My Darling Clementine (1946)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Samuel G. Engel (screenplay) and
Winston Miller (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 December 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Tagline:

The Roaring West At Its Reckless Best!

Plot:

A Western retelling the tale of the Shoot-out at the OK Corral.

Plot Keywords:

OK Corral | Marshal | Doc Holliday | Wyatt Earp | Revenge

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Wyatt Earp
Linda Darnell	...	Chihuahua
Victor Mature	...	Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday
Cathy Downs	...	Clementine Carter
Walter Brennan	...	Old Man Clanton
Tim Holt	...	Virgil Earp
Ward Bond	...	Morgan Earp
Alan Mowbray	...	Granville Thorndyke
John Ireland	...	Billy Clanton
Roy Roberts	...	Mayor
Jane Darwell	...	Kate Nelson
Grant Withers	...	Ike Clanton
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	Mac the Barman
Russell Simpson	...	John Simpson

Also Known As:

John Ford's My Darling Clementine (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

97 min | Spain:102 min | 103 min (pre-release version) | West Germany:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (certificate #11591) | Canada:PG (video rating) | South Korea:12 (2003) | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (re-rating) (1995) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Tombstone, Arizona, is not located in Monument Valley. John Ford "placed" it there because Monument Valley is where he liked to film his Westerns.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Doc Holliday was supposed to be a surgeon in the movie. In fact, he was a dentist. On March 1, 1872, the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery in Philadelphia, conferred the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery upon twenty-six men, one of whom was John Henry Holliday.

Quotes:

[At his brother's grave]
Wyatt Earp: 1864, 1882. 18 years. You didn't get much of a chance did you James? I wrote to Pa and Cory Sue. They're gonna be all busted up over it. Cory Sue's young, but Pa. I guess he'll never get over it. I'll be comin' out to see you regular James. So will Morg and Virg. I'm gonna be around here for a while. Can't tell. Maybe when we leave this country young kids like you will be able to grow up and live safe.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) (TV)

Flawless acting, direction and photography combine to produce the pinnacle of the western genre.

Absolute perfection. Without a doubt, `My Darling Clementine' has secured its place in film immortality, resting proudly at the top of the list of the finest westerns ever made. It represents the genre at its peak and the career high point of all involved, including director John Ford and star Henry Fonda. `Clementine' achieves the difficult blend of drama, action, romance and occasional comic relief necessary to appeal to all viewers. This is the kind of film at which Ford excelled - straightforward and powerful, sentimental but never maudlin. It is needless to say that this is the definitive portrayal of Wyatt Earp and the gunfight at the OK Corral. It may not be the grittiest, most penetrating or historically accurate rendition, but it mixes just the right quantities of realism, legend and Hollywood magic. Its characterizations leave no room for improvement. Henry Fonda was born to play Earp. His folksy, unpretentious demeanor, coupled with the hard edge of a man who must occasionally deal out justice through the barrel of his gun, produce a multidimensional performance that others approaching the role could only dream of. With his portrayal of the tubercular Doc Holliday, Victor Mature forever shed his light image and began a series of solid dramatic roles. Other actors have played Holliday as flamboyant and eccentric, but Mature is effective in approaching him as a fatalist who has relinquished his aspirations of greatness and now lives life one day at a time. He forms an alliance with Earp because he has nothing better to do, and nothing else to live for. Walter Brennan's Old Man Clanton is a study in evil personified, and will certainly shock viewers who know him only as the crotchety but lovable grandfather he played on so many occasions. The rest of the cast is uniformly fine, featuring many members of Ford's `stock company' which followed him throughout his career. Ford's direction is strong and sure-footed. Although this was familiar territory for him, he was careful to instill each scene with a certain degree of uniqueness so the film would never appear routine. In this he was entirely successful, and a brief glance at his filmography confirms that this holds true throughout his body of work. The cinematography is breathtaking. Vast outdoor imagery and intimate gatherings of people are conveyed in an equally compelling manner. Earp's soliloquy at his brother's gravestone, a church dance sequence and the gunfight itself are among the film's many highlights. Only so much praise can be given in a review such as this; it must be seen to be appreciated.