Saw this in the early 90s on a vhs. Revisited it few days back on a blu-ray. This is another take on the OK Corral shootout, more entertaining n has a better shoot out sequence n good cinematography. Once again v get to c a young Lee Van Cleef in a very short role but this time he gets a few dialogues unlike in High Noon. Cleef wants to eliminate Doc. Unknown to Cleef, Doc is a skilled knife thrower besides being a qualified dentist n a gunslinger whose aim cannot be questioned because none of his opponents r alive. Watch the reply Doc gives to Earp after being questioned regarding shooting guns. V also get to c a very young n unrecognisable Dennis Hopper who is being preached by Earp about the dangers of a life of gun-slinging for the young. The best thing about the film is the chemistry n the performances of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. Sturges' direction is wonderfully simple but nowhere close to The Great Escape n Magnificent Seven.

Released in 1957 and directed by John Sturges, "Gunfight at the OK Corral" stars Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday in a loose adaption of the events that led up to the famous shootout in Tombstone, Arizona, on October 26, 1881. Rhonda Fleming and Jo Van Fleet are on hand as the protagonists' respective babes. Earl Holliman is noteworthy as Earp's deputy in Dodge City while John Ireland plays Johnny Ringo. DeForest Kelley (Bones from Star Trek) has a small role as one of the Earp brothers while a young Dennis Hopper plays Billy Clanton. This is a dialogue-driven production that reflects the era in which it was made, hokey opening cowboy song and all. If you can acclimate to its 'world' there are a lot of rewarding elements, particularly the growing friendship of Wyatt and Doc, which starts out shaky, to say the least. It's their relationship that anchors the story, which has trouble working up suspense since it takes place in three distant locations—Fort Griffen, Texas; Dodge City, Kansas; and Tombstone, Arizona. By the time the Earp brothers & Holliday relocate to Tombstone there are a mere 50 minutes left in the movie, which means there's only a small measure of time to establish the villainy of Ike Clanton (Lyle Bettger) & his 'Cowboys' outlaw gang and subsequently build-up to the climatic shootout. Speaking of which, the real Tombstone gunfight only lasted about 30 seconds; here's it's 16-times longer at 8 minutes. Most other versions are more accurate on this count, e.g. "Hour of the Gun" (1967) (which, by the way, is Sturges' sequel to this one, albeit with a different cast and a more accurate gunfight at the OK Corral), "Doc" (1971), "Tombstone" (1993) and "Wyatt Earp" (1994). Speaking of "Tombstone," one of the reasons it was a hit is because it had well over an hour to build up to the main shootout and did so expertly; "Wyatt Earp" less so, but then "Wyatt" excels in areas that "Tombstone" doesn't, like mundane realism and exposition on the title character. Besides the anchor of Wyatt and Doc's relationship "Gunfight at the OK Corral" does try to work-up suspense through a fictitious growing rivalry between Doc and Johnny Ringo. While this is a talky Western it's interspersed with nigh shocking violence, like a knife-to-the-chest in the opening act. Nevertheless, it IS dialogue-oriented so to get the most out of it you'll have to (1.) listen closely or (2.) use the subtitles, like I did, which helps you keep track of names and various important (mumbled) statements. I shouldn't close without mentioning Rhonda Fleming and her whoa-man beauty in a fictitious peripheral role. The film runs 122 minutes and was shot in Old Tucson and other Arizona locations, as well as Paramount Ranch and Paramount Studios, California. GRADE: B-

Before this movie was released My Darling Clementine (1946)was the most unabashedly absurd movie ever made about the famous gunfight. Both movies were laughable and appalling and a waste of talent. This The Gunfight at the OK Corral had as much to do in reality with the actual gunfight as the re-enactment on Star Trek did. There are no saguaro cacti as far south as Tombstone. Both movies use them as props. When you enter Tombstone from the north the cemetery is on your left, not right as in both movies. The fight lasted less than 30 seconds. It was not a running gun battle. If America cared about history our defense forces would call in an air strike on Hollywood.

Unfortunately this big production western is over-inflated. That's an endemic problem for movies of this expensive type. It's a star-studded cast, which means the headliners, Lancaster, Douglas, Fleming, and Van Fleet (coming off an Oscar for East of Eden {1954}), must get appropriate screen time. The result here is that the story gets stretched out into too many subplots and a leisurely pace. Of course, the gunfight at OK Corral should be the centerpiece. Instead, however, it's simply one more episode in an episodic narrative. First, we have to get through the many other gunfights and romantic interludes that stretch out the 2-hour run-time. Thus, the big showdown loses much of its in-built suspense. It also doesn't help that the Clanton's, with the exception of Billy (Hopper), are underwritten. In short, the bad guys are not etched strongly enough as individuals, which would have made the shootout more personal and suspenseful.That's not to say headliners Douglas (Holliday) and Lancaster (Earp) are not excellent in their roles. They are. It is to say that the Laura (Fleming) role should have been junked as unnecessary, glamour value or no, while Kate's (VanFleet) role should have been reduced since we get the idea early on. Of course, Hollywood was still trying to out-compete TV in 1956, which likely explains much of the movie's unnecessary sprawl. What the movie does do well is develop the friendship between Earp and Holliday, without sentimentalizing it. Also the VistaVision makes for an impressive visual experience that TV could not emulate. Nonetheless, I'm afraid this version of the celebrated gunfight, suffers in comparison with John Ford's tightly done, My Darling Clementine (1946), even if the latter is filmed in lowly b&w.(In passing—I don't go to movies for historical accuracy, nor do I expect it from an industry whose overriding object is profit.)