BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

SunnyHello Nice effects though.

XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 28 July 1939 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Roxy: 28 July 1939. U.S. release: 28 July 1939. Australian release: 28 September 1939. 6,429 feet. 71 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Wyatt Earp cleans up Tombstone, Arizona.NOTES: Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) was actually not a marshal at this stage of his career, but a deputy sheriff of Pima County, centered in Tombstone, Arizona. Other screen impersonations of him include Walter Huston in Law and Order 31, Richard Dix in Tombstone 42, Henry Fonda in My Darling Clementine 46, Joel McCrea in Wichita 55, Burt Lancaster in Gunfight at the OK Corral 57, James Stewart in Cheyenne Autumn 64, James Garner in Hour of the Gun 67, Harris Yulin in Doc 70. There was also a long-running TV series starring Hugh O'Brian.This movie is actually a re-make of the Lake novel originally filmed in 1934 with George O'Brien as Earp and Alan Edwards as Doc. It was re-made again in 1946 with Henry Fonda and Victor Mature under the title My Darling Clementine. And re-made yet again in 1953 under the title Powder River.Although permission had been obtained from Earp's estate (and a fee of $5,000 duly paid) to use his name, lawyers for the estate sued Fox anyway, claiming that Earp's screen romance with "Sarah Allen" was entirely fictitious.COMMENT: A lavishly-produced western, though most of the money seems to have been spent on the first half of the film. The climax at the O.K. Corral is somewhat skimped - especially in comparison with other versions - and the film as a whole is considerably inferior to Ford's greatly expanded re-make, My Darling Clementine. Still Frontier Marshal, despite the fact that it is largely studio-bound and that its action sequences are not handled as vigorously as in the other Earp films, has some good things going for it in the cast department. Eddie Foy is a stand-out here. His presence alone is worth the price of admission and his absence from the other versions is to be deplored. And this must be the last occasion that Binnie Barnes, who was to continue as a western heroine throughout the early forties, was photographed sufficiently attractively (skilful make-up and costumes also helped) to justify her casting. Randolph Scott does well by Wyatt Earp while Cesar Romero is in many respects a more convincing Doc Halliday than Victor Mature. Nancy Kelly makes an appealing heroine, while John Carradine, Lon Chaney Jr and Joe Sawyer make an admirable trio of villains (in fact we should have liked to see more of them, especially Chaney and Carradine). Dwan's direction has some imaginative touches (Scott's suddenly being accosted by the vigilante group; his odd entrance from above) and the musical numbers (including Miss Barnes' delightful rendition of "Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl") are handled with gusto. Charles Stevens plays the same role in this film as he does in Ford's re-make, but otherwise the cast is completely dissimilar. Charles Clarke's photography is consistently a thing of beauty, the art direction is pleasing and other production credits are top-drawer.

Richard Dominguez The First Time I Knew Anything About The Shoot Out At The OK Corral Was On (Get Ready For This) An Episode Of Star Trek The Original Series Called "Spectre Of The Gun" ... Then I Saw John Sturges' "Gun Fight At The OK Corral" And Thought Wow What A Movie, Then I Saw John Ford's "My Darling Clementine" And Thought It Was Better Than (And It Turns Out More Historically Correct) "Gunfight At The OK Corral" ... Now We Have "Frontier Marshal" And I Am Once Again Thinking Wow What A Movie ... Randolph Scott Plays Wyatt Earp And Cesar Romero Plays Doc Halliday And The Combination Is Excellent ... While The Story Does In Small Ways Veer Off The Actual Events It Is None The Less A Great Story ... Allan Dwan's Direction And Attention To Detail Is Exceptional ... Bit Parts By Eddie Foy Jr (Playing Himself), Lon Chaney Jr, John Carradine Make This Cast Icing On The Cake ... Lovers Of Westerns And History Buffs In General Will Love Watching This Version Of A Classic Story ...

kevin olzak 1939's "Frontier Marshal" was the clear inspiration for John Ford's 1946 "My Darling Clementine," but was actually the second screen version of Wyatt Earp's posthumous tome, a highly fictionalized account of his Wild West days. In the wake of Fox's successful "Jesse James," it's no surprise that they would perform similar heroism toward other notorious figures, with handsome Randolph Scott enjoying one of his earliest lead roles as Wyatt Earp, and heartthrob Cesar Romero in the highly romanticized part of Doc Halliday. The villains are certainly an interesting lot, with John Carradine, Lon Chaney, and Joseph Sawyer among them, they're just totally ineffective against Earp, for whom everything falls into place too easily. Carradine's Ben Carter runs a saloon across the street from the one that does more business (where the broads hang out), so he and his gang resort to occasional holdups to keep things interesting. Carradine actually gets the least amount of screen time, while Lon Chaney's Pringle at least gets to 'dance' before the trigger happy Halliday. By the time we get to the OK Corral, only Sawyer's Curly Bill remains standing to take the fall, Chaney and Carradine casually dismissed in ignominious fashion. The two actors, already teamed as James gang members in "Jesse James," both went on to greater glory by year's end, Carradine in "The Grapes of Wrath," Chaney in "Of Mice and Men." Chaney would reappear opposite Randolph Scott in 1944's "Follow the Boys" and 1947's "Albuquerque," while Carradine appeared with Scott in 1941's "Western Union" and 1945's "Captain Kidd." In addition, Carradine would oppose Wyatt Earp twice more, opposite Hugh O'Brian in the 1959 TV episode "The Fugitive," and opposite James Stewart in 1964's "Cheyenne Autumn." The only character that really resonates is Romero's Halliday, here a surgeon rather than dentist, while Ward Bond (playing the cowardly former Tombstone marshal) not only appears from the 1934 version, but graduated to Morgan Earp in the John Ford remake. It's a solid and enjoyable Western, but below the standard set that year by "Stagecoach" or "Destry Rides Again."

bkoganbing That would describe Wyatt Earp. Lucky because I can't think of anyone else who's had more stalwart Hollywood heroes playing him in film. Off the top of my head Tom Mix, George O'Brien, Henry Fonda, Burt Lancaster, James Garner, James Stewart, Joel McCrea right down to Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner. We certainly can't forget Hugh O'Brian on television. And also Wyatt was lucky in that he lived long enough so that no one was around to refute him when he gave a series of interviews to Stuart Lake for an authorized biography shortly before he died in 1929.As this film is based on Lake's book you won't get anything else but the Wyatt of legend. Certainly Randolph Scott fulfills the legend and that's what we print according to John Ford.This film isn't too often seen because whole parts of it were taken and used by John Ford in My Darling Clementine. Frontier Marshal should be seen back to back to graphically illustrate the difference between a good routine action western and an almost poetical film expression. Parts that were played by Victor Mature, Cathy Downs, and Linda Darnell in My Darling Clementine are taken here by Cesar Romero, Nancy Kelly, and Binnie Barnes. It might seem odd that British Binnie Barnes would show up in a western as a saloon girl, but that's no more strange than Marlene Dietrich doing the same that year and being very accepted.Eddie Foy, Jr. is in the cast playing his celebrated father who was entertaining in Tombstone at the time the Earps were providing law and order. The Clantons believe it or not are completely eliminated from the story. The chief villain is real life Clanton retainer Curly Bill Brocius played here by Joe Sawyer. Eliminated also are Wyatt's brothers and as you can imagine the final shootout at the OK Corral is staged differently than in any other telling of the tale. Probably Randolph Scott's Wyatt Earp would be a lot better known had he the benefit of John Ford's direction.