| | | Darryl F. Zanuck Presents John Ford's...
Features: DVD, Sensormatic, Spanish, Subtitled
Henry Fonda, Victor Mature and Walter Brennan star in John Ford's acclaimed film that climaxes with the famous gunfight at O.K. Corral. As Wyatt Earp (Fonda) and his brothers head for a peaceful life of ranching in 1880's California, tragedy moves Wyatt to pin on a badge once more. But when he becomes the law in Tombstone, home to Doc Holliday (Mature) and the Clanton boys, it's only a matter of time until the Earps and Doc face the Clantons in one of the most remembered battles of the Wild West. Featuring Linda Darnell and Ward Bond, My Darling Clementine is considered to be one of Ford's finest films.
"Beautifully directed...Full of wonderful details and vignettes; exquisitely photographed...One of director Ford's finest films, and an American classic." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"...[Fonda] gives a wonderfully mature and restrained essay...Almost every scene in this splendidly constructed film is a visual treat..." The Motion Picture Guide
Editor's Note
In another of his classic Westerns, John Ford again reflects upon the advance of civilization on the receding frontier, recounting the events leading up to and including the legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral. As they drive their cattle toward California, Wyatt Earp (Henry Fonda) and his brothers, Morgan (Ward Bond), Virgil (Tim Holt), and young James (Don Garner), stop outside Tombstone, Arizona, where they refuse an offer for their stock made by Old Man Clanton (Walter Brennan) and his son, Ike (Grant Withers). The three older brothers ride into town, and, after Wyatt subdues a drunk, return to the wagons to find James dead and their cattle stolen. With little doubt about who the perpetrators are, Wyatt decides to accept the offer to be marshal of Tombstone that he had just recently refused. Despite Wyatt's tense first encounter with melancholy gambler and gunslinger Doc Holliday (Victor Mature), a wary, tacit friendship grows between the two men, which is soon complicated by the arrival of Doc's former love, the demure Clementine Carter (Cathy Downs). Although ostensibly focused on the famed gunfight, MY DARLING CLEMENTINE's more concerned--like many of Ford's films--with the creation of a community, the rule of law, and the civilizing influence of women on the wild and woolly West. When the showdown finally comes, it's without blood lust, as the Earp brothers conduct themselves with the ritual solemnity of samurai warriors. Given Samuel Engel's terse, elliptical screenplay, Fonda gives a subtle, brilliantly understated performance in the lead role, establishing a naturalist motif that is picked up and furthered by Joseph MacDonald's magnificent, barely lit shots of Ford's beloved Monument Valley.
Plot Summary
As the lawman of a rowdy frontier town where his brother's killers have taken refuge, Wyatt Earp dedicates himself to bringing the evildoers to justice, a quest that leads to the famous shootout at the OK Corral.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital Mono | | Audio: French, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono | | Bonus Feature Film: Frontier Marshall | | Dubbed: French, Spanish | | Includes Both The Original Theatrical Version & The Original Work Print Of My Darling Clementine | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: Spanish |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Foxvideo |
| Release Date: 12/4/2007 |
| Running Time: 168 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1946 | | Catalog ID: 2248267 | | UPC: 00024543482666 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: Spanish | | Video: B&W |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew | Henry Fonda | | Linda Darnell | | Victor Mature | | Walter Brennan | | Cyril J. Mockridge - Original Music By | | Darryl F. Zanuck - Executive Producer | | David Buttolph - Original Music By | | Dorothy Spencer - Editor | | James Basevi - Art Director | | John Ford - Director | | Joseph MacDonald - Cinematographer | | Lyle R. Wheeler - Art Director | | Samuel G. Engel - Screenplay | | Samuel G. Engel - Producer | | Stuart N. Lake - Based On Book By | | Winston Miller - Screenplay |
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly
"...The [Earp movie] closest to enduring myth..." 11/18/1994 p.113Chicago Sun-Times
"...John Ford's greatest western....MY DARLING CLEMENTINE must be one of the sweetest and most good-hearted of all Westerns..." 10/26/1997 p.5 USA Today
"A spare, relatively taciturn classic....It always feels right..." 01/09/2004 p.6E Uncut
5 stars out of 5 -- "Ford reaches levels of sublime artistry that would be hinted at in later works, but never equaled." 04/01/2006 p.141 Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
Ford's story reenacts the central morality play of the Western. Wyatt Earp becomes the town's new marshal, there's a showdown between law and anarchy, the law wins and the last shot features the new schoolmarm--who represents the arrival of civilization. Most Westerns put the emphasis on the showdown. ``My Darling Clementine'' builds up to the legendary gunfight at the OK Corral, but it is more about everyday things--haircuts, romance, friendship, poker and illness...The legendary gunfight at the OK Corral has been the subject of many films, including ``Frontier Marshal'' (1939), ``Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957), ``Tombstone'' (1993, with Val Kilmer's brilliant performance as Doc) and ``Wyatt Earp'' (1994). Usually the gunfight is the centerpiece of the film. Here it plays more like the dispatch of unfinished business; Ford doesn't linger over the violence...``My Darling Clementine'' must be one of the sweetest and most good-hearted of all Westerns. The giveaway is the title, which is not about Wyatt or Doc or the gunfight, but about Clementine, certainly the most important thing to happen to Marshal Earp during the story. - Roger Ebert
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