We sat down and watched an array of movies this last weekend to refresh my memory on these really cool movies that depict Doc Holliday in them! After I am done talking about them I will rank them in two categories: how accurate they were and how much I liked them (This rank will be based solely on the Doc Figure in the film)
Spoilers ahead
Our First movie was Hour of the Gun from 1967. This movie starts with the Legendary Gunfight and moves into what happens after the Gunfight. The Trial plays out the way you'd expect. I feel like this movie did a really good job portraying the trial and then the events that happened after the trial. With the cowboys feeling like justice was not served and took the law into their own hands, shooting down Virgil and killing Morgan. That's when Doc (Jason Robards) and Wyatt Earp (James Garner) start off on the "Vendetta Ride"
In this movie during the "Vendetta Ride" they even took a detour to take Doc to the sanatorium. I thought that was a nice touch within the movie.
The next movie we watched was Doc from 1971. This one has always been one of my favorites! I love this movie not for any of the historical facts but for the closeness of Doc (Stacy Keach) and Wyatt (Harris Yulin). They start off very close and as the film progresses they start to diverge in two seperate directions which is heartbreaking to see happen to close friends. This film covers more of a romantic relationship between Doc and Kate (Faye Dunaway) then the real historical story.
The film ends with the iconic Gunfight in the Vacant Lot Next to the OK Corral and Fly's Photography Gallery. With an ending that is no where near historically accurate. I think they just needed a way to end the film and this was the way to do it.
The next movie we watched and mind you it is now midnight haha, is The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral from 1957 with Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday and Burt Lancaster as Wyatt Earp. This movie used to be one of my favorites but as I have matured and gotten more into Doc Holliday lore I have to believe this Doc Holliday is more of a Bat Masterson's Doc Holliday and I am less apt to believe Bat Masterson. While I do believe he was hot tempered I don't believe he was this explosive.
One thing I have noticed though, in movies that are just a broad scope of this time and the gunfight seem to focus more on Doc then Wyatt. I used to always believe Doc was the sidekick and not the main character but the more I watch the more I believe he is the main character. Anyways, some thoughts about this movie. This movie's entire idea was the gunfight so they had to make it the main focus after they introduced the characters and everything like that. But the gufight in reality took a total of 30 seconds, this movie takes like 20 minutes on the gunfight. While it's a nice watch it isn't my favorite any more.
Now this is the next day, we start with Wyatt Earp from 1994 and while I was never a fan of this film in the past I was excited to give it a chance this time. The first portion of this film is the childhood and growing up of Wyatt and his brothers. I really enjoyed seeing that and getting a refresher of Wyatt's past. Then Wyatt (Kevin Costner) meets Doc Holliday (Dennis Quaid) while he is chasing Dave Rudabaugh. They make their friendship here.
After the Gunfight this movie skips the trial to make for a better viewing session. They got right into the Cowboy's revenge and then it abruptly cuts to 17 years later. This movie could have had so much more content but because it was already going on 4 hours I am guessing they didn't want to wast anymore runtime with more details than that.
Our last and great finale was Tombstone from 1993. Val Kilmer was Doc Holliday and easily the star of this show, his companion Kurt Russell; Wyatt Earp paled in comparison to his performance. I know I never mentioned the sickness in any of the other movies and while it was there, and well played, Val Kilmer's sickness was the most believable that you could tell he was playing a dying man. I have never noticed before now but Tombstone actually takes a lot of it's inspiration from Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and probably others like The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp from the 1950s-60s.
When I was first introduced to Doc Holliday this was also my first introduction into the Legend he'd become. I know now that he didn't kill as many as portrayed in this film or any other film. This film's Gunfight was a little drawn out, they skipped the trial and allowed time for the cowboy's revenge. Also allowing plenty of time for the "Vendetta Ride"
Rank Based on Accuracy: | Rank Based on How Much I Liked It: |
Wyatt Earp | Doc |
Tombstone | Tombstone |
Hour of the Gun | Hour of the Gun |
Doc | Wyatt Earp |
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral |
Ranking these have been really hard. Some of them should be on the same line as others. But I would be curious to know what you think about this list and what your thoughts are about each movie. Please leave a comment below about what you feel about each one I look forward to hearing about it.
Also Go ahead and vote for your favorite on below! :D
Out of the Movies which one is your Favorite?
Tombstone 1993
Wyatt Earp 1994
Doc 1971
Hour of the Gun 1967
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