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When all is said and done, "My Darling Clementine" may well be the ultimate John Ford western. There may be ones that are far greater known ("Stagecoach"), some so influential that they inspired a generation of filmmakers ("The Searchers"), and others that represent the summation of the great director's career ("The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"), but "My Darling Clementine" is the definitive Ford western: richly orchestrated, subtly acted, stunningly photographed and more than any film successfully captures the mythology of the Old West. It's true that the movie plays fast and loose with history and some acting is better than others, but that doesn't affect the flawless quality of an equally flawless film.
Like many great Ford westerns, the story is simple enough: Wyatt Earp and his brothers are driving cattle through California when they (except the youngest brother) decide to stop by a town called Tombstone, which has become a lawless community without a marshal providing righteous law and order. They return to their camp to discover their younger brother is killed and cattle rustled. Determined to find the killers, Wyatt Earp becomes Tombstone's marshal and his brothers deputies and Wyatt finds himself intertwined with recovering alcoholic Doc Holliday, a mysterious Boston girl named Clementine Carter, and a father-sons gang called the Clanton gang who may have something to do with the murder.
From beginning to end, "My Darling Clementine" is a visual marvel, probably the most beautifully photographed of all Ford's westerns. I know I mentioned in my review of "The Searchers" that that film topped "Clementine" in pictorial beauty, but it was not until I watched Criterion's wonderful Blu-Ray version of "Clementine" that I discovered how richly detailed the film truly is. Glorious images pop out here and there: Wyatt playing with his chair outside a hotel, the tension-filled scenes between Wyatt and Holliday in the bar, the confrontation between Wyatt and the Clantons shortly after Wyatt becomes the town's marshal, the shootout at O.K. Corral and, of course, the memorably moving dance between Clementine and Wyatt near a church under construction. But these images aren't used for beauty; they demonstrate the fine line between civilization and wilderness, where authority and law collide with violence and savagery in man. The dance sequence, in particular, is the ultimate Ford image, where a man from the harsh frontier has successfully brought order, harmony and organization in a previous disharmonious community. Civilization at its warmest and most joyful.
To speak so enthusiastically about the movie's visual element is to overlook the acting aspect, which is nearly as good. Henry Fonda IS Wyatt Earp. Indeed, no other actor could have brought tenderness, a righteous sense of justice, an endearing aloofness and integrity the way Fonda did for this character. When Earp questions what kind of town Tombstone is when a man can't even get a shave, you are at the presence of a real hero. All the other male characters in the movie are excellent, from Victor Mature as the bitter, alcoholic Doc Holliday to Walter Brennan, cast against type as the sinister Newman Haynes Clanton, who strikes fear in the hearts of his violent sons by whipping them for making the simplest mistakes.
The women actors fare less, though: Cathy Downs looks delightful as Clementine Carter, but her character is less developed. Even more embarrassing is Linda Darnell as Chihuahua, the Mexican singer who unfortunately is reduced to playing the comic relief before abruptly turning into a major player in the movie's central plot. Darnell is very good at whatever she can do, but like Downs, is let down by lack of character development. It's only when she dies near the end that there's a strong emotional connection for her. It's kinda disappointing that Ford has to include some unfunny slapstick in every great film he makes (with a few exceptions, like "The Grapes of Wrath", "They Were Expendable" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"). Even his best film, "The Searchers" has to have that Indian squaw subplot with Martin.
Criterion has done this great film a tremendous service, boasting it with great visual and very good audio quality (at least in the theatrical version), a preview version before the film's initial release and many solid supplements, including a new audio commentary by Ford biographer Joseph McBride and an endearing short Ford made in 1916 called "A Bandit's Wager". But as one reviewer points out, however, it is ill-advised to throw the previous DVD disc away since that one has the Scott Eyman commentary. McBride himself is no slouch, but he comes across as academic trying to explain the reality of Ford's perspective on the West. Eyman, however, explains the emotional and artistic power of the film, discussing what the actors brought to the table and how Ford's direction redefined the ways we look at the West.
Criterion did a marvelous job providing a 4K restoration on the "theatrical" version of "My Darling Clementine", removing the hisses, pops, dirt, debris, scratches and damages inflicted on the print. Shadows no longer obscure the frame, but enhance it. Costumes and sets look more detailed than before. The image overall is very pristine; that Monument Valley has never looked grander and more visually appealing. The same, however, cannot be said for the "preview" version, which merely looks like a brightened DVD upgrade. Perhaps that was the way the print was - there's only so much that you could do with a version that was not preserved properly. Still, a little effort to remove the scratches and debris would've been appreciated. On the bright side, at least this version has no frame jittery.
It's true that "Clementine" isn't perfect, but you know what? Most great movies rarely are. No matter how many times I've watched "The Searchers", "Stagecoach" and "The Grapes of Wrath", my heart always returns to my darling Clementine. While the movie does distort history a little bit (the real shootout at O.K. Corral lasted nearly 30 seconds), Ford isn't concerned about history; he's concerned about legends and "My Darling Clementine" is one of the greatest cinematic expressions of a legend in the American Old West ever crafted. Criterion truly hit a home run restoring this wonderful film to its organic form. Now generations of moviegoers can watch it the way it was shown and at a time when nihilism, graphic violence and ambivalent heroes have dominated the screen, "My Darling Clementine" feels like a loving tonic for the weary of spirit.
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