OWEN PLOUGHMAN
I PLEDGE NOT TO CHEAT
Tombstone (1993) is a film that while receiving some mixed reviews from critics, was well-received by the public and has since become a western classic. Its production got off to a rocky start, however, as the initial director – Kevin Jarre had to be replaced early on with George P. Cosmatos. But the film’s star – Kurt Russell, is said to have had considerable impact on the film’s production off-screen (Ryan Parker, “Val Kilmer Says Kurt Russell Essentially Directed ‘Tombstone’”, August 11, 2017, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/tombstone-val-kilmer-says-kurt-russell-essentially-directed-western-1028891/) and helped bring the project to fruition. The film set out to depict the story of Wyatt Earp, his brothers, Doc Holliday and the Cowboys with intent placed on historical accuracy. The film looks completely authentic, and has plenty of period-accurate details – for example, the headstone shown in the initial shots of Tombstone truly existed at the time (L.W. Michaelson, “Tombstone”, Prairie Schooner, Vol. 30, No. 1 (SPRING 1956), pp. 56-61). For a Hollywood film it did a decent job with the broad strokes of the Earp story, although there were plenty of grievances throughout. The film begins with some old black and white footage of the west, presumably to provide credibility to what they were saying; notably that the end of the civil war fueled westward expansion – not the homestead act of 1862 or the decades of Native American policy that ‘freed up’ western lands for expansion. The introduction goes on to give us a look at “the Cowboys” – which were indeed a real group of armed criminals near Cochise County, Arizona that did end up involved with Earp and company (Paul Andrew Hutton, “Showdown at the Hollywood Corral: Wyatt Earp and the Movies”,Summer, 1995, Montana The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 45, No. 3, Popular Culture Issue, p.4). And the Cowboys that are shown are completely ruthless – the film opens with the Cowboys massacring a wedding before they find their way to Tombstone. The real Cowboys were mostly known for cattle rustling (stealing cattle). The opposition to the Cowboys in the story is none other than Wyatt Earp and his brothers in arms. Wyatt immediately is shown as a character providing order where there was otherwise chaos – he handles the man abusing his horse and deals with the unruly gambler in the first few opening scenes. Yet he is also shown with a layer of moral complexity – he makes an under-the-table deal to start earning some money from the saloon he just helped out, and his marriage with Mattie (whom he was indeed married to at the time) begins to fall apart, fueled by his interest in a Josephine Marcus, whom would later become his new wife. Wyatt is portrayed as a former lawman, which he was (Barra, Allen. “Who Was Wyatt Earp?” American Heritage, December, 1998). He was essentially a street cop in Dodge City, Kansas. He also spent time as a buffalo hunter and a miner. Upon coming to Tombstone, Wyatt wasn’t looking to get back into law enforcement, which is represented in the film. He actually became involved as an agent for Wells Fargo, which is not represented in the film. Earp himself was well known in his day, but not nearly as famous as he is made out to be in this film (note the scene where the bartender doesn’t believe Wyatt when he introduces himself), at least before he became glorified into legend by his biographer Stuart Lake (Paul Andrew Hutton, “Showdown at the Hollywood Corral: Wyatt Earp and the Movies”,Summer, 1995, Montana The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 45, No. 3, Popular Culture Issue, p.5). Wyatt is on one hand presented in this film as an iconic hero – an image of justice, order, and virtue in a lawless land. On the other hand we see how he doesn’t really care about Mattie and her clear drug issues very much and instead fawns over the new girl Josephine – not exactly a display of decent morals. Nonetheless the audience is expected to conclude that Wyatt Earp is a good man; representative what we expect from a ideal lawman. While the film sort of shows some nuance in Wyatt’s character, the image we get of Wyatt is one predominantly of heroism. Wyatt’s brothers too are shown as good upstanding citizens with a disdain for the lawlessness that Tombstone exhibited. For some unknown reason, the film leaves out James Earp entirely, even though he was present in Tombstone at the time. Virgil Earp, however, as shown in the film truly did become the chief of police in Tombstone (Glenn G. Boyer, “Postscripts to Historical Fiction about Wyatt Earp in Tombstone”, Arizona and the West, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Autumn, 1976) pp. 217-236). Morgan too ended up working under Virgil. And many details about their conflict with the Cowboys and the Clantons hold true. Virgil Earp was wounded in the leg, Morgan was wounded in the shoulder and then later killed (presumably by the Clantons) following the shootout at the O.K. Corral (William A. Duffen, “NOTES ON THE EARP-CLANTON FEUD”, Arizoniana, Vol. 1, No. 3 (FALL 1960), pp. 20-22). And Wyatt did embark on a violent crusade along with Doc Holliday and others against the Cowboys following Morgan’s death that resulted in the effective end of the Cowboys’ influence in