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

Colour:

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:

An alternate "preview" version of this film exists. In the 1970s, 20th Century Fox donated some film to the UCLA Film Archives. In 1994, it was discovered that the UCLA print was different from the one being shown on TV. It was about 8 minutes longer with minor variations throughout and a slightly different ending. Both this archival 103 or 104 minute version and the 97 minute release version are included on the Fox DVD released on January 6, 2004.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Doc Holliday did not die at the O.K. Corral. He died six years later from tuberculosis.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Wyatt Earp: Ma'am, I sure like that name... Clementine.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Linda Darnell: Hollywood's Fallen Angel" (1999)

Some bullets hit the mark; others miss

The stories of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and the town of Tombstone are always interesting and have always been told just a little differently through the years on film.

I've read where this movie was supposed to be based more on fact than some of the other versions, but I've heard that before, so I have my doubts. Well......more than doubts...but are ANY of the versions really true? Probably not, so you just enjoy each film for what it offers.

Henry Fonda makes a good Earp but Victor Mature as Holliday doesn't fit. In re- makes, we saw Val Kilmer and Dennis Quaid do far better in the role. Walter Brennan, however, was very good as the nasty father of the Clanton family. Too bad he didn't have a bigger role. The female lead in the movie was played by Cathy Downs, a wholesomely-beautiful woman. I am surprised she never amounted to making more than no-name films after this one.

Once again, director John Ford returns to his favorite location, Monument Valley, and provides us with some memorable panoramic scenes of that area, particularly in the beginning of the film.

The DVD has the film version that was not seen in theaters. This version is 10 minutes longer, showing footage that was cut by studio head Daryl Zanuck. It didn't make much of a difference. In fact, if anything, the film lags in a few spots with this longer version, but it's nice to have the complete package.