Victor Mature | Hollywood Yesterday

Henry Fonda, Victor Mature, and Linda Darnell: My Darling Clementine (1946)

July 18, 2022 By Joi

Henry Fonda and Victor Mature, My Darling Clementine

The wonderful 1946 Western My Darling Clementine (directed by the legendary John Ford) comes up A LOT in my old Hollywood conversations.

It’s one of my top three favorite westerns.
It’s my favorite Victor Mature role and performance.
It’s one of my favorite Henry Fonda Roles.
It’s my favorite Linda Darnell performance.
It’s one of my favorite John Ford movies – in the top three.

It’s absolutely perfect and I couldn’t possibly love it any more than I do. While Fonda is perfect in the role of Wyatt Earp and Linda Darnell gives the film a lot of heart and soul as Chihuahua, I have to kind of single out Victor Mature for the job he does in bringing Doc Holliday to life. His portrayal is, in my opinion, the best – no actor can touch what he did with the role.

The cast also includes Cathy Downs as Clementine (she makes a lot out of a very small role and leaves you completely understanding Wyatt Earp’s fascination), Ward Bond, Time Holt, Jane Darwell, and Walter Brennan as most of us are unaccustomed to seeing him.. NASTY! He does a great job as a villain, even though it seems odd rooting against him instead of for him.

You can find My Darling Clementine on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Linda Darnell and Victor Mature, My Darling Clementine

Victor Mature and Lucille Ball in Easy Living (LOVE These Two!)

July 16, 2022 By Joi

Victor Mature and Lucille Ball

Two of my favorites, Victor Mature and Lucille Ball, star in the 1949 Easy Living. The drama was directed by Jacques Tourneur and also stars Lizabeth Scott, Sonny Tufts, Lloyd Nolan, Jack Paar, and Paul Stewart.

The movie doesn’t get a lot of attention and I truly believe it’s mainly because it’s never shown on television! While many people (myself included) absolutely love to stream movies and classic television series and do it regularly, a movie (and its stars) benefit GREATLY from television exposure. Many such stars, Victor Mature included, have films that aren’t shown as often and suffer because of it.

Think about it, if a greater VARIETY of films were shown on television regularly, more people would be exposed to a greater variety of stars. The entire genre of old Hollywood would benefit so greatly. While I understand (completely!) televising favorites such as Casablanca, The Women, and Singin’ in the Rain, I would love to see more attention given to the obscure, all but forgotten films that kind of get lost in the shuffle.

Okay… rant over!

You can find Easy Living on dvd (Amazon link) or watch on Prime Video. I highly recommend it, the cast (especially the two remarkable people shown here) is wonderful.

Victor Mature and Lucille Ball

Rita Hayworth and Victor Mature in My Gal Sal

January 18, 2022 By Joi

Rita Hayworth and Victor Mature

Rita Hayworth and Victor Mature star in the 1942 My Gal Sal, directed by Irving Cummings. I’m always surprised that this film isn’t better known. I mean, it stars Rita Hayworth and Victor Mature – how can it not be more popular?!

The movie also stars Carole Landis, John Sutton, James Gleason, and Phil Silvers.

You can find My Gal Sal on dvd (Amazon video). Unfortunately it isn’t on Prime Video yet. That’s probably a good sign of why the film isn’t better known.. it’s hard to find!