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I really need to work on my western studies. My specialty seems to be horror. In fact, I keep a tally of all the horror movies I've seen because at one point, my log of every movie I've ever seen was filled with more than 20% horror, and I really wanted to change that. Westerns are a good genre to fill up, but I have difficulty getting into them because so many are about this one greedy mayor or sheriff taking someone else's property (been there done that), racial tensions (always had difficulty watching people hate each other for skin color, even in movies) and chasing one or another historical lawman. They all just get so overdone, so My Darling Clementine was a bit of a breathe of fresh air, although its one problem is actually the negligence of one of these aspects I detailed.
This is my tenth John Ford film, and it's a very appropriate one for that number. It's the last of his rawest western classics.
Like the film Tombstone, this retells the story of Wyatt Earp and his brothers making it to Tombstone. Soon after his brother James is killed, Wyatt stays in town to fraternize with the others and investigate the murder. Meanwhile, he starts a relationship with a local woman while Doc Holiday avoids rekindling a relationship with an old flame who happens to be in town.
Kinda like the game Red Dead Redemption, you're getting the whole western package here from the poker to the cattle to the gunfights. Lemme tell ya', I'm glad there's a literal John Ford archive on YouTube because it made coming across this classic easy, and I'm glad that I was in the mood for this because this early western gives you the full western mood, or at least as much as the 40's could give you. Westerns got a lot moodier overtime. Sometimes, you just gotta sit back with a drink and watch some local old-ass try to quote Shakespeare, but there's enough action for the gunfighter fans to get by as well.
But in this strength lies its flaw: we get to fraternize with the city fold and have fun with them... but we don't get to investigate the murder of Wyatt's brother James at the beginning of the movie. I'm a bit surprised at Ford for neglecting this, as America's essential western director should know NOT to avoid this is a western, especially about a lawman. The investigation's resolution is practically handed to us on a silver platter, leading up to a decent shootout.
Well, that's all I have to say about this movie. My Darling Clementine is one of the better John Ford movies, so it'll always stand out as a classic. It gives you much of what a good western needs, aimlessly walking around town with a nostalgic theme tying it together. But if there was more of an investigation, this would probably be perfect. So I can't really compare this to Liberty Valance or Searchers. In fact, I'd even say it's slightly worse than Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Shame. There isn't a single Ford movie I consider perfect, and I was hoping at least one of them would be. So unless I fall outside conventionality and become a massive fan of Fort Apache the way I favor Siouxsie's Peepshow over Juju, I won't see another Ford movie in my top five westerns.
John Ford's Directorial Score (8 Good vs. 2 Bad)
The Searchers: 97
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: 96
Stagecoach: 96
The Grapes of Wrath: 90
My Darling Clementine: 87
Score: 93.2 / 5
John Ford moves upward on my Best Director's List from #56 to #46 between Clint Eastwood and Chad Stahelski.
My Darling Clementine
(1946) - Directed by John Ford
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Western
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(1946) - Directed by John Ford
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Western
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"Good mornin', Mr. Clinton! Let's talk awhile!"
I really need to work on my western studies. My specialty seems to be horror. In fact, I keep a tally of all the horror movies I've seen because at one point, my log of every movie I've ever seen was filled with more than 20% horror, and I really wanted to change that. Westerns are a good genre to fill up, but I have difficulty getting into them because so many are about this one greedy mayor or sheriff taking someone else's property (been there done that), racial tensions (always had difficulty watching people hate each other for skin color, even in movies) and chasing one or another historical lawman. They all just get so overdone, so My Darling Clementine was a bit of a breathe of fresh air, although its one problem is actually the negligence of one of these aspects I detailed.
This is my tenth John Ford film, and it's a very appropriate one for that number. It's the last of his rawest western classics.
Like the film Tombstone, this retells the story of Wyatt Earp and his brothers making it to Tombstone. Soon after his brother James is killed, Wyatt stays in town to fraternize with the others and investigate the murder. Meanwhile, he starts a relationship with a local woman while Doc Holiday avoids rekindling a relationship with an old flame who happens to be in town.
Kinda like the game Red Dead Redemption, you're getting the whole western package here from the poker to the cattle to the gunfights. Lemme tell ya', I'm glad there's a literal John Ford archive on YouTube because it made coming across this classic easy, and I'm glad that I was in the mood for this because this early western gives you the full western mood, or at least as much as the 40's could give you. Westerns got a lot moodier overtime. Sometimes, you just gotta sit back with a drink and watch some local old-ass try to quote Shakespeare, but there's enough action for the gunfighter fans to get by as well.
But in this strength lies its flaw: we get to fraternize with the city fold and have fun with them... but we don't get to investigate the murder of Wyatt's brother James at the beginning of the movie. I'm a bit surprised at Ford for neglecting this, as America's essential western director should know NOT to avoid this is a western, especially about a lawman. The investigation's resolution is practically handed to us on a silver platter, leading up to a decent shootout.
Well, that's all I have to say about this movie. My Darling Clementine is one of the better John Ford movies, so it'll always stand out as a classic. It gives you much of what a good western needs, aimlessly walking around town with a nostalgic theme tying it together. But if there was more of an investigation, this would probably be perfect. So I can't really compare this to Liberty Valance or Searchers. In fact, I'd even say it's slightly worse than Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Shame. There isn't a single Ford movie I consider perfect, and I was hoping at least one of them would be. So unless I fall outside conventionality and become a massive fan of Fort Apache the way I favor Siouxsie's Peepshow over Juju, I won't see another Ford movie in my top five westerns.
John Ford's Directorial Score (8 Good vs. 2 Bad)
The Searchers: 97
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: 96
Stagecoach: 96
The Grapes of Wrath: 90
My Darling Clementine: 87
Score: 93.2 / 5
John Ford moves upward on my Best Director's List from #56 to #46 between Clint Eastwood and Chad Stahelski.