Eight stars. John Ford reworks history into American mythology. And he does so
with such elegance! Ford really is the quintessential American director. No
one else comes close. And Henry Fonda has been a favorite of mine since
I was a kid. He could take those "aw, shucks, ma'am" characters, and not have
them seem like buffoons. He could also do "righteous" like nobody's business.
Here, his Wyatt Earp gets to do plenty of both. But he doesn't have to carry the whole show. I'm not really familiar with Victor Mature, but this is one of the best jobs I've ever seen from him. His Doc Holliday is easily the most complex character we get here, Mature pulls it off with real nuance and subtlety (the Hamlet bit!). In contrast, I've seen Walter Brennan in TONS of films. But I've never seen him get to sink his teeth into a really great villain role before. He was just splendid. Holt and Bond were dependable, but didn't get to do much here. And the actresses were lousy. That's really the two-star hit. Still, that's not a big complaint. The slow build to the final confrontation is Ford at his best. He knew how awful real violence was by 1946. And he knew that cinematic violence has way more impact with a big lead up. This is a stone classic. I'm happy I finally got around to it. 27 July 2022.
Here, his Wyatt Earp gets to do plenty of both. But he doesn't have to carry the whole show. I'm not really familiar with Victor Mature, but this is one of the best jobs I've ever seen from him. His Doc Holliday is easily the most complex character we get here, Mature pulls it off with real nuance and subtlety (the Hamlet bit!). In contrast, I've seen Walter Brennan in TONS of films. But I've never seen him get to sink his teeth into a really great villain role before. He was just splendid. Holt and Bond were dependable, but didn't get to do much here. And the actresses were lousy. That's really the two-star hit. Still, that's not a big complaint. The slow build to the final confrontation is Ford at his best. He knew how awful real violence was by 1946. And he knew that cinematic violence has way more impact with a big lead up. This is a stone classic. I'm happy I finally got around to it. 27 July 2022.