It's A Western Classic, My Darling Clementine

As is often the case, the elements that make John Ford's "My Darling Clementine" a brilliant piece of film making also restrain the film from being on par with his greatest westerns, "Stagecoach" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence." Nevertheless, it would be foolish for any film lover to miss the screenings of "My Darling Clementine" at the Harvard Film Archive.

There is no doubt that this adaptation of the Wyatt Earp tale is better than all the others, the only interesting question concerns the level of excellence that Ford achieves with this film. On the surface, the plot seems too trivial to deal with moral questions raised in the movie. With such clear-cut issues and black-and-white characters. "My Darling Clementine" finds nuance to be an unreachable plateau. "My Darling Clementine" is about good vs. evil and the triumph of the American way of life. Tombstone is a town where the law rules thanks to the strong hand of Wyatt Earp.

The film opens with Wyatt Earp, played with cool reassurance by Henry Fonda, and Earp's three brothers driving their cattle west to California. In search of "a shave and a beer," Wyatt and his brothers Virgil (Tim Holt) and Morgan (Ward Bond) head into the town of Tombstone leaving young James (Don Garner) behind to watch the cattle. When Wyatt takes it upon himself to subdue a drunk Indian so that he can get his shave in peace, he begs the question, "What kind of a town is this?" Immediately, he is offered the position of town marshall, but turns it down.

Upon returning to their cattle later that night, the Earps find that James has been murdered, and their cattle rustled. Bent on taming Tombstone and seeking revenge for the murder of his brother, Wyatt decides to take the job as marshal and hires his two brothers as deputies. Talking to his brother's grave, Wyatt speaks of his desire to clean up the town, "Maybe when we leave this country, young kids like you will be able to grow up and live safe." With this, Wyatt is established as the moral center of the film.

The return to Tombstone of Doc Holiday (Victor Mature) begins the second chapter of this film. A dichotomy is quickly established between Earp and Holiday, the former calm and collected, the latter angry, passionate and dying from consumption. At first, the relationship between the two main characters is tense and strained, with both of them jockeying for position. Wyatt, still unsure about who killed his brother, suspects the Clanton family led by Pa Clanton (Walter Brennan). They represent the bad element of the town. Forced to frequent a Mexican bar, the Clantons are obvious outsiders, whereas Doc Holiday who comes from an aristocratic family in Boston, and Wyatt Earp, who is often awkward but always a gentleman represent the perennial insiders.

When Wyatt discovers Doc Holiday's girlfriend, Chihuahuas (Linda Darnell), with his dead brother's necklace, he wrongly assumes that Doc must be the one that killed his brother. In one of the most magnificent chase scenes of all Ford Westerns, Wyatt sets out to capture Holliday, who has left for Mexico. Ford quickly intercuts between Wyatt on a lone horse and Doc Holiday on a stagecoach urging the horses to run faster. Eventually Wyatt catches up and subdues him When Doc Holliday is returned to Tombstone, it is clear that, representing the law, Wyatt Earp can't be outrun.

At 97 minutes, this film is a model of efficiency and a textbook for narrative film-making. There are no unnecessary scenes or storylines and the plot progresses quickly and confidently. Ford set out to portray simple characters in simple situations, and in "My Darling Clementine" he accomplishes this.

Henry Fonda is especially persuasive as the quiet, dignified marshal. It is very similar in its understatement to the role he played equally well in Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West." Both required Fonda to take on a stark, but powerful persona. The relationship he forges with Doc Holliday's former fiancee Clementine Carter (Cathey Downs) is noteworthy because it is one of the few times this mythical hero bares his human side. While Wyatt Earp is always under control as he approaches danger, it is a woman who takes him off guard.

Ford and his cinematographer, Joseph P. McDonald, were able to portray Wyatt Earp as the contemplative loner using many wonderful, contrasty long shots. Many of the scenes in this film are memorable not only because of Fonda and Mature, but also because of the many shadows they were forced to walk in and out of.

Crystal-clear photography is a trademark of John Ford films, and "My Darling Clementine" is no exception. The images are so vivid and fantastically composed that one can only come away from this film with the feeling that one has spent as hour and a half in the Wild West. Considering the dearth of meaty Westerns lately, "My Darling Clementine" is the perfect film to renew of begin a love affair with this sometimes undervalued genre.