Hour of the Gun (1967)

Doc: “You got some kind of plan?”
Wyatt: “We take anyone who gets in our way.”
Doc: “You call that a plan?”
Wyatt: “You got a better one?”

The “Gunfight at the OK Corral” is one of the cornerstones of American mythology, having been filmed more often than any other western subject save the legend of Billy the Kid.

John Sturges made the definitive version of the famous gunfight in 1957, starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, respectively. It is, in my opinion, among the top ten westerns of all time, yet, for some reason Sturges felt he needed another stab at the story. Ten years after Gunfight, Sturges made Hour of the Gun with James Garner and Jason Robards, Jr. in the Earp/Holliday roles.

Whereas Gunfight climaxed with the famous gunbattle, Hour of the Gun begins there and shows the events that followed. Unlike a fairy tale, where “they all lived happily ever after,” Hour shows the showdown was just the beginning of the trials and tribulations.

After the gunfight, a coroner’s inquest is held and Ike Clanton (Robert Ryan) tries to bring murder charges against the three Earp brothers and Doc Holliday. The judge points out a couple of holes in the prosecution’s case so he dismisses the charges, ruling the killings were in lawful performance of their duties. Clanton decides to pursue a more active policy to get rid of the hated Earps. On the eve of the election for marshall, Clanton’s minions bushwhack two of the Earps, killing one and crippling the other. Wyatt, supported by Doc Holliday, goes on a manhunt to bring the malefactors to justice, but somewhere along the way, the line is blurred between lawful justice and vengeance. That is the conflict that drives the rest of the story. Was Wyatt Earp a hero with a badge or a cold-blooded killer? You’ll have to watch the rest of the story and decide for yourself.

Both James Garner and Jason Robards, Jr. do a compelling job, with Robards secretly worshipping Garner’s integrity and being aghast as it disintegrates before his eyes. The supporting cast includes several famous actors who were unknown at the time - Jon Voight, Monte Markham, and Frank Converse, as well as the renowned Robert Ryan and other familiar faces like William Windom and William Schallert.

Hour of the Gun is a transitional western, sitting on the fence between the traditional Hollywood stylization and the gritty cinema realite style that was already being hinted at by the spaghetti westerns of Clint Eastwood and would be fully realized by Peckinpah’s seminal bloodbath The Wild Bunch. As such, it is a little incongruous with the obvious sets and costuming combined with some fairly coarse violence. So, while the Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday characters are pleasingly complex, their adversaries are little more than cardboard cutouts. Robert Ryan, as usual, makes a great villain, but gets little screen time here. A couple more points in its favor - the luscious Lucien Ballard cinematography - he was one of the best; and the flavorful Jerry Goldsmith score, sparse but painting the picture along with the visuals and adding an understated air of menace as the manhunt proceeds.

The recently released MGM DVD means you can watch Hour of the Gun in its 2.35:1 widescreen glory. The color by DeLuxe is well preserved and good looking. The movie runs 100 minutes and there are subtitles and the theatrical trailer - a pretty good one - included as extra features.

All told, Hour of the Gun is a solid western. It does not supersede the other views of the OK Corral gunfight, but for western fans or fans of James Garner, Robert Ryan, or Jason Robards, Jr. it’s worth a look.

More films about the Gunfight at the OK Corral include -

The Gunfight at the OK Corral

My Darling Clementine - John Ford’s version

Tombstone

Watch a good film tonight!

3.5 stars, rounded to 4

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening