Wiki for Dr. McClurkens Courses

You've loaded an old revision of the document! If you save it, you will create a new version with this data.

You should do a total of 2-3 comments/questions/observations this week. You do not need to post to all areas. – Dr. McClurken

DO NOT DELETE OTHER PEOPLE'S COMMENTS – Please be careful as you add your posts that you are not deleting anyone else's work. – Dr. McClurken

====== How does this movie work as a secondary source? What does the movie get right about history? ======

There are some good historical accuracies in My Darling Clementine. First of all, it provides useful background knowledge on the West, such as the buffalos that roam the area and the search of gold. Another element that is accurate is the personality of Wyatt Earp, in the movie he portrayed as head strong and all about law and order and that's how he was described in real life. It also did a decent job at showing the lawless cowboys, like the Clanton's. They are presented as the bad guys in the movie, which is consistent with their actual position as the Earp brothers' enemies. (Hannah E.)

Though the plot itself seriously deviates from historically accurate tales, the greater context of the movie had some good moments. The concept of a dead town (one being removed from the railroad) was prominent in the film, and it made the feeling of the movie feel more small-town western rather than an urban movie. I feel that this was accurate to the time, especially in comparison to the primary accounts. They took the law into their own matters, which was common of the time period. Additionally, the portrayal of Wyatt Earp didn't seem too far off from the truth that he wanted to be portrayed as. The names that were used were accurate as well, although their characterizations were off from what was historically recorded.
- Caty

An aspect of nineteenth-century Western development that My Darling Clementine portrays is the small, constantly under-construction state of towns like Tombstone. The church dedication ceremony is a good example, in which a floor, a bell tower, and not much else is built by the time it happens, with a mention of a roof coming soon. Clementine says that it’s been a long time since she’s heard church bells out here, implying that many towns don’t even have a church of any kind to begin with. Especially at the time, a town church would have been a central hub of gatherings, and to lack one implies that the community is more fractured and transient than a standard settlement, which is to be expected under the circumstances. — Claire C.

My Darling Clementine does have some historical accuracy. They portrayed Wyatt Earp accurately in some ways, he was a gambling man and did befriend Doc Holliday. Wyatt also spent most of his time in the saloon, like the movie suggested. The film portrayed towns during the late 1800’s accurately, being mainly a saloon and bar with a few other elements like barber shops. -Leah B

Because //My Darling Clementine// was generally more focused on plot, it was not the most historically accurate movie – certainly not compared to some of the others we have covered. However, there were still definitely some accurate portrayals of certain aspects of the West during this period. One of my favorite examples that I noticed (and most subtle) was the allusion to the railroad and the ability to buy and sell goods across the country. The movie alluded to this through the barber shop owner who kept bragging about how he was getting new items from Kansas City, Chicago, and such. --Emma F.

====== Problems with historical accuracy? Errors in fact? ======

My Darling Clementine takes several liberties with the story of Wyatt Earp, but that is to be expected when the prevailing literature of the time (which is listed in the credits as being the basis for the movie) was itself barely nonfiction. The movie gets many details about the people, places, and events flat-out wrong. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday knew each other before Earp arrived at Tombstone, Earp only lost one brother to the conflict with the cowboys, and the O. K. Corral wasn’t a ranch on the edge of town, to name a few examples of inaccuracies. The most accurate portrayal of history in this movie is when Wyatt Earp confesses that he loves Poker and then repeats himself. - Ewan H

My Darling Clementine, with regards to the Gunfight at the OK Corral and the Earp family, is a film filled with enough historical inaccuracies to make Mel Gibson blush. For starters, the Earp family did not suffer any murders prior to the Gunfight itself. Both James and Virgil Earp lived for decades following the events in Tombstone. Doc Holliday also survived the gunfight, dying later on from his battle with tuberculosis. The Clantons were part of the feud between the Earps and the Cochise Cowboys, but did not constitute the majority of the participants at OK Corral. Wyatt Earp’s wife is erased from the narrative in order to allow for the romance aspect of the film to flourish, and instead, Earp becomes obsessed with the fictional Clementine. The depiction of law enforcement in the West was also inaccurate, with most law-breakers simply being told by Wyatt to leave town following their crimes. In reality, according to an account by Edward Buffom, lynch-law was a commonality, with offenders being whipped or murdered for their crimes, whether proven guilty or not. -John M.

