leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) (11/01/85)
MY DARLING CLEMENTINE
GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL
Two film reviews by Mark R. Leeper
A few weeks ago I watched the film GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL, John
Sturges's 1957 film about the famous gunfight that pitted Wyatt Earp, his
brothers, and Doc Holliday against the Clanton gang. At that time, as I
will often do, I read some historical sources on the same event. In this
case, what I read was Carl Sifakis's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN CRIME. As an
adaptation, GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL took certain liberties with
historical fact. For one thing, a 30-second gunfight lasted a good seven or
eight minutes on the screen. The scriptwriter seemed to have his facts
right up to a point, then suddenly lost all interest in accuracy. Holliday
did, indeed, kill Ed Bailey in a barroom fight and escaped a lynching only
with the help of Big Nose Kate Elder, but in the film Elder did not turn
around and accuse Holliday of a stagecoach robbery.
But one of the big faults was turning Wyatt Earp into a hero. Wyatt
Earp has the distinction of being probably the only brothel owner, horse
thief, and graft-taker ever to be made a hero in a children's TV show. The
gunfight indeed was a grudge fight, but it was the result of Ike Clanton
agreeing to capture some outlaws for Earp and give Earp the credit, then
failing to deliver. The feud got worse until the Earp brothers and Holliday
massacred the Clantons at the O.K. Corral. "The Fighting Pimps," as the
locals called them, were eventually hounded out of Tombstone as a result of
the incident. GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL insisted on making the Earp side
the heroes.
I saw some place a documentary in which John Ford claimed that his
version of the gunfight in MY DARLING CLEMENTINE was accurate. I was
anxious to see John Ford's film, and by coincidence, it showed up on TV the
following week.
John Ford is one of the great American filmmakers. Ephraim Katz calls
MY DARLING CLEMENTINE one of Ford's great Western masterpieces. Leonard
Maltin gives it four stars and calls it "one of Ford's finest films, and an
American classic." Leeper calls it "a horrible turkey of the first water."
First of all, the historical story and the title song have no
connection whatsoever. To force the song into the film, they have thrown a
character named Clementine in. She adds a tepid love interest. Henry
Fonda's Wyatt Earp keeps saying, "I shore do like that name--Clementine."
The historical story and the plot of the film have almost no connection. In
the film the hostilities start when the Clantons rustle the Earp's cattle
and kill Wyatt's young teenage brother James. James Earp was the eldest of
the Earp brothers and he lived 45 years after the gunfight. From there the
story goes really bizarre. The Earps are once again white-washed into being
pure good guys, and shy around women to boot. In the film, the population
of Tombstone loves the Earps. This is not a terrible film; it is skillfully
made and adequately photographed. The script really lets down the rest of
the film however. I have to say that MY DARLING CLEMENTINE is a vastly
over-rated classic. Give it a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeperdday@gymble.UUCP (Dennis Doubleday) (11/04/85)
In article <1366@mtgzz.UUCP> leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) writes: > I saw some place a documentary in which John Ford claimed that his >version of the gunfight in MY DARLING CLEMENTINE was accurate. I was >anxious to see John Ford's film, and by coincidence, it showed up on TV the >following week. > John Ford is one of the great American filmmakers. Ephraim Katz calls >MY DARLING CLEMENTINE one of Ford's great Western masterpieces. Leonard >Maltin gives it four stars and calls it "one of Ford's finest films, and an >American classic." Leeper calls it "a horrible turkey of the first water." > First of all, the historical story and the title song have no >connection whatsoever. To force the song into the film, they have thrown a >character named Clementine in. She adds a tepid love interest. Henry >Fonda's Wyatt Earp keeps saying, "I shore do like that name--Clementine." >The historical story and the plot of the film have almost no connection. In >the film the hostilities start when the Clantons rustle the Earp's cattle >and kill Wyatt's young teenage brother James. James Earp was the eldest of >the Earp brothers and he lived 45 years after the gunfight. From there the >story goes really bizarre. The Earps are once again white-washed into being >pure good guys, and shy around women to boot. In the film, the population >of Tombstone loves the Earps. This is not a terrible film; it is skillfully >made and adequately photographed. The script really lets down the rest of >the film however. I have to say that MY DARLING CLEMENTINE is a vastly >over-rated classic. Give it a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale. The man was an artist, not a historian! I think most, if not all, great artists take liberties with their respective subject matters. I think a moviegoer as experienced as Mark is being a bit naive when he goes to a Hollywood production of the 1940s and expects authenticity. Leave the quibbling about what actually happened to the academics--I know to go to the library (like you did) if I want to get closer to the truth. For me, MY DARLING CLEMENTINE is a beautiful film--high production values, as usual, but more than that--a marvelous exposition of the themes that flow through Ford's greatest works: family loyalty, sense of duty, and the necessity of courage. I give it a 3 on the -4 to 4 scale. In the quote you attributed to Ford, I think he was referring only to his reenactment of the actual gunfight, rather than the events leading up to it, but even if he wasn't, I can only repeat the line the reporter says in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, Ford's masterpiece and in many ways a summation of his career: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." -- UUCP: seismo!umcp-cs!dday Dennis Doubleday CSNet: dday@umcp-cs University of Maryland ARPA: dday@gymble.umd.edu College Park, MD 20742 Fan of: Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears, OU Sooners (301) 454-4247