Frontier Marshal

Early version of the Earp-Holliday, OK Corral legend.

Thanks to big-budget TCF, this is a well-produced, mid-level Western. Those barroom scenes along with the crowded streets are high energy and appropriate to a boomtown, which Tombstone was. Dwan directs these scenes with flair. Can't say the same for the final shootout that is poorly staged and fleetingly done as if the production had to hurry up to meet schedule. Ford's 1946 remake My Darling Clementine greatly improves on that final showdown with the kind of close-ups and structured tension that're needed.

Scott and Romero cut formidable figures as the legendary heroes. The screenplay suffers, however, by failing to spotlight an equally formidable villain to challenge them, spreading the villainy instead across several minor players. Too bad the impressive Carradine is largely wasted in an incidental role. On the other hand, Kelly is very pretty as the good girl, while Barnes shines as the good-time girl. I like the way their rivalry evolves over time.

I can see why the estimable John Ford saw so much potential in the characters and story. There's a lot of color in the array of personalities and rivalries, including the show biz Eddie Foy Jr., an entertaining contrast to the frontier types. Of course, Ford's version is clearly superior. Still, this 1939 entry remains a respectable little Western with its own modest merits.

What's most interesting about Frontier Marshal is the fact that it is clearly the genesis of My Darling Clementine, directed by John Ford seven years later. It is hard to view this movie without automatically thinking of the parallel scenes in MDC, and Ford's film draws heavily on the inter-relationships of Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, Sarah(Clementine in Ford's film) and the saloon girl, Jerry(Chihuahua). Other scenes are reworked into Ford's film as well…the disarming of the drunken Indian, dunking of the saloon girl into the trough, Doc Holliday attempting to redeem himself by performing surgery on a gunshot victim(in this case, the son of the Mexican bartender(in Ford's film, it was Chihuahua, Doc's `girl'), and a wandering theatric (a comic here, a Shakespearian thespian in MDC). This film is much slighter, with fewer themes and subtexts than Ford's and concentrates mostly on the relationship between Earp and Holliday and Holliday's redemption at the end. It plays out like a programmer, running a mere 71 minutes, so granted there isn't much time to devote to anything else. The themes of chaos versus order, civilization versus wilderness are only hinted at, and Randolph Scott is adequate as Wyatt Earp but without the underlying vulnerability(and humor) of Fonda's performance. The same might be said of Cesar Romero as Doc Holliday (for some reason changed to Halliday). He doesn't have the depth of Victor Mature's tortured Doc, in what was perhaps his best performance in any film, but the same self-destructive streak is evident as he attempts to drink himself to death, only to be stopped by Earp. Clearly, MDC was the more thought provoking of the two, but it cannot be denied that without Frontier Marshal, there would have been no MDC, or at least the one I consider a true western classic. What a quirk of fate that Ward Bond is in both films--the ineffective town marshal here, and later promoted to the role of Morgan Earp in Ford's version.

This was the movie which John Ford remade as his classic My Darling Clementine. Here, Randolph Scott plays Wyatt Earp and Caesar Romero plays Doc Holiday, but there are no Clantons or Earp brothers. Instead, John Carradine plays a bad saloon owner heading a gang that is trying to take over Tombstone.

Of course, this movie can't directly compare to My Darling Clementine, but it's a pretty good western in its own right. Its one of Randolph Scott's better early roles.

Many of the classic scenes in My Darling Clementine were taken directly from this movie, and it's very interesting to compare the two. This version of Frontier Marshal was a remake of an earlier 1933 version, and, of course, this story has been told many times since.

The Maltin Guide gives it three stars. Check it out if you're a western fan, or just a fan of My Darling Clementine.

i liked this western quite a bit.it is made in 1939,and some may find the pace a bit sedate,but that didn't bother me.i liked the story and the cast of characters.the main character is Wyatt Earp(Randolph Scott)newly deputized as marshal to try to bring some law into the town of Tombstone.The character Of Doc Halliday(Ceasar Romero)also plays a prominent role.there were a few scenes which were meant to be funny,and they probably were back in 1939,but they fell a bit flat for me.it's the movie that inspired the John Ford classic My Darling Clementine(1946).the 1957 movie Gunfight at the OK Corral is also apparently inspired by this movie.one thing i should mention is that the sound and the picture were crystal clear,so kudos for Fox for the technical work that went into the DVD.anyway,when all is said and done,i thought this was a pretty good movie.easily an 8/10

I'm not a huge fan of the Western genre but there are a few Westerns that really enjoy - this film goes into the my liked Western films. It is highly fictionalized version of the events that lead up to the famous gun fight but really fun to watch.

I have to say I enjoyed the entire cast which is one of the reasons why I like this film - it's not just the story and action on screen but the actors themselves that makes this particular film worth watching to me.

Binnie Barnes as Jerry - she really tickled me, constantly trying to keep up her tough exterior but in the end we saw the softer side of Jerry. A character I really liked watching.

Scott and Romero were good together. While Carradine, Chaney and Sawyer was made a great trio of "villains". You can't but to laugh as some of the things that happens - in particular when Doc Halliday (Romeo) gets Pringle (Chaney) to dance... lol.

Anyway, this one worth checking out if you haven't seen it already. Fictionalized Fun.

8.5/10