In the dusty town of Fort Griffin, Texas, Doc Holliday (Kirk Douglas) is hounded by Ed Bailey and his two friends looking for revenge. Kate Fisher (Jo Van Fleet) begs him to run away. Marshal Wyatt Earp (Burt Lancaster) arrives looking to take two prisoners but the local sheriff had already released them. Doc was previously Wyatt's dentist and not that friendly. Doc is arrested for killing Ed with a knife throw. Wyatt and Kate help Doc escape from an approaching lynch mob. Back in Dodge City, Kansas, Wyatt leads his brothers as the town's law. He tries to send newly arrived Doc away. Wyatt arrests Laura Denbow (Rhonda Fleming) for being a female gambler.This old fashion western directed by legendary John Sturges is led by two top level Hollywood stars. They are able to drive the story through its long winding road. Along with the old stars, there are younger actors like Dennis Hopper and DeForest Kelley. It's not necessarily breaking the mold. The action is mostly straight forward. The running time is a little long but it does end with a solid gun fight at the O.K. Corral.

There are many fine features, eg photography, score, performances generally. However in a film 2 hours long the famous corral only appears in the last 30 minutes. By then too much time has been spent on too a loose story line. Of the performances the interplay between Erp and Doc Halliday is good. The two women though look far too alike. Both redheads......?Lancaster probably makes a better Erp than Wayne would have done in this film. In many ways in fact I kept on thinking of "Rio Bravo". That is even longer and for much of the time nothing seems to happen. But it work. And personally I think the gunfight in "Rio Bravo" is better. Most people will not agree.

Solid production with two great action-drama stars in the lead roles yet this movie just doesn't feel at all special. Maybe it is the fact that since this movie several other movies have been made about the famous gunfight at the OK Corral, and they were more accurate and more engaging. Tombstone (1993) covered not just the gunfight but the aftermath, which stretched for years. Wyatt Earp (1994) was an extensive study on Wyatt Earp, including the gunfight, though was overly long and a bit laboured.So, now, it feels dated and surpassed. However, for its time this movie is okay. Good performances by Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas in the lead roles, plus the cinematography and action scenes are good. Plot is a touch dull, as the gunfight is really the only exciting part. While the backstory is very important, it feels overdone and padded.Ultimately, a so-so movie. Rather watch Tombstone for the full, accurate story.

Don't go looking for subtlety in GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL; it is basically a vehicle for Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas to show off their acting skills. Lancaster's Wyatt Earp is both morally upright and restrained, contrasted with Douglas' amoral Doc Holliday. Eventually the two of them form an unlikely partnership, as they protect their communities against invasion from unwanted enemies. John Sturges' production contains many classic scenes from Westerns - long pans of a lonely landscape, bad guys riding into town amid a cloud of dust, and the hero riding off into the sunset at the end. The theme tune - from Frankie Laine - sums up the story. Produced during the height of the Cold War, GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL can be read an an allegory of US-Soviet relations at that time. But even if viewers don't want to look at the film like that, it's still tremendous fun - episodic in structure, yet filmed with a style and panache that still entertains.