Despite John Wayne being a huge admirer of Wyatt Earp, he was bizarrely overlooked for the role in Western classic My Darling Clementine. There have been many, many movie and TV retellings of the Wyatt Earp story. From James Garner’s Hour of the Gun to the famous Tombstone vs Wyatt Earp box-office rivalry of the 1990s, the lawman’s story has been recounted often. Despite John Wayne fronting 80 Westerns throughout his career, it’s odd in hindsight that he never got own Wyatt Earp movie off the ground.
After breaking through with 1939’s Stagecoach, Wayne became one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Despite this and his well-known love of Earp, whenever studio projects like 1957’s Gunfight at the O.K. Corral moved into production, he was overlooked. Easily the best film about Earp produced during the apex of Wayne’s stardom was My Darling Clementine, helmed by his old pal John Ford. Despite Wayne and Ford having made 14 movies together, he wasn’t approached about My Darling Clementine.
John Wayne Missed His Best Chance To Play Wyatt Earp In My Darling Clementine
This 1946 Western is one of John Ford’s best films
Ford had actually met Earp towards the beginning of his career, with the retired lawman acting as a consultant on various movie productions in the 1920s. In a retrospective conversation with My Darling Clementine’s leading man Henry Fonda (via Life in the 1800s), Ford recalled a day when Earp sketched out the shootout at the O.K. Corral and showed him how it played out. This is what sparked Ford’s desire to dramatize the event, but instead of his go-to lead Wayne – who by this time had fronted Stagecoach and They Were Expendable for the director – he picked Fonda instead.
Of course, Fonda himself was also a name star in the genre, thanks to previously appearing in Clint Eastwood’s favorite Western The Ox-Bow Incident. Fonda is perfect as the soft-spoken Earp, who conveys more with his expressions than other actors achieve with reams of dialogue. Ford directed many films that are considered masterpieces, from The Searchers to The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, but My Darling Clementine lingers at the top for film critics and admirers of the director’s work.
John Wayne was no doubt jealous that he wasn’t the one playing Wyatt Earp when he finally saw the film…
It looks incredible, the characters are well-fleshed out and there’s a poetic, myth-making aspect to it that became a staple of Ford’s work. John Wayne was no doubt jealous he wasn’t the one playing Earp when he finally saw the 1946 Western too. It might be true that Wayne was typecast as a certain kind of macho, swaggering figure, but he would later prove with Red River or Ford’s The Searchers that he could bring great depth to his performances too.
It’s Strange John Ford Bypassed John Wayne As Wyatt Earp
My Darling Clementine felt like a perfect reunion for Ford and Wayne
By the time My Darling Clementine was released, Ford and Wayne had worked together on three movies. The Wyatt Earp film was also Ford’s first Western since the success of Stagecoach, so on paper, it felt obvious Wayne would be Ford’s first pick. Instead, it appears the director never even considered Wayne for My Darling Clementine and that Fonda was always the actor he had in mind.
This could be down to Ford having personally met Wyatt Earp, and gotten a sense of who he was. Fonda’s Earp is a man of few words who only pulls a gun as the very last of resorts, and it’s tough to see Wayne pulling off the same type of internal performance. Regardless, there are reports Wayne felt slighted by Ford that he wasn’t even approached about My Darling Clementine. Given the filmmaker’s fearsome reputation and the fact they worked together again so many times, it’s doubtful Wayne held a grudge over missing out.
John Wayne Was A Huge Wyatt Earp Fan
Wayne literally walked and talked like Wyatt Earp
There are stories that Wayne met the elderly Earp while working as a crew member on various films early in his career, but whether they actually met is up for debate. Some stories even state Wayne became so friendly with the retired lawman he was a pallbearer at Earp’s funeral – this one is verifiably false. What is true is that Wayne based on his entire screen persona on Earp, with a quote attributed to the star (via American Heroes Channel) explaining the traits he took from him.
Earp was the man who had actually done the things in his life that I was trying to do in a movie. I imitated his walk; I Imitated his talk.
Wayne’s famously slow, deliberate drawl and unique way of walking helped make him a star. Wayne’s son Ethan also confirmed that his father told them that whenever he had to play a sheriff or leader, he “goes in like he’s Wyatt Earp.” In this way, it could be argued Wayne played Wyatt Earp dozens of times throughout his career by imitation, but it’s still strange he never got to play the part. Presumably, a studio would have been happy to bankroll a Wyatt Earp Western that featured Wayne on the poster, but there’s no evidence he pushed to star in one.
John Wayne Would Have Been Miscast In My Darling Clementine
Henry Fonda was the right pick for the 1946 classic
Wayne often played variations on the same character, especially when it came to Westerns. He was a star who wanted to give audiences what they expected; which in his case, meant playing tough-talking, fast-shooting men of action. Wayne was perfectly fine with his own typecasting, although he did branch out to different kinds of parts and genres throughout his career. That said, Wayne was completely wrong for My Darling Clementine’s take on Wyatt Earp.
There’s a very perceptive quote from Roger Ebert’s review, where he speculates on the reason Ford snubbed his favorite leading man: “Maybe Ford saw Wayne as the embodiment of the Old West, and the gentler Fonda as one of the new men who would tame the wilderness.” There have been more overtly manly takes on Earp – including Kurt Russell’s version in Tombstone – but Fonda’s performance has no concerns about such things.
The film is partly about law and order coming to the Old West, with Fonda’s Earp being the embodiment of this. He wants to resolve things legally and peacefully and only really turns to violence with the shootout at the O.K. Corral. It’s tough to see Wayne being able to pull off what might be seen as a more passive protagonist. Wayne and Fonda had very different tempos as performers and Ford weaponizes his leading man’s talents in My Darling Clementine.
Had Wayne fronted My Darling Clementine, it might be regarded as a great Western of its era but with a miscast lead, as opposed to an evergreen genre favorite.
Wayne pulled off more understated work later in his career, such as in his final film The Shootist. During the peak of his career, it’s hard to see him living up to Ford’s interpretation of Earp. Again, the director had actually known Earp and clearly decided Fonda’s stoicism was the way to approach the role. Had Wayne fronted My Darling Clementine, it might be regarded as a great Western of its era but with a miscast lead, as opposed to an evergreen genre favorite.