My Darling Clementine

cmort666

cmort666

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I just got done watching "My Darling Clementine", which is allegedly about the gunfight at the OK Corral. I say allegedly, because the only way it could have been less about the OK Corral is if it were set on the planet Mongo, and the Earps had fought Ming the Merciless instead of Ike Clanton.

I like Henry Fonda and it's a good movie technically, but what could have possessed anyone to depart so utterly from the actual story of the Earps? That wasn't "poetic license". It was science fiction on the order of "Walker". The only thing missing was Wyatt Earp flying to New York City on Southwest Airlines at the end.

I'm puzzled.
 
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I'm still trying to figure out how Monument Valley got all the way to Tombstone (or vice versa).

Buck
 
And Victor Mature as Doc Holliday! Most people who aren't suffering from TB (consumption) don't look as healthy as that guy! And no wonder that saloon chick died after "Doc" operated on her. "This girl's been shot! Somebody get a dentist!" Oh. He was a "surgeon" in this one. John Ford met Wyatt Earp. I'm pretty sure of that. He told interviewers this was the version of the gunfight as told to him by Earp. Ford, who didn't like to be interviewed was purposely handing out BS. That's my opinion, anyway. Everything is historically wrong in this movie. It insults the intelligence of history minded people. And it's my favorite John Ford film and one of my favorite westerns period. I just dismiss the whole Earp/Clanton/Tombstone truth and enjoy it. This whole movie is like a moving charcoal drawing. The cinematography is intentionally unrealistic. The contrasts between darks and lights are very intense. And the last scene where "Earp" rides away with his brother in the distance just knocks me out visually. This is one movie I'll let slide historically.
 
Remember when the Star Trek crew ended up in tombstone? Don't know if it was Planet Mongo but it was more historically correct than My Darling Clemintine. And I'm not a Star Trek fan. I just liked this episode 'cause they were shooting sixguns.
 
Funny. I watched it with my Father in Law this evening. When it came on he even said it possessed no historic value. In one scene it had Henry Fonda at James Earp's grave. James Earp lived to die a natural death and outlived all the rest of the Earp's. Who knows.
 
Just a little trivila here. Back in about 1956 I saw a nephew of wyatt earp as a contestant on the 64 thousand dollar queston. He did give some tidbets of info and a couple of strange storys, includeing claiming to have killed a man himself when he was a boy when a man insulted his sister. I belive he was james earps son and appeared to be in his late 70s or 80s at the time. It would be interesting if someone could dig up a video of that show. I remember his questions catagory was about western history.
 
feralmerril said:
Just a little trivila here. Back in about 1956 I saw a nephew of wyatt earp as a contestant on the 64 thousand dollar queston. He did give some tidbets of info and a couple of strange storys, includeing claiming to have killed a man himself when he was a boy when a man insulted his sister. I belive he was james earps son and appeared to be in his late 70s or 80s at the time. It would be interesting if someone could dig up a video of that show. I remember his questions catagory was about western history.
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I did some searching for this, it was in 1958 and Virgil answered the $32,000 question. But no luck on a video clip. Ironic, the question was said to be out of the "Wild West" category.
 
Thanks for the research firehouse. I had a old friend that claimed he lived in wyatts neighborhood when wyatt was a old man and he was a kid.
 
Hi:
In the early 50s I attended Junior High with a fellow student whos last name was Earp.
During lunch break one day I enquired if he was related to Wyatt Earp and he said yes. I asked where Wyatt's Buntline revolver was. He said that a relative going overseas during WW II had carried the Revolver with him in his barrack bag and the troop ship was torpeded and sunk with the Buntline Revolver still aboard.
Fact or Fiction?
Jimmy
 
I'm still trying to fing out why Ward Bond and Victor Mature were in their sock feet when they went down to the Corral. Also it is strange that Henry Fonda would send the townsmwen out to meet the Clanton's with unloaded shotguns, and then they put them down and walked off.
All in all if you don't bother with history it's a pretty decent movie.
 
footnote in history

from what i have read wyatt earp and the ok corral fight was an almost forgotten event in history. if you look at the dates, wyatt passes in 1929, stuart lake's book comes out in either '30 or '31, this movie was made in '46. what happened next was the presentation of the '50's tv show "wyatt earp". this started more and more people looking into his life and the whole tombstone legend. lake's book was found to be a rather loose look into wyatt's life, because even though some of it was by personal recollection, he himself was closed mouthed about the truth. he then passed before the book was finished and lake presented the facts the way he wanted. the above movie took lots of historical license because the average person in 1946 had no idea what happened on october 26th 1881 or even cared.
 
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I liked Henry Fondas hat, James Garner played a goo Wyatt Earp in Hour of the gun and Sunset both good movies give or take a lie or two.
 
imjin138 said:
I liked Henry Fondas hat, James Garner played a goo Wyatt Earp in Hour of the gun and Sunset both good movies give or take a lie or two.
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I really like Fonda's gun rig in this movie. Ward Bond has an identical rig but he puts the buckle in back so he can reach his cartridges. Thanks to Danny Abernathy I have to watch it AGAIN to check out their stocking feet. I think Fonda's Earp had the two townspeople carry shotguns so Doc and Virgil could secretly flank the Clantons. The Clantons would think that was them down the street. But my biggest question is...why do I spend so much of my time thinking about this s...I mean crap?
 
Probably one of the best horse operas ever made. John Ford directed it. Some of the best stars of the day starred in it. It was made for entertainment not as a documentary. I never seen "historically correct" in a trailer for this movie.
 
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JcMack said:
Probably one of the best horse operas ever made. John Ford directed it. Some of the best stars of the day starred in it. It was made for entertainment not as a documentary. Gimmee a friggen break. Only a moron would break it down to authenticity. I never seen "historically correct" in a trailer for this movie.
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I liked the movie too. I agree with most of your post but, please curtail the 'moron' part. A moron could not read or write.

You are welcome to an opinion, but try to lay off a personal affront. You may get more than you bargain for.
 
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