FRONTIER MARSHAL (1939) Directed by Allan Dwan

Another re-telling of the Wyatt Earp story. As usual all the plot points and characters have been thrown into the air to see where they land. This time around Wyatt Earp is an ex-army scout who arrives in Tombstone and becomes town marshal. He meets Doc Halliday (sic) who here is not a dentist but a doctor. The central story follows the familiar story later used by Ford in MY DARLING CLEMENTINE but diverges when Doc is murdered by Curly Bill Brocious and Earp heads to the O.K.Corral alone. Earp is played by Randolph Scott without any attempt at accuracy but Cesar Romero is an acceptable Doc, although John Carradine, who is one of the film's villains, would have been a better choice. Uniquely, Eddie Foy Jr. appears as his own father. The film is watchable but nothing outstanding. Rating **