Hour of the Gun (1967)

In contrast to many films on the subject, this opens (rather than closes) with with famous gunfight at the OK Corral, and the remainder of the film spends time following up on the recriminations afterwards. Unlike many of the earlier films (including director John Sturges own effort on the subject) this one broadly tries to get the history, which is both a strength and a weakness.

An amount of historical accuracy is probably a good thing: it’s a little silly to be watching a film based on real events that’s largely completely fictional. Where it falls down slightly is that the real events don’t necessarily make a hugely satisfying plot: it’s more a list of people that Wyatt Earp kills and the story ends when he’s finished.

On the positive side, James Garner is excellent as Wyatt Earp (which is good, since the film mainly focuses on him), creating an outwardly “heroic” facade even as he gets increasingly caught up in his own revenge quest. Jason Robards is similarly good as Doc Holliday, acting a moral contrast to Earp - he’s more morally neutral and presents that honestly to the world. He does only seem to remember to be ill when necessary for the plot though, which I found slightly unconvincing (but of course I have little idea what real TB symptoms are…).

As with basically anything by John Sturges it’s a well-made high quality film, and one that I enjoyed. I do generally prefer the less honest, more fictional, earlier films on Wyatt Earp though. But a different perspective on the story is still very welcome.