IMDb > Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
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Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) More at IMDbPro »

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Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) -- 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.

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Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   3,725 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Leon Uris (writer)
George Scullin (article)
Contact:
View company contact information for Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 May 1957 (USA) more
Genre:
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. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
Character Actor Jack Elam Dies
 (From WENN. 22 October 2003)

User Comments:
Lancaster and Douglas --- Earp and Holiday more (58 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
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Additional Details

Runtime:
122 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Second of seven films that Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster made together. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: This film depicts "Jimmy Earp" as the youngest Earp brother, and gunned down by the Clanton gang prior to the titular event. In historical reality, James Earp was the oldest, and none of them was killed in advance of the famous showdown. more
Quotes:
Cotton Wilson: There's $20,000 in it for you - cash!
Wyatt Earp: $20,000! The wages of sin are rising!
Cotton Wilson: $20,00 against a six foot hole in Boot Hill or a $20 a month pension - IF you live long enough to collect it.
more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Buffalo Gals more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
28 out of 37 people found the following comment useful.
Lancaster and Douglas --- Earp and Holiday, 9 August 2005
8/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

In one of her books Hedda Hopper devoted a chapter to both of the stars of Gunfight at the OK Corral, calling them the Terrible Twins. As a columnist Hopper was a firm defender of the old studio system and both Burt and Kirk were seen by her as betraying old Hollywood.

Now personally I think their careers show that both of these guys knew exactly what they were doing in guiding their own destinies. This film is a great example of it. It was deservedly a critical hit and a moneymaker.

No film has ever been made that completely told accurately the story of the famous gunfight, least of all this one. But it sure captures the spirit.

I think both of these guys could have played each other's part and the film still would have been a winner. The problem with playing Wyatt Earp is that he's usually such a straight arrow on screen or on television that the main job of the actor is to keep from making him sound like Dudley Doo-Right. Burt Lancaster is capable enough and did it, but Wyatt Earp maybe one of the least complex roles he ever essayed.

Kirk Douglas though is the best Doc Holiday I've ever seen portrayed. Doc Holiday is a brooding, consumptive alcoholic who's also a woman batterer. He treats Jo Van Fleet like garbage and her responses to him is responsible for several of the plot twists. As I've said before Douglas can flip into rage better than any other actor ever. Just watch him with Van Fleet after the youngest Earp brother has been killed.

Today we would call Jo Van Fleet a battered spouse even though she and Douglas are living common-law. Her's is the next best portrayal in the film besides Kirk Douglas.

Rhonda Fleming has little to do except look coquettish and beautiful as the lady gambler who Lancaster falls for. But that was usually enough for her public. It's ironic that she's playing a liberated woman for 19th century and Fleming's politics are quite right wing and Lancaster her very traditional 19th century man was a noted political liberal.

And of course the unbilled co-star is Frankie Laine singing that wonderful title song by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington. Tiomkin was one of the best of movie composers, his music gave that extra oomph into a lot of good movies, making them great.

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Johnny Ringo clashwho
Why can't I find this movie anywhere????? Jakey_Francisco
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Best Western or Second Best Western Ever Whiterim
source material Gblakelii
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