A few thoughts on My Darling Clementine (1 Viewer)

[John Hodson]

Got my My Darling Clementine and it was a genuine pleasure to see it again, and in such good condition.

The quality of the transfer is in general excellent, but the night time and interior scenes are a little murky, indeed the quality does vary from scene to scene.

Having said that it is remarkably clean and generally free of any significant marks or dirt. The soundtrack is again pretty good with very clear dialogue (on the pre-release version Alfred Newman's score is used - quite rightly IMHO - sparingly), though I heard a number of bumps and pops.

You won't be surprised to learn that the biggest problems seem to contained within the scenes not in the theatrical version (particularly Chihuahua meeting Billy Clanton), but the pre-release version, and it is a miracle to see this included, is the more satisfying. The ending - to kiss or not to kiss - is the best known change, though there are more significant alterations, as detailed in Robert Gitt's featurette.

One of the greatest westerns of all time - need I say more?

---
So many films, so little time...

 

[oscar_merkx]

thanks for the update about this John

I am looking forward to see my copy soon

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Well, since hearing Robert Crawford plead to
Fox execs about releasing My Darling Clementine
to DVD some three years ago, it has been one of my
most anticipated "curiosity" films.

For the first time ever, I watched the film
earlier this evening.

Funny story. I'm not used to Fox releasing
double-sided DVDs. I didn't even notice there
were two versions of this film on the DVD. I just
placed the copy in the player, was a bit stunned by
the words ALTERNATE PRE-RELEASE VERSION but
still didn't give it a second thought.

So, this evening's viewing was the Alternate
Version. Not sure if that was a good thing or not.

WoW! What a fantastic western. Even with high
expectations, this film did not disappoint. In
fact, I would consider this to be the best Wyatt
Earp/Doc Holiday movie I have seen -- and I think
I have seen them all.

There are so many great moments in this film --
from the initial meeting of Wyatt and Doc in
the town saloon; to the theatrical actor reciting
Shakespear in front of a ruly audience; to the
comments being made about the scent that "The Barber"
sprayed on Earp.

Then there's the final shootout at the O.K. Corral --
which was skillfully choreographed amongst the scurrying
horses.

The "alternate" version seems to be taken from
a different master than the regular version. I only
compared both for less than a minute, but found
the "alternate" to be a bit gritty, a bit dark in
some scenes, and with noticeable film jumps during
one of Chihuahua's (Linda Darnell) songs. I am
presuming this was an added scene which accounts
for the film's condition.

I hope I watched the right version for the best
impression. Don't see how it could be much better
than this. My Darling Clementine belongs
in your collection alongside all the best Westerns
you already own.

 

[Paul_Scott]

Glad to hear you liked it Ron.
i've been waiting a long time to have this title in my collection.
Today was a HUGE release day for classic movie fans

 

[Jeff_HR]

I have not received my DVD of this film yet & I'm most interested in watching the alternate version. I've had a Laserdisc of this film for years. I also prefer this version of the story to others that have been done.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Well, I'm a very happy camper! Several years ago, I watched for the first time, the "Pre-release" version of this film on AMC, after UCLA completed its restoration of it. Nick Clooney, George's dad hosted the program on AMC and after watching the film I thought to myself that I preferred this version compared to the final version that I've seen many times beforehand on television and video. IMO, the only thing I liked about the changes Zanuck made after John Ford completed the film was how Wyatt Earp kissed Clementine goodbye
otherwise, I really preferred the "Pre-release" version.

Early this morning, I watched "Pre-release" version and the Robert Gitt documentary that detail the differences between the two versions. My suggestion to everyone who has this dvd is to watch this documentary to understand the differences and why certain scenes looked rough on the "Pre-release" version. Fox should be very proud of the dvd presentation they've put forth on this release and I'll have more to say on the dvd once I go through everything on it.

As far as the film itself, it is one of my favorite westerns, but to me, "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" is a better version of the Earp/Clanton gunfight. However, let me preface my comments by saying that I think "My Darling Clementine" is a better film if that makes any sense to any of you. My comments doesn't take in account, any historical accuracy issues among the different films nor another very entertaining version of the famous gunfight caught on film in "Tombstone" which has a delightful performance of Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday.

Getting back to this dvd, one of the advantages of playing a dvd is the ability to play back in slow motion one of my favorite scenes from this film which is the comical confrontation between Chihuahua/Linda Darnell and Morgan Earp/Ward Bond. Very funny stuff, with Virgil Earp/Tim Holt almost unable to keep a straight face in that scene. Anyhow, more later.






Crawdaddy

 

[Marty M]

Thanks for the reminder. I had forgotten this DVD was being released this month. I might have to go out today and get this as a birthday present to myself.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies from my all-time director, John Ford. This movie might not be the definitive version of the OK Corral shootout, but is a great movie with great performances from all the actors.

 

[John Hodson]

This is not, in any way, shape, or form, a history lesson, and is not intended to be. What it is, is a brilliant western, a truly brilliant film, with finely drawn characters.

Having just recently watched Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Tombstone and Wyatt Earp again, I can honestly say that My Darling Clementine is the only film to make any real sense of the relationship between Holliday and Earp, as represented on screen.

The pre-release version is only, IIRC, eight minutes longer than the theatrical version, but there are key scenes - Doc meeting Earp for the first time and the Earps leaving Tombstone spring to mind - where the characters are given time to breathe. I also think that Ford was right to remove the score from a couple of scenes, leaving them with natural sounds (having said that, would Gunfight at the O.K. Corral be half the film without Tiomkin?)

As for the ending, I grew up with the theatrical version, but the pre-release version is somehow far truer. Now I'm wandering what was in Ford's original cut...but that's presumably lost forever.

---
So many films, so little time...

 

[GlennH]

A few nice screenshots at DVDBeaver.com, as part of a comparison with a bad foreign version.

 

[Jeff Swearingen]

I had trouble figuring out which side was which from the labeling on this disc. 'Feature' and 'Bonus Materials'...well I'll get used to knowing which side is the Pre-release and which is the Theatrical after a few misloads I'm sure!

 

[JJR512]

I've been looking forward to seeing this movie for my first time ever since I first saw the episode of M*A*S*H where they watched (or, more accurately, tried to watch) it. I missed the fact that it was being released on DVD, but now that I know about it I'll be out to by it ASAP.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Tomorrow, I buy Day The Earth Stood Still, My Darling Clementine, and something else to get Sunrise. I hope I make the cutoff date.

 

[oscar_merkx]

you hould get How Green was my Valley, another fantastic John Ford picture

 

[oscar_merkx]

The documentary from Robert Gitt about the differences between the "Pre-Release" & Final version are awesome.

Why did John Ford agree to the changes in the first. Can somebody elaborate on this ?

Where there more creative differences between Zanuck & Ford in other movies ?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Oscar,
To answer your question just remember which person was the head of the studio.




Crawdaddy

 

[oscar_merkx]

that was Zanuck.

Also the end of the docu tells us that Zanuck did this other films as well.

I will now watch the movie twice