186. My Darling Clementine

My Darling Clementine
1946
Directed by John Ford

I really had to switch gears here with this movie; I have been watching mostly crappy romantic comedies.  It is actually quite cleansing to watch a bout of horrible films.   But we are back on track here with a good old fashioned Fordian western.

This is another Henry Fonda and honestly, he gets handsomer each time I see him.  The film centers on the Earp brothers as they seek vengeance on the killer of their brother and cows.  Along the way, they meet Clementine and Chihuahua (they are, incidentally, not dogs but women who are complete opposites).

No one does vengeance tales quite as well as Ford (perhaps Dumas could give him a run for his money).  Still, this is probably one of my least favorite Fordian westerns.  After you watch The Searchers, everything else pales in comparison.  It is kind of hard to figure out what the secondary characters motives are throughout the movie.  The characters are unsympathetic and not very interesting but the story is still timeless and fun.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Fonda's first movie after returning from World War II.

John Ford knew Wyatt Earp in his childhood and tried to recreate the gun scene as Wyatt had described it.