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Madison K. Thames
Madison K. Thames

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MY DARLING CLEMENTINE (1946) Full Length REACTION!

For Film Friday 121, Madison watches My Darling Clementine for the first time.

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MY DARLING CLEMENTINE (1946) Full Length REACTION!

Comments

My Wyatt Earp rankings: 1. Kevin Costner (Wyatt Earp 1994) 2. Kurt Russell (Tombstone 1993) 3. Henry Fonda (My Darling Clementine 1946) 4. Burt Lancaster (Gunfight At The OK Corral (1957)

Tyrone Tyrone

In MDC, Doc Holliday is a cultured man of the East (from Boston, with Ivy League degrees) who rejects civilization (Clementine) in favor of the lawless West (Tombstone and Chihuahua). The film isn't explicit about what made him do this, but it seems that he has an inherently wild nature that simply cannot cope with strictures of city life. However, he can't fully let go of the pleasures of culture, either -- he insists on drinking champagne instead of whiskey, and he clearly relishes the company of the Shakespearean actor during his brief visit. I think Doc’s illness is meant to symbolize this inner conflict which is destroying him. Wyatt, on the other hand, is an uncultured man of the West who gradually comes to appreciate the advantages of civilization. He starts with a shave to get rid of his unkempt beard, progresses to a rather silly-looking haircut, and even unwittingly gets doused with sweet-smelling perfume (his hesitant responses of “That’s me” make it sound like he’s not sure whether to be proud or embarrassed about this last bit). But most importantly, Wyatt recognizes the value of the law, and he and his brothers are the only ones who are brave and tough enough to impose order on Tombstone. The Clantons, of course, represent the lawlessness and chaos of the mythical Wild West (historically I believe there is some dispute about how accurate this image is, but it’s the one that has stuck in public memory). In particular, the Clantons embody a particular kind of disorder -- the lawlessness of white Americans. The brief but disturbing racist incident at the beginning of the film (running the drunk Native American out of town) is, for better or worse, part of Ford’s conception of the story. When Earp says, “Get out of here, Indian,” Ford means it literally; to him, the taming of the West was fundamentally a battle between white men over its future (either a safe, productive part of the growing United States or a wild free-for-all where every man is out for himself). Native Americans played no part in this struggle. (Obviously, I don’t endorse this view, but that seems to be what Ford is presenting.)

JM63

I read somewhere that Ford only directed this b/c he was contractually obligated to make another picture for 20th Century Fox and that he actually wanted to change the names to original characters, but Daryl Zanuck (head of the studio) wouldn't allow it b/c the OK Corral/Earp/Clanton connection gave an appearance of historical legitimacy (and no doubt a box office boost). I sympathize with your distraction related to the historical inaccuracies, but I think this film is best enjoyed as an allegory of the settling of the West, without any consideration of the actual history of Wyatt Earp and the Clantons. In that respect it really is a masterpiece, IMO.

JM63


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