Watched two classic Westerns last night:
My Darling Clementine (1946)
This is a version of the Wyatt Earp story that John Ford fabricated for the sake of the movie. If you've seen Tombstone you will be particularly interested in this one, it has Henry Fonda as Earp instead of Kurt Russell and honestly I kind of like his portrayal more. I definitely prefer Val Kilmer's Doc to the actor in this one, who's name I forgot, but they really portray the character and his relationship to Earp differently here than Tombstone, so that's relevant. Anyways it's a very simple movie, really pretty and manages to stay compelling even though you kind of know what's going to happen given the notoriety of the story. Very good though.
High Noon (1952)
Apparently this one had a lot to do with the McCarthyism of the time and is an allegory against blacklisting, which is why John Wayne turned down the part. Probably for the best because Gary Cooper fucking kills it in this one. His character, the sincerity and simplistic morality he displays is 95% of what keep my interest watching it. It was very pretty and had a lot of cool shots, particularly of the desolate town, railroad tracks, etc. Not a ton of action, preferring instead to really build up to an intense climax which was okay. Can't say more without spoiling it. Might need to watch this one again to really appreciate it.