Marshal Wyatt Earp kills a couple of men of the Clanton gang in a fight. In revenge, Clanton's thugs kill the Marshal's brother. Thus, Wyatt starts to chase the killers together with his fri... Read allMarshal Wyatt Earp kills a couple of men of the Clanton gang in a fight. In revenge, Clanton's thugs kill the Marshal's brother. Thus, Wyatt starts to chase the killers together with his friend Doc Holliday.Marshal Wyatt Earp kills a couple of men of the Clanton gang in a fight. In revenge, Clanton's thugs kill the Marshal's brother. Thus, Wyatt starts to chase the killers together with his friend Doc Holliday.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPrior to production, United Artists had made it clear to director John Sturges that none of the primary roles were to be filled by actors who had played the same characters in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). Sturges believed that the roles of Virgil and Morgan Earp from the previous film were small enough that the same actors could do it again without harming the film's uniqueness. The studio agreed, and allowed Sturges to cast John Hudson and DeForest Kelley. Hudson had retired from acting in the early 1960s, and was unwilling to come back. Kelley was working on Star Trek (1966) and unable to break away. Thus, both Earp brothers were re-cast.
- GoofsIn the gunfight, it shows only Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury and Frank McLaury in the OK Corral and the Earps outside. In reality, the gunfight took place in a vacant lot behind the OK Corral. In that lot were the Earp party, Billy Clanton, the McLaury's, Ike Clanton and Billy Claibourne along with two horses.
- Quotes
Dr. Charles Goodfellow: I can't understand why I never win.
Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday: You don't play very well. Besides that, you never cheat.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: THIS PICTURE IS BASED ON FACT. THIS IS THE WAY IT HAPPENED.
TOMBSTONE, TERRITORY OF ARIZONA OCTOBER 26, 1881
- ConnectionsReferenced in Star Trek: Spectre of the Gun (1968)
The Gunfight at the OK Corral done in 1956 by this director had as the climax the famous gunfight. Here in Hour of the Gun, Sturges starts his story with the gunfight and the results afterward.
Ike Clanton played by Robert Ryan in his usual grim fashion is not about to let Wyatt Earp triumph after killing some of his gang and his kin. He sets in motion a series of events that bring tragedy on the Earp family and a sinister turn in the character of Wyatt Earp.
The usual lackadaisical and quizzical James Garner is also pretty grim in this picture. He's throwing away the law he's sworn to uphold and the set of moral rules he lives by. And it's tearing away his character which is something Doc Holiday is deeply concerned with.
James Garner ranks right up there with all the fine actors like Henry Fonda, Burt Lancaster, Randolph Scott, Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell who have played Earp. James Garner never turned a bad performance in on the screen and he even got to play Wyatt Earp again in Sunset for Blake Edwards.
And Jason Robards, Jr. goes every step of the way with Garner as Doc Holiday. Holiday is the usual cynical alcoholic who's a jaded idealist and recognizes Earp as the real deal hero. His concern for Earp's character disintegration registers well in his performance.
Watch for a young Jon Voight, pre-Midnight Cowboy, as Curly Bill Brocius, a Clanton gang member.
This is a real western classic. And except for Hugh O'Brian's television series, the most accurate portrayal of the OK Corral events.
- bkoganbing
- May 15, 2005
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,800,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1