10 Things Tombstone Gets Wrong About The Gunfight At The O.K. Corral

One thing that makes Tombstone such a beloved Western is its depiction of the gunfight at O.K. Corral, but it isn’t entirely accurate. Tombstone is based on a true story, although it clearly prizes entertainment value over historical accuracy whenever there’s a direct choice to be made. The gunfight at the O.K. Corral mostly plays out according to the historical record, but there are several embellishments and half-truths.

The gunfight is one of the best scenes in Tombstone, living up to its billing as one of the most famous events in the history of the old West. The ending of Tombstone links back to the fallout from this fight, so it’s important that the scene is exciting and memorable. To make sure that the gunfight stands out, Tombstone makes a few changes to the true story.

You are watching: 10 Things Tombstone Gets Wrong About The Gunfight At The O.K. Corral

10

Tombstone Omits Some Of The Reasons Behind The Fight

The Build-Up To The Fight Hinged On A Deal That Went Wrong

Tombstone goes into some detail over why the Earps started a feud with the Cowboys, including the shooting of Marshal Fred White, Virgil’s ban on firearms in town and Doc Holliday’s contentious game of poker with Ike Clanton. However, there was a lot more that went into the famous fight in real life.

Following a stagecoach robbery, Earp convinced some Cowboys to lure the culprits back to Tombstone.

In reality, tensions rose when a back-alley deal to apprehend some outlaws fell through. (via Old West) Following a stagecoach robbery, Earp convinced Ike Clanton and some other Cowboys to lure the culprits back to Tombstone so that he could arrest them. When this deal failed to materialize, the Cowboys missed out on a sizable payday and feared that their collusion with the law could come back to bite them.

9

The Weather Shown In Tombstone Is Inaccurate

The Fight Actually Took Place In The Snow

Eyewitness accounts from the gunfight attest to the weather being different from how it appears in the movie. It was reported that there was a light dusting of snow on the ground, and that the temperature was much lower than it appears to be Tombstone. Fortunately, this minor detail doesn’t impact the scene too much.

Related

10 Best Westerns Like Tombstone

Tombstone is a classic western film. These are ten more incredible westerns that match Tombstone’s heart, action, and timeless storytelling.

Posts

5

The decision to ignore the historical data about the weather may have been taken for practical reasons. The production of Tombstone didn’t need the added headache of filming one scene with tons of fake snow if it wasn’t necessary to the plot. This also would have broken the aesthetic consistency of the movie, unless other scenes in the build-up to the fight were also shot using snow.

8

There Was No Fire In Tombstone At The Time

One Of Tombstone’s Famous Images Is Completely Fictional

A memorable image just before the gunfight shows Earp’s men walking through town with a building on fire behind them. It’s a powerful image, foreshadowing the chaos that’s about to unfold and alluding to a line later on in the story when Wyatt Earp conjures the image of hell in his calls for vengeance.

There was no mention of a fire in Tombstone at the time of the gunfight. (via Reel History) If there was a fire, it’s unlikely that the Earps would have ignored it so nonchalantly. By coincidence, a large fire the year after the gunfight leveled several landmarks in the town, including the O.K. Corral itself.

7

Some Of The Cowboys In Tombstone Weren’t Actually At The O.K. Corral

Johnny Barnes Wasn’t Involved At All

The cast of Tombstone are almost all playing real people from the town’s history, but not all of these characters are in the right places at the right time. While the Earps and Doc Holliday were all present at the O.K. Corral, some of the Cowboys seen there in Tombstone were nowhere near the fight.

Ike Clanton was certainly at the fight, as were Frank and Tom McClaury, but they should have been joined in Tombstone by Billy Claiborne. Instead, Tombstone places Johnny Barnes at the fight, who is played by John Corbett. The real Barnes actually had nothing to do with the fight.

6

Ike Never Stole A Gun To Carry On The Fight

Ike Clanton Simply Ran Away To Save His Skin

Tombstone shows Ike Clanton ducking into Fry’s Photography Studio once the shooting starts, where he promptly steals a gun and starts firing at the Earps through the window. It adds to the chaos of the scene, as the Earps face threats from two different angles, but this detail never actually happened in real life.

Related

10 Best Westerns Starring The Cast Of Tombstone

The cast of Tombstone didn’t just make one of the most beloved Westerns ever — they carried that talent and charisma into countless other projects.

Posts

One thing Tombstone gets right about Clanton’s actions at the O.K. Corral is that he did cower at Wyatt Earp’s feet, pleading for safety, since he was unarmed at the time. (via Extra History) However, rather than hiding in the photography studio, Clanton then ran away from the fight and didn’t return. This decision is much less cinematic.

5

See more : Not Quite Narwhal Ott Release Date and Time, Countdown, When Is It Coming Out?