My Darling Clementine also had several major historical inaccuracies. One significant one that caught my attention was that, in the film they showed the shootout in front of the O.K. Corral in a wide, open street. However, the shootout was actually relatively short (about 30 seconds) and took place in a narrow alleyway rather than out in the open. Another inaccuracy was the fact that Doc Holliday was not a surgeon like it was portrayed in the movie, he actually was a dentist. Lastly, the film compresses the timeline by a lot. In reality, the circumstances leading up to the gunfight were lengthy and complicated. There were disputes over politics, personal disagreements, and law conflicts that were building up. (Hannah E.)

There were many deviations between the film and the historical narrative of the events described, down to the very order in which events occurred. James Earp’s death happens at the beginning of the film, triggering Wyatt Earp’s revenge narrative against the Clanton family and motivating him throughout the film. In reality, James did not die as a result of the conflict between the Earps and the Clantons. Additionally, the real life partners of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday are replaced with fictional women. This choice sharply illustrates the narrow role which women are expected to fill in the traditional Western. These are just a few examples of changes between the movie and the historical fabric on which it is based. -Rickie

I thought one of the biggest historical inaccuracies in this movie was the portrayal of women, mostly Clementine. The filmmakers portrayed them as very simplistic, without really any characteristics that stood apart from the gender norms of that time. There were actually many scenes that showed her independence and resilience, but in all it seemed like they wanted to show their ideal version of what a woman should be. This film definitely didn’t portray the environment accurately, having the O.K. Corral be placed differently than it actually was in those times. There were many themes present in this film, like justice, that probably weren’t like how it really was back then. The real west was much more chaotic and uncivil with things happening that were cruelly unfair. - Matt

====== How does the film’s overall interpretation(s) deviate from scholarly historical sources? ======

The lawlessness of the time period was something that seemed accurate to the time period. In the first source, the first excerpt by Edward Buffum talks about how the town took matters into their own hands and executed several men. This was emulated in the movie through the gun fight at the end by showing how Earp said it was a "family matter" and did not involve outside authorities (although he was the outside authority in this case). Additionally, the movie does a somewhat good job of portraying women's stories (as well as they could in the 1940s), in at least showing how they would travel from town to town, and face many different struggles. To put it in the broadest sense, they showed how women would travel in the West, and sometimes pave their own ways. Most of the sources pointed towards women traveling with their families more often, but solo travel was not uncommon, or with other women as exhibited with Sister Monica's account. - Caty

My darling clementine definitely simplified some of the events that occurred. For example, the O.K. Corral fight was changed for a better dramatic effect on the audience. The relationships in this film as well were changed or exaggerated. Wyatt and Clementine’s relationship was romanticized, whereas it probably was more complex/less romantical. Doc Holliday was known as a much darker and violent man in sources, but in this movie he is seen a lot as a heroic figure. While I think this movie did a good job of showing his complexity and his embodiment of the west, overall he wasn’t as good as the film made him look to be. I thought there was also a feeling of disconnect emotionally between the characters and the audience. When reading the sources, I could understand the hardships and emotional struggles some had to go through back then. On the other hand, watching the movie felt like an over-simplified story that didn’t shed enough light on what some of the people were facing. -Matt

====== How does this movie work as a primary source about the time in which it was made? ======

My Darling Clementine demonstrates how it is a product of its time with respect to the narrative surrounding Wyatt Earp and how this is portrayed in the movie. The book written by Stuart Lake was the best available literature on Wyatt Earp at the time. The book was hardly accurate to Earp’s life, depicting him as a justice seeking lawman instead of a gambling seeking conman. This influence is clear in the film, where Earp is portrayed as this hero of the west, kicking ass and taking names for justice and what’s right. This trend of the stranger from out of town coming, resolving a conflict, and then riding off into the sunset was a popular plot for Western movies such as this, and this film fits that prototype very well. - Ewan H

The film My Darling Clementine works well as a primary source about the time in which it was made, that being the mid-20th century. Westerns were a popular genre of filmmaking and channel for storytelling, and so films of that era (including My Darling Clementine) reflect the attitudes and values of the period in which it was made. Wyatt Earp, the hero, is a strong lawman, with a fair sense of justice and morality and the courage to enforce that justice in an otherwise lawless town. Clementine, meanwhile, is docile and innocent, being crammed into the simple role of ‘the love interest’ for both of the male leads. Using these two characters as a foundation, we can gauge how attitudes towards gender and gender roles were handled in the 1940s. -John M.

