My Darling Clementine

Parents need to know that My Darling Clementine is a 1946 classic that features the lawlessness, vengeance, and gunplay typical of movies about the Old West. Considered to be one of director John Ford's masterpieces, the story mythologizes Marshall Wyatt Earp and the infamous shootout at the OK Corral. The movie helped promote many of the visual and narrative ploys now thought of as clichés of the genre, and young students of film may appreciate seeing their roots. Native Americans are viewed by the white town folk as dangerous and irresponsible. Language is tame by today's standards, but men here engage in violent, antisocial behavior, gambling, drinking, and consorting with prostitutes. (The last activity will probably go over the heads of younger children.) Kids used to quick-paced, computer-enhanced visuals may find the black-and-white photography and lyrical pace unattractively retro.