Doc’s Hip Injury Is Never Shown In Tombstone

Val Kilmer’s Character Walks Away Unharmed

The Earps come out on top after the gunfight in Tombstone, but they have a couple of wounds to tend to. While Morgan is shot in the shoulder and Virgil sustains an injury to his leg, a more historically accurate portrayal would also have shown Doc Holliday being grazed by a bullet on his hip, but Val Kilmer’s character is unharmed. (via Tombstone History)

Although Virgil Earp was shot in the leg, Tombstone shows his injury to the wrong leg.

Omitting Doc’s hip injury adds to his mystique as a character. In line with Kilmer’s flamboyant performance, Doc feels like a larger-than-life character, so showing him being shot might have brought him back down to Earth. In reality, Wyatt was the only man on his side of the fight who escaped unscathed, with witnesses reporting that he stayed planted in the same spot throughout the confrontation, but avoided being hit.

4

Tombstone Misses Morgan’s “Let ‘Em Have It” Line

One Contentious Quote Changes The Entire Meaning Of The Fight

Some of Tombstone‘s best quotes were taken directly from real life, including a lot of the dialogue from the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. One famous example is Doc’s line “You’re a daisy if you do,” but the number of witnesses and the subsequent testimonies after the fight mean that historians have a fairly good idea about a lot of what was said on that day, and Tombstone borrows from the record.

One important line that Tombstone excludes was reportedly spoken by Morgan to Doc as the Earps made their way over to the O.K. Corral. A witness heard him saying “Let ‘Em Have It” and Doc responded in the affirmative. This may seem inconsequential at first glance, but it could reveal the true expectations of the Earps in the moments before the fight. This evidence is inconclusive, however, so Tombstone‘s decision to cut the line means their intentions can be left open to consideration. Perhaps they meant to kill the Cowboys, or perhaps they merely meant to disarm them and enforce the law.

3

The Real Shootout Was Much Shorter

The Gunfight Was Less Than A Minute Long

The gunfight at the O.K. Corral lasts about 90 seconds in Tombstone. It’s a quick flurry of action that changes the trajectory of the entire story, but it was even shorter in real life. Witnesses seem to agree that the actual gunfight was closer to 30 seconds in total. The fact that Ike Clanton fled and didn’t return is one reason that the movie’s version is so much longer.

Related

10 Reasons Tombstone Is The Best Movie To Watch If You Don’t Like Westerns

Even those who don’t like Westerns will find something to love in Kurt Russell’s Tombstone, and these are the 10 biggest reasons to give it a chance.

Posts

The gunfight is such a famous moment in the history of the old West that it’s a little surprising to discover just how short it really was. Most movies about the fight have beefed it up considerably, delivering more of a cinematic spectacle to give audiences a suitably grand representation of the fight in keeping with its reputation.

2

The Fighters Didn’t Pull Their Guns From Holsters

Wyatt Earp Kept His Pistol In A Special Pocket

Although it’s a relatively minor detail, Tombstone would have been more accurate if the gunslingers didn’t have holsters. In reality, most of the fighters at the O.K. Corral, including Wyatt Earp, had specially tailored pockets in their jackets which they used to carry their weapons.

It’s clear to see why Tombstone made this change. Westerns have constructed an image of lawmen and gunslingers with holsters, and it would be a bold move to break from convention. It would also be less cinematic to see Wyatt pulling his pistol from a pocket, and it could be a distracting moment in a tense scene.

1

The Fighters Should Have Been Closer To Each Other

The Lot Where The Fight Took Place Was Smaller Than It Appears In Tombstone

According to various witnesses, the Earps and the Cowboys were only about 15 feet away from each other during the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. (via O.K. Corral) It was a close-quarters fight, and the proximity undoubtedly added to the chaos. Tombstone isn’t the only movie which shows the Earps and the Cowboys with a greater distance between them.

This minor detail is another example of Tombstone prioritizing exciting action over absolute historical accuracy.

This minor detail is another example of Tombstone prioritizing exciting action over absolute historical accuracy. By staging the fight in a larger area, Tombstone has the potential to move the characters around more, and it broadens the variety of camera shots that can be used. Tombstone might not be so famous for its gunfight scene if it had placed its characters within such a short distance.

Sources: Old West, Reel History, Extra History, Tombstone History, O.K. Corral

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

See more : Michelle Keegan Height How Tall is Michelle Keegan?

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Tombstone

R

Western

Biography

Drama

8/10

265

9.4/10

Release Date

December 25, 1993

Runtime

130 minutes

Director

George P. Cosmatos, Kevin Jarre

Writers

Kevin Jarre

Cast

See All

• 

  Bill Paxton

• 

  Charlton Heston

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

Source: https://dinhtienhoang.edu.vn
Category: Entertainment