Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die

This is an unheralded little gem of a western. Full of rock-solid actors, but no big stars (Richard Dix, the biggest name in the cast, was beginning to settle into character parts after a long career as a leading man), this tight little western moves like lightning. Director William McGann made his name as an action specialist and second-unit director at Warner Bros. (it definitely has the Warner Bros. "look" to it, even though it's from Paramount), and he proved here that he was more than capable of handling a bigger-budget western. Tightly paced, full of rousing action and good performances, it deserves to be better known than it is.

Previous reviewers of this film damn it with faint praise if that, but I found it noteworthy as yet another chapter in the Wyatt Earp saga as viewed by Hollywood. The real Earp hung around Hollywood till his death around 1929 and got to know some of the movie makers. Stuart Lake's biography was published in 1931, and Clarence Kelland's TOMBSTONE on which this movie is supposedly based, according to the screen credits, was well known. Well, Hollywood and history are only kissing cousins when it comes to factual matters, and this movie brushes along a lot of truths. But the one thing it does well is the depiction of the legendary gunfight at the OK Corral. The actual fight occurred in a very short space and took a very short time totally unlike the depictions in John Ford's MY DARLING CLEMENTINE and the Burt Lancaster/Kirk Douglas GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL. The depiction here comes closest in the movies to every film and TV version (such as the "You Are There" version) to the actual event as detailed in the many recent histories of Wyatt Earp. It also depicts the murder of Morgan Earp very well since that event occurred soon after the gunfight. As a movie, however, it meanders a lot probably because it tries to tell too many stories at the same time. Earp has to contend not only with unruly cowboys and outlaws but also political corruption at the highest level. The horrendous time waster is spent on Earp's attempt to save a totally fictional person, a young man called Johnny, from a life of crime and to promote the guy's romance with a girl who follows him from Kansas. The antagonist for much of the movie is Curly Bill, played by Edgar Buchanan with much juicy relish, and he has his minions in Ike and Phin Clanton and Indian Charlie, who were real people in Earp's life, but who had no such fates as described in the movie. The shoot out at the end following an abortive robbery of a silver shipment provides an exciting climax, but has no relation to actual events. Sadly, Kent Taylor as Doc Holliday has very little to do to show his acting skills, and Richard Dix as Wyatt Earp is sometimes so low key as to seem he is sleepwalking through a movie he finds boring. Because this film is seldom seen, and has some worthwhile parts to it for western movie fans and for Wyatt Earp fans, I recommend it -- not for its historical accuracy, but for its contribution to myth making.

This film begins in the late 1800's with "Wyatt Earp" (Richard Dix), "Virgil Earp" (Rex Bell) and "Morgan Earp" (Harvey Stephens) riding into the town of Tombstone, Arizona. Once there, they find a number of cowboys led by a man named "Curly Bill Brocious" (Edgar Buchanan) firing their pistols in the air and causing a great commotion. It is soon revealed that these same cowboys generally act with impunity due in large part to the corruption of the town mayor "Dan Crane" (Chartles Halton) and the local magistrate "Judge Fred Horgan" (Charters). At first, the Earp brothers pretty much take everything in stride until a young boy is shot and killed by one of these cowboys and nothing is done about it. It's then that Wyatt decides to become the town sheriff and with the help of "Doc Holliday" (Kent Taylor) and his two brothers decides to clean up the town once and for all. What they don't fully appreciate, however, is the fact that Curly Joe and his outlaws have no intention of allowing anyone to dictate how they will, or will not, behave. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a decent Western which--like most films based on true events--is somewhat embellished by Hollywood to attract larger audiences. To that effect, I suppose it succeeds to a certain extent. Having said that, however, I must admit that the story drags in certain places and perhaps encompasses too much detail in some aspects. Be that as it may, I found the movie to be quite watchable and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Gunslinger Wyatt Earp (Richard Dix) applies his sharpshooting talents to enforcing the law as the deputy of Tombstone, Ariz. And Tombstone, it turns out, can use Earp's help. The town is under the control of the bandit Curly Bill (Edgar Buchanan) and his gang of outlaws. With the help of his friend Doc Holliday (Kent Taylor), Earp attempts to run the bandits out of town. But Curly Bill isn't ready to comply. Only a showdown at the O. K. Corral will settle the score.

A decent retelling of the Tombstone legend starts, oddly enough, with narration by the town itself. I found that quite inventive and a great introduction- Richard Dix makes a philosophical Wyatt Earp who tries to reform Johnny -Don Castle - before he goes down the lawless route courtesy of Bill Brocious. Most of the subplot of Earp reforming Johnny takes up most of the film, and it is quite interesting.

If you're expecting an intense or dark version of Tombstone and Wyatt Earp, then you will be disappointed. This 1942 version is a lively, conversational retelling with light moments as well as action-packed ones. The finale at OK Corral is quite well done.

This film would probably have made a great two or three stories. In fact, if you chopped the movie into three stories, they would have made great 30 minute western TV episodes. But this is the early 40s and years before TV.

The film reeled me in with the promise of Richard Dix as Wyatt Earp in yet another tale based on the Tombstone Legend. Yes, not all of the Earp brothers who were in Tombstone are in the film and Doc Holliday is completely healthy, but then none of the filmed versions of this western tale have ever been totally accurate.

What is bothersome is how the much the script just changes course using hackneyed themes. The film starts out with what seems to be a head villain, Curly Bill Brocious (Edgar Buchanan) menacing the town and Wyatt accepting the job of sheriff to rein him in. Bill has a kind of "headquarters" out of town and is discussing how to get rid of Wyatt when in walks a completely fictitious character, Johnny Duane, who is looking for a job and doesn't care if he works for Mr. Evil (Bill) or not. His job is to get close to Wyatt, and work for him if he can, and ultimately kill him. So then bad guy Bill totally disappears and this becomes all about Johnny Duane and how conflicted he is over good versus evil, Wyatt versus Bill. Then it segueys into a romantic conflict when Wyatt sends for Johnny's girl and they break up after a heated argument. Next thing you know Johnny's girl is working as a saloon girl??? In 21st century terms that would be the equivalent of a CPA breaking up with her boyfriend and deciding the way to get even is to change careers and start slithering around a pole unclothed in a seedy nightclub. What the???

So in come the Clantons and the McClowerys, the historic shootout at the OK Corral, and yet Ike Clanton (Victor Jory), who is portrayed as a cowardly little weasel (my apologies to weasels everywhere, they make great pets), is just told to get out of town after shooting at law enforcement???? In probably the strangest development in the entire film - and there is lots of competition - Wyatt is simultaneously indicted for murder in the OK Corral shootout AND named a US Marshall. How this is resolved is never explained.

Then there is Doc Holliday apparently shot to death by a cowardly assassin in a pool hall, and then bad Bill Brocious - back from a vacation? - reappears for the big finale, which I have to admit was cleverly done and not just your generic shootout. However the still gray and double-minded Johnny Duane is still hanging around Wyatt, who says that Bill was one villain that he respected???Huh???

Totally weird western that is one part Bill Brocious versus Wyatt, one part Johnny Duane versus himself, one part western romance, and one part the traditional shootout at the OK Corral story. The writer definitely should be run out of town. Actually, the writer was Charles Reisner, a director of early talking comedies at MGM that were not half bad. The western genre, or maybe writing, is definitely not up his alley.

Kudos to Edgar Buchanan as bad Bill. I'm used to seeing him as sedentary Uncle Joe on Petticoat Junction and I never knew he could move so much. This film appeared on the Starz Western channel, obviously restored. I can't believe with so many first rate Paramounts in their library, Universal would choose this one to clean up for modern audiences.