Michael_Elliott Frontier Marshall (1939) *** (out of 4)Another telling of the infamous Tombstone battle where Wyatt Earp (Randolph Scott) and Doc Halliday (Cesar Romero) try to run the outlaws out of town. This film shares a lot of the same scenes and dialogue as John Ford's remake but overall this film can't come close to what Ford did with the story. There's a lot to enjoy here but there are also a few major flaws, which really hurt the movie. The best parts of the performances from Scott who once again delivers a strong performance as the hero. It's Romero who steals the show however with a very dark turn as Halliday. The director makes his character very dark and moody, which is a better take than some of the other versions where he comes off more charming than anything else. The dark and moody Halliday also leaks over into the rest of the film, which is one of the problems. The film is shot with some incredibly dark scenes where it's hard to tell what's going on. This makes for a couple good shots but overall this style really hurts the film as sometimes it's hard to make out what's going on. The supporting cast is also very impressive and includes John Carradine, Joe Sawyer, Lon Chaney, Jr., Nancy Kelly and Ward Bond. Charles Stevens plays a drunk Indian here and repeated the role in the Ford version.

RanchoTuVu For seventy-one minutes the film manages to fit in the deteriorating security situation in Tombstone as the camera flashes to the street for all the shootouts and horseplay. Compared to My Darling Clementine, this one is more easy going. Cesar Romero captures best acting over Vic Mature in the role of Doc Holliday, IMHO if only because Mature's part seemed overwrought, and the part of Holliday seems to fit Romero in a decisively more real way. Even still, the script in Frontier Marshal still caricatures Holliday as overly emotional, especially in the scenes in the saloon where he's purposely drinking himself to death because ex-flame Nancy Kelly comes in on the stage. Still, Romero was a great actor, and his scenes with Randolph Scott as Earp are a nice mix of two actors who had real naturalness. The B&W photography (Charles Clarke) stands out throughout and all the scenes in this movie are well assembled. It is over before you know it.

GManfred Yes, yes, I know. My Darling Clementine(MDC) is a famous remake of this picture. That one got the John Ford treatment and went into greater depth as far as character development goes. But there's nothing wrong with "Frontier Marshal" and it can stand on its own. First off, since it is an action western it had a better lead actor in stalwart Randolph Scott - Henry Fonda was a more cerebral actor and not really a two-fisted type. Second, I think Caesar Romero played Doc Holliday with more heart than Victor Mature, who was a limited actor.In MDC, the OK Corral confrontation was better and had more tension but the barroom bimbo was Binnie Barnes, who did a better job than Linda Darnell. Ward Bond was in both pictures and got a promotion in MDC to Earp's brother. And you get a chance to see Eddie Foy Jr. in the earlier movie."Frontier Marshal" is only 71" long and therefore not as comprehensive as MDC. In sum, I guess the worst thing that could be said about "Frontier Marshal" is that MDC was made, which in sheer production value diminishes the whole enterprise. If you like westerns, see this one. You will appreciate it better if you haven't seen MDC - which I also feel suffers from one of the lamest titles in Hollywood annals and detracts from the final product. "Frontier Marshal" was on FMC the other morning and I rated it a seven.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) There is no way but to compare Frontier Marshal with My Darling Clementine. Charles Stevens plays the same part of the drunken Indian in both films. The story in both films comes from Sam Hellman and Stuart N. Lake. I liked Cesar Romero as Doc Holliday more than Victor Mature. Eddie Foyt Jr playing his father adds to the film more than the Shakespeare of Clementine. As for the women, Nancy Kelly and Binnie Barnes seemed better than Cathy Downs and Linda Darnell in Clementine. Randolph Scott has one of his best performances as Wyatt Earp. John Ford and Henry Fonda had greatness in them, it is impossible for Scott and director Allan Dwan to compete with that, but they made quite a good western very enjoyable even nowadays. In his version Ford added a touch of poetry, also he was more technical in the sequence of the gunfight. Frontier Marshal is a must for all those who think they have already seen everything about Wyatt Earp and the O.K.Corral.