My Darling Clementine works well as a primary source for the time of its creation in which it captures one of the most popular aspects of filming at the time that being Film Noir. The term means "Black Film" or "Dark Film" in French which this movie quite literally portrays that notion whether it be from the characters to the persistent amount of shooting the film has aspects towards the lawlessness that existed in the American West in the 1880s. It also alluded to the point of how masculinity was a driving point which Hollywood wanted to portray the men in this film as courageous and brave to defend what they believed was right despite its lack of morality. -Alex

Released in 1946, My Darling Clementine can show viewers a lot about the society that the film was produced in. For one, the film is a Western, which was arguably the most popular genre of film during the late 20th century until the genre began to stagnate due to oversaturation. Moreover, the themes of the film are quite black and white (no pun intended), as the story reflects a fight between good and evil cowboys. In the film, Henry Fonda’s Wyatt Earp is depicted as a handsome lawman, with clear cut morals, that is unrelenting and unafraid in his quest to bring justice to the town. Conversely, Victor Mature’s villain Doc Holiday is shown to be the opposite of Earp, both in physical appearance and morals.----- Thomas K.

My Darling Clementine is often included on lists of the best or most influential Westerns, and was hugely successful. It’s filled with the trappings that define the genre — sweeping, artistic shots of sunsets and desert, wild and raucous saloons where guns are drawn at the slightest provocation, and the stoic, intensely masculine protagonists who win every fight or go down shooting. Doc Holliday’s death scene is a good representation of this: in real life, he died weak and sickly of his tuberculosis. My Darling Clementine gave him a more heroic death, defending the honor of Chihuahua, James Earp, and Virgil Earp, killing one last man before succumbing to his injuries. This embodies the ideal of the masculine Western hero taking life (and death) on his own terms. — Claire C.

====== The "So What" Question ======

One of the main aspects as to why we should care about this movie is that without laws there is no order. Throughout the movie, a seemingly chaotic mindset of disorderly conduct runs throughout the town of Tombstone. Most notably through the firearm discharges and destruction of chandlers and bottles within the town bar. The majority of the social problems from the interactions amongst the individuals whether it be caused by Holliday or Chihuahua stems from erratic behavior from the lawlessness that exists within the town. Overall, the movie points to the notion that we need to have laws in order to be civil amongst ourselves. -Alex

The Western was a very popular genre for a while, especially in regions that were once considered the Western frontier. I know that I grew up watching Westerns with my grandparents all of the time. These films, of which My Darling Clementine is a good example, frame morality in a very simplistic and black and white manner. There are clear cut heroes and villains and justice is simple to serve. This creates an idea of the West as a place with a clear moral framework, when the reality is much more morally complex, particularly when considering the disputes between Native Americans and settlers. The West has been used in media to portray a simple hero narrative, which is not reflective of the historical experiences of those living in the West. - Rickie

While far from a realistic retelling of the west and the gunfight at the O.K. corral, My Darling Clementine is worth remembering for many reasons. For one, it gives the viewer insight into the quintessential myth of the Wild West. This movie and the films like it spoke to a crucial part of American identity where they could look to a time when things were less “complex.” —-Thomas K.

My Darling Clementine made an impact within the Western genre of movies. Westerns were a popular genre for a long period of time and My Darling Clementine helped fuel the popularity. It was violent, and lawless. It portrayed the notion of the “Wild West” that people think of today with gun fights and horseback chases. This film was impactful enough to be put on the National Film Registry. -Leah B

Edit summary

Note: By editing this page you agree to license your content under the following license: CC Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International