“My Darling Clementine” (荒野の決斗 / 荒野の決闘), Original Japanese Re-Release Movie Poster 1962, STB / Tatekan (c. 51 × 145 cm) — Ultra Rare K365
This is an original Japanese STB / tatekan signboard poster, formed from two matching B2 panels, produced for the 1962 Japanese theatrical re-release of My Darling Clementine—John Ford’s landmark 1946 Western starring Henry Fonda, Victor Mature, Linda Darnell, Cathy Downs, and Walter Brennan. The poster uses the revival-era title spelling 荒野の決斗, rather than the modern standard 荒野の決闘, and carries the period distribution credit 「20世紀フォックス作品 東急文化配給部提供」 along its lower margin. Japan’s National Film Archive records this campaign as the film’s 1962 revival release.
Film background
Released in 1946, My Darling Clementine is John Ford’s lyrical retelling of the Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday legend, culminating in the confrontation with the Clanton family at the O.K. Corral. Rather than functioning simply as a gunfight picture, the film explores the gradual transformation of the frontier from lawlessness toward community and civilisation. Its restrained performances, Monument Valley photography, quiet humour, romantic melancholy, and almost mythic treatment of the American West have established it as one of the defining works of the genre.
Poster design
A spectacular, high-impact Japan-only revival composition that transforms the film’s original monochrome imagery into a richly saturated mid-century colour design. The upper panel is dominated by a hand-tinted montage of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday: one figure stares intensely into the distance while holding a large revolver across the centre of the artwork, with the second figure positioned immediately behind him. Their pale Western hats and sharply modelled faces emerge dramatically from the deep blue-black background.
Across the top, the enormous cream-yellow title 荒野の決斗 is rendered in bold, hand-cut Japanese lettering against a dark brown field. The contrasting turquoise credit beneath announces 「ヘンリィ・フォンダ・ヴィクター・マチュア 主演」, while the vivid orange vertical slogan running down the left side declares:
「巨匠ジョン・フォードが西部劇史上に残した空前絶後の一大叙事詩！」
Translation: “The incomparable grand epic that master John Ford left in the history of the Western!”
The lower panel opens into a vast frontier landscape beneath a blazing red, orange, and ochre sky. A solitary lawman, viewed from behind, walks down the deserted main street toward the distant town and desert buttes—a powerful image of duty, isolation, and the approaching final confrontation. The English title JOHN FORD’S MY DARLING CLEMENTINE appears above the landscape in red lettering, while the panel join creates a natural transition from the monumental character portrait to the expansive Western setting below.
About STB (Tatekan) posters
STBs, or tatekans, are tall, two-panel Japanese cinema signboard posters measuring approximately 51.5 × 145.6 cm—about 20.3 × 57.3 inches. Each example consists of two separate B2 sheets, individually measuring approximately 51.5 × 72.8 cm, designed to be joined vertically at the cinema. They were distributed compactly and assembled on-site for display in theatre entrances, signboards, and other narrow vertical advertising spaces. Because both correctly matched panels must survive together, complete vintage examples are particularly desirable to collectors.
Condition
Excellent vintage condition. The colours remain rich and impressive, particularly the cream-yellow title, orange typography, deep blue background, and crimson sunset. Please review the photographs—they show the exact poster for sale.
It is over 63 years old!
It is not a reproduction or a modern reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
