Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: A John Ford western based on a true story.
In 1946, John Ford was the first filmmaker to bring to the screen the fate of Wyatt Earp, one of the mythical figures of the American West, whom he had personally met, in his film The Infernal Pursuit.
In this case: a story of revenge (Wyatt goes in search of his brother’s killer) mixed with an impossible romance (between Wyatt and Clementine).
If John Ford takes a few liberties with historical truth, he is above all concerned with transcribing the passage from nature to civilization through the two antagonists (Clanton and Doc Holliday) symbolizing the old world, and that of the hero, incarnation of modern America.
The choice of Henry Fonda to embody the character of Wyatt Earp is particularly judicious as the actor is accustomed to playing, under the direction of John Ford, emblematic figures of American civilization (as in Toward His Destiny and The Grapes of anger).
Shot in Monument Valley (which has already served as the setting for The Fantastic Ride), The Infernal Pursuit is one of the most sumptuous Westerns of the Golden Age. Full of lyricism and humour, coupled with a relevant reflection on power, it notably inspired John Sturges, who also based himself on these mythical events to stage Settling Accounts at OK Corral in 1957.
The Infernal Pursuit of John Ford with Henry Fonda, Cathy Downs, Victor Mature…
Tonight on Arte at 8:55 p.m.