm methods of Fonda's self-righteous lawman. Filmed in expressive black-and-white against Monument Valley backdrops, the picture combines both the grandeur and the folksiness so typical of its director.
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Archetypal Western mood piece, full of nostalgia for times gone by and crackling with memorable scenes and characterizations.
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Most helpful member's review
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6 out of 6 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
The very, very best
More than just a western, this is actually a reflection on the creation of an entire civilization. When we first meet Wyatt Earp he is an unshaven, down-on-his-luck cattle man, struggling with a dying herd across to California. By the end, Shakespeare has arrived in Tombstone, music, too, and the beginnings of a church. In defeating the Clantons, Earp and his brothers have changed the town (and the region, and the country) forever. Somewhere in the middle stands poor Doc Holliday (Victor Mature's greatest performance, bullied and beaten by the director into actually acting), torn between the two sides and knowing that his time is nearly up.
Ford portrays all this through a series of episodes, rather than a flowing narrative, and the result is probably the closest the American movie ever came to the art film. The result is the purest cinematic gold, and one of the very best films of all time. -
Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Great Western
Spare, stylish, full of action, terrific photography, great acting, directed by one the greatest directors, John Ford ..everything a Western should be but, alas, too often isn't
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News and features
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Once Upon a Time in the West
- 21 Jul 2009
Nobody could make something out of nothing the way that Sergio Leone could. Just look at the first ten minutes of Once Upon a Time in the West: a fistful of tough hombres in ankle-length dusters are waiting for a train at a railway depot out in the middle of nowhere. Their faces are familiar yet strange: Woody Strode and Jack Elam are veteran Hollywood cowboys, with dozens of movies under their belts. But they have never been filmed like this before, gazed at so long or so longingly. Leone... Read more
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My Darling Clementine
In another of his classic Westerns, John Ford again reflects upon the advance of civilisation on the receding frontier, recounting the events leading up to and including the legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral. As they drive their cattle toward California, Wyatt Earp (Henry Fonda) and his ...
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