7 secondes en enfer

Here is yet another Wyatt Earp story. I wasn't aware of this version until early in the summer of 2005. I thought I had seen them all. Judging by the amount of reviews in here, I wasn't alone in not knowing about this film. I am glad I got it, but It was just okay; nothing special.

None of the three top characters: James Garner as Earp, Jason Robards as "Doc Holliday" or Robert Ryan as "Ike Clanton" can match up to their best of their counterparts in other Earp films.....but they were still pretty good and certainly three famous actors. The only one who might have been a little out of place was Robards, who played a little too subdued "Doc."

Still, the similarities are there in all the Earp movie versions including this one: the gunfight at the OK Corral, the courtroom trials, the train scene near the end, Holliday's illness, etc. One thing missing from this is any love interest, which actually was nice to have left out for once.

The story of the showdown between the brothers Earp and the Clanton gang is certainly as much a part of American mythology as the Puritans on the first Thanksgiving or Lincoln at Gettysburg. Hollywood certainly loves to tell the tale over and over again. In fact this is director John Sturges's second telling.

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.

Hour of the Gun is a superb western with a top-notch cast and a most memorable musical score. So why was it a box-office flop? Unfortunately it came along at a time when westerns were on their way out, no longer fashionable. The hour of the "ridiculous gun" had arrived. Westerns were soon replaced with parodies of westerns such as Support Your Local Sheriff, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, etc. Fun movies to be sure, but the cynicism which had begun to take hold in America in 1967 and made them hits was a death knell for serious films about the old west. For me, Hour of the Gun has stood the test of time. It's as absorbing now as when I first saw it. If it were re-released today, would it succeed at the box office? Probably not. Although the cynicism of 1967 is gone, it has been replaced by male-bashing. This film is strictly for guys. There's no female lead character or even a minor one. No wonder Hour of the Gun is still consigned to the rotten tomatoes bin. Although it's a darn good movie, its "hour" may never come, at least not in our lifetime.

Hour of the Gun is directed by John Sturges and adapted to screenplay by Edward Anhalt from Douglas D. Martin's novel Tombstone's Epitaph. It stars James Garner, Jason Robards and Robert Ryan. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography is by Lucien Ballard. Story begins with the shootout at the O.K. Corral and tells of the aftermath involving the major players.

Although John Sturges' Gunfight at the O.K. Corall ten years previously proved to be popular, the director was never happy with the finished project, due in no small part to the fact that Hal B. Wallis controlled the script. Here Sturges takes control and crafts what in essence is a sequel to the 57 movie. Leaning more towards a character study with a dark edge, Hour of the Gun is refreshing in giving the Wyatt Earp/Doc Holliday characters a different story than the one we normally see on the screen; one that actually attempts historical accuracy where possible.

Viewing it now it's easy to see why the film was received coldly back on release. The Western movie was just about creaking along as a viable cinematic genre as it was, but with Sturges and Anhalt portraying one of America's folklore heroes in moral decline, it's unsurprising that it found itself out of sync with the times. However, time has been very kind to it, where over decades the re-evaluation of many a psychological Western has seen it viewed as one of the more bolder and cynical tinted oaters from the 60s.

With a fine script from Anhalt to work from, who also features as a player in the film as Holliday's whiskey smuggling carer, the cast work well. Ryan files in for villain duties as Ike Clanton and Garner as Earp and Robards as Holliday make for a suitably sombre pairing. There's also some quality in the support ranks where Albert Salmi, John Voight, Jorge Russeck and Karl Swenson leave good impressions. With Goldsmith tonally aware for the scoring and master photographer Ballard utilising the Panavision on offer for the Durango locations, it's an all round well put together production.

Some fat could have done with being trimmed off it to get it 10 minutes shorter; for the story starts to feel over long entering the last quarter. But Hour of the Gun is not only a better than your average 60s Western, it's also one of the better Wyatt Earp movies available to those interested in the subject. 7.5/10

It's Oct 26, 1881 Tombstone, Territory of Arizona. Wyatt Earp (James Garner)'s group fight Ike Clanton (Robert Ryan)'s group at the O.K. Corral. Ike survives and Wyatt is brought up on charges with the help of the corrupt local sheriff. Wyatt is cleared. His brother Virgil runs for sheriff and is severely injured in an ambush. His other brother Morgan is elected and promptly killed. He sends his family to California. He gets appointed as a new federal marshal for Arizona. With the help of friend Doc Holliday (Jason Robards) and his supporters, he takes on Clanton and his gang.

It's interesting to start the movie where most Tombstone movies end. Supposedly, this is based more on the real events. John Sturges directs this with his steady hands. Most of it rests on James Garner's solid performance. His character is restrained by the law and circumstances. He suppresses what must be overwhelming anger. I would prefer a bit more action to intensify the traditional western and more anger to show Wyatt's emotions. Nevertheless, it's compelling to see this part of the story done well.