My Darling Clementine
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My Darling Clementine is a 1946 western directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda. The subject of the film is Wyatt Earp and the infamous Gunfight at the OK Corral. I saw the film last year for the first time.
A scene at the beginning of the movie immediately drew me in. Henry Fonda plays Wyatt Earp; he’s not a marshal yet, he’s a cattleman passing through the town with his brothers. The group stops for the night, and Wyatt goes to get a shave.
He’s in the middle of his shave, when there are gunshots next door and bullets fly through the barbershop. He goes outside; a group of townspeople and some of the town leaders are outside a saloon, while inside a drunk is shooting up the place. No one will do anything, everyone is just going to wait it out. Wyatt is shocked at their cowardice; he asks, “What kind of town is this?”. He takes the initiative, goes into the saloon, and disarms the drunk.
I finally realized why this scene, and especially that one line, resonated with me.
A demented maniac is smashing everything in sight and endangering lives, while the leaders cower and wait for it all to be over. What kind of town is this?