Crossing another title off the list of movies covered in Danny Peary’s Cult Movies 2 that I had not seen: My Darling Clementine (1946). An iconic western directed by John Ford about Wyatt Earp (here, played by a young Henry Fonda, laconic and measured in his performance) and Doc Holiday (Victor Mature, stolid yet tortured), the film helped popularise and shape the legend of these real historical figures, particular the shoot-out at the OK Corral. It’s a classic Hollywood western in that the heroes are aimable and virtuous while the bad guys are shifty rustlers that would shoot you in the back (the Clayton family led by Walter Brennan). What most struck me about the movie was its artful style. Shot in black and white, and often using day for night, the vistas of Monument Valley stand tall in the background. Yet the compositions use lighting to convey expressionistic moments – a close up of Earp’s face in shadows or a barroom tableau with oil lamps the only available source of light. In the restored work print version that was available to rent, not everything is blanketed with derring-do score, there is often silence and stillness, particularly in the climactic gunfight. That and the film’s patience to take in the moments where Earp is sitting in an outdoor chair rocking with a foot against a standing beam. Even with all its myth making, the movie was more melancholy and somber than I expected, particularly with the sickly, alcoholic, self-hating character of Doc Holiday or Earp’s shy attraction to Holiday’s former love Clem (Cathy Downs). I also liked seeing Walter Brennan, often a comic relief in the genre (such as Rio Bravo), use his likability as a villain. Linda Darnell is also glamorous as Doc’s regular fling, the unfortunately named Chihuahua. Rented on iTunes. Recommended, if you are a fan of classic Hollywood and the western.
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