Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

George Scullin (article)
Leon Uris (writer)

Release Date:

30 May 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Plot Keywords:

Doc Holliday | Gunfight | Showdown | Gunfight At The O.k. Corral | Western Town

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Burt Lancaster	...	Marshal Wyatt Earp
Kirk Douglas	...	Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday
Rhonda Fleming	...	Laura Denbow
Jo Van Fleet	...	Kate Fisher
John Ireland	...	Johnny Ringo
Lyle Bettger	...	Ike Clanton
Frank Faylen	...	Sheriff Cotton Wilson
Earl Holliman	...	Deputy Sheriff Charles 'Charlie' Bassett
Ted de Corsia	...	Shanghai Pierce - Cattleman
Dennis Hopper	...	Billy Clanton
Whit Bissell	...	John P. Clum - 'Tombstone Epitaph' Editor
George Mathews	...	John Shanssey - Griffin Saloonkeeper
John Hudson	...	Virgil Earp
DeForest Kelley	...	Morgan Earp
Martin Milner	...	James 'Jimmy' Earp

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | West Germany:16 (nf) | Netherlands:6 | UK:A (original rating) (cut) | USA:Not Rated | UK:PG (1988) (video rating) | Ireland:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | South Korea:12 (2006) | Finland:K-16 | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Agoura Ranch, Agoura, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The actual gunfight took place on 26 October 1881 and lasted a mere 30 seconds, resulting in three dead men after an exchange of 34 bullets. Compared to this adaptation, the movie gunfight took 4 days to film and produced an on-screen bloodbath that lasted 5 minutes.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Wyatt meets Sheriff Cotton at Cotton's office in Texas, Wyatt tells Cotton that ten years ago, Wyatt had observed Cotton shooting it out with the criminal element in an Oklahoma City saloon. The gunfight took place in 1881 - Oklahoma City was not founded until 1889.

Quotes:

Kate Fisher: What difference does it make to you where I go or who I take up with?
Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday: Shut up!
Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday: [throwing her dress on the floor] Get your things together. You're leaving!
Johnny Ringo: [entering from the bedroom] She's staying here!
Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday: Keep out of this, Ringo!
Johnny Ringo: You got no right to come bustin' in here!
Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday: I'm talking to Kate. Take a walk!
Kate Fisher: Anything you got to say you can say in front of him.
Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday: [with contempt] You slut!
Johnny Ringo: Wait a minute, Holliday. You don't talk to my woman like that!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven' (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

Burt and Kirk Take on the Clantons!

'Gunfight at O.K. Corral' is one of the many films that have told the tale of the famous showdown between the Earps and the Clantons, but setting this version apart is the ideal casting of Burt Lancaster as the straight-shooting Marshal Wyatt Earp, and Kirk Douglas as the sardonic, dying gambler, Doc Holliday. As in all their pairings, there is a chemistry between them that makes even mundane scripts seem magical!

Lancaster, continuing his rule of alternating between heavy drama and action films, researched the historic Earp extensively, speaking to many who knew him, and his performance is restrained and assured. Douglas, on the other hand, fresh from playing Vincent Van Gogh in 'Lust for Life', knew he needed a splashy hit film, and played Doc Holliday as larger than life, swaggering, diseased, and charismatic. His portrayal is far closer in spirit to the interpretations of Holliday by Val Kilmer, in 'Tombstone', and Dennis Quaid, in 'Wyatt Earp', than Victor Mature, in John Ford's 'My Darling Clementine'.

The film, co-written by Leon Uris, author of 'Exodus', is a historically fanciful but very entertaining exploration of the friendship between Earp and Holliday, as the lawman moves from Dodge City to Tombstone, followed by the gambler, covering a 'blood debt', after Earp saves his life. The climax is, naturally, the infamous gun battle between the Earps (with Holliday) versus the Clanton family and their allies. While purists will quickly note that the shoot-'em-up presented is totally fabricated (watch 'Wyatt Earp' or 'Tombstone' if you want accuracy), it certainly is rousing!

Other aspects of the film to enjoy...Dimitri Tiompkin's magnificent musical score, highlighted by Frankie Laine's unforgettable performance of the title tune, throughout the film...Excellent supporting players, including Jo Van Fleet as Holliday's mistress, John Ireland as evil Johnny Ringo, a young Dennis Hopper as Billy Clanton, and Rhonda Fleming as the gambler girlfriend of Wyatt (based on Earp's actual wife, Josie)...Cameos by Kenneth Tobey as Bat Masterson, DeForest Kelley as Morgan Earp, Martin Milner as James Earp, and Frank Faylen as the corrupt sheriff.

The director, John Sturges, revisited the Earp saga some years later in 'Hour of the Gun', with James Garner as Earp, and Jason Robards as Holliday, but while the later film may be more correct, historically, 'Gunfight at the O.K. Corral' is a far more enjoyable film.

I strongly recommend it to any western fan!