My Darling Clementine

The film opens with a Monument Valley panorama, as a herd of cattle is urged across the scrublands by three of the Earp brothers. The music turns ominous as a buckboard appears in the foreground, bearing Ike Clanton and the eldest of his four sons. Clanton tries to buy the cattle, Earp laconically turns him down, mentions that he and his brothers may visit the nearby town of Tombstone that night, and returns to his herd.

The exchange of dialogue, like much of the conversation throughout the film, is less important than what is left unspoken. Ford allows the camera to hold on the faces of his actors (without taking too close a shot) as they observe one another. The sceneÆs final cut is a two-shot of the Clantons watching Earp ride away. The son warily watches the father, and IkeÆs hardened mouth and squinting eyes clearly show a dangerous man sizing up the stranger passing through his little world. Ford holds the shot, trusting his actors to impart the subtle menace that frames the whole film.

That night, after supper, the Earps leave the youngest brother in camp and ride into Tombstone. The portrait Ford paints

. . .
ly made up that their mascara and hairstyles block their opportunities to emote.) One of the most effective scenes is done in near darkness. Holliday, dying and filled with self-loathing, stumbles upstairs to his room. He is momentarily silhouetted in the doorway as he enters the room, but is then plunged into near blackness as he closes the door and moves inside. Ford follows him as he crosses the room, though the viewer can barely make out his figure. He sits at the dresser, where a shaft of moonlight illuminates him pouring another drink. The camera then moves around behind him to reveal his POV as he sees his reflection in the glass framing his medical diploma. Hating what he sees, he flings his whiskey glass at the wall, shattering the frame. The long single shot reveals much about the character and the loneliness of life at the frontier. In another sequence, the Earps are gathering on the covered porches that connect the main businesses in town. As they talk, Ford has choreographed a slowly building background dance of which they become gradually aware. Finally, one of the wagons passing behind them stops to reveal that the whole town is headed to the dedication of TombstoneÆs first church. The whole scene builds
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1378
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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