the area (Kathy Weiser, “Earp Vendetta Ride”, Legends of America, February 2020). Doc Holliday himself was a dentist (A.W. Bork, “The O. K. Corral Fight at Tombstone: A Footnote by Kate Elder”, Arizona and the West, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Spring, 1977), pp. 65-84) which is not mentioned at all in the film, and he instead shines as purely a gambler and gunslinger. As for Josephine, she is introduced as an actress and a singer, when in reality, she worked in Honkeytonk dance halls, before she was found by the Sheriff of Cochise County – Behan; who is indeed a major character in the film and encouraged her to be with him (Paul Andrew Hutton, “Showdown at the Hollywood Corral: Wyatt Earp and the Movies”,Summer, 1995, Montana The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 45, No. 3, Popular Culture Issue, p.8). It is in many ways this romantic conflict between Josephine, Wyatt and Behan that leads to the violent events at O.K. Corral. This is a point which is not emphasized in the film. Speaking of the feud itself between the Earps and the Clantons, the Cowboys and Behan, the film sets out to pose the shootout at O.K. Corral as a premeditated affair as the result of the heightened tensions following Curly Bill’s psychotic break and Ike Clanton’s unfortunate outing at the Saloon. Evidence suggests that there is some air of truth to how it was presented – Ike Clanton apparently made some threatening remarks about the Earps and then supposedly made off with the Mclaurys and Billy to coordinate an attack of some sort, when Virgil, Wyatt and Morgan intervened and shot Billy. The shootout itself in reality took 30 seconds, and in the film it lasted nearly 3 minutes. Ike was not killed in the altercation as the movie reflects, but unlike the movie, there was a 30 day trial that followed the event (Gary L. Roberts, “The Gunfight at O. K. Corral: The Wells Spicer Decision: 1881”, Montana The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Winter, 1970), pp. 62-74). Ultimately, the republican judge found Earp and company justified in their actions, but the film made no efforts to highlight the fact that a big trial took place in Tombstone for the Earps’ innocence. Also not emphasized at all were the political rivalries between the two factions. Wyatt and company had republican backing, Behan and the Cowboys were backed by the Democrats (Thomas Fleming, “The Cowboys and Wyatt Earp”, Chronicles A Magazine of American Culture, March 26, 2013, https://chroniclesmagazine.org/web/the-cowboys-and-wyatt-earp/). Much of this conflict was fueled by political tension which is not accounted for in the film. As for the fate of these characters in the movie and how that compares to what really happened, Doc Holliday truly did die of Tuberculosis (History.com Editors. “Doc Holliday dies of tuberculosis” History.com, November 16, 2009), Virgil was sent off to California and Wyatt really did end up with Josephine Marcus. In the end, Tombstone (1993) stands as a striking example of western filmmaking and perpetuates the legend of Wyatt Earp, however romanticized it may be. Its attention to detail is apparent in the set pieces, costumes, and all the little things that add up to create a convincing atmosphere. The director(s) did a good job presenting a story that captured the essence of a man that has become more myth than legend. As a film it is a highly entertaining and satisfying story, (ignoring the absence of any resolution with Mattie) and so it makes sense why it has become as loved as it is. Although Tombstone (1993) is filled with omissions of history, it doesn’t necessarily twist the narrative very far from the general truth of the story. As for its treatment of Earp, Holliday and company, the film certainly elevated their stories and conflicts into far more glorified and romantic renditions than perhaps deserved. The film set out to depict Wyatt Earp’s story with accuracy, and to that end it achieved mixed results.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ryan Parker, “Val Kilmer Says Kurt Russell Essentially Directed ‘Tombstone’”, August 11, 2017, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/tombstone-val-kilmer-says-kurt-russell-essentially-directed-western-1028891/
L.W. Michaelson, “Tombstone”, Prairie Schooner, Vol. 30, No. 1 (SPRING 1956), pp. 56-61
Paul Andrew Hutton, “Showdown at the Hollywood Corral: Wyatt Earp and the Movies”,Summer, 1995, Montana The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 45, No. 3, Popular Culture Issue, p.4
Barra, Allen. “Who Was Wyatt Earp?” American Heritage, December, 1998
Glenn G. Boyer, “Postscripts to Historical Fiction about Wyatt Earp in Tombstone”, Arizona and the West, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Autumn, 1976) pp. 217-236
William A. Duffen, “NOTES ON THE EARP-CLANTON FEUD”, Arizoniana, Vol. 1, No. 3 (FALL 1960), pp. 20-22
Kathy Weiser, “Earp Vendetta Ride”, Legends of America, February 2020
Gary L. Roberts, “The Gunfight at O. K. Corral: The Wells Spicer Decision: 1881”, Montana The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Winter, 1970), pp. 62-74
Thomas Fleming, “The Cowboys and Wyatt Earp”, Chronicles A Magazine of American Culture, March 26, 2013, https://chroniclesmagazine.org/web/the-cowboys-and-wyatt-earp/
A.W. Bork, “The O. K. Corral Fight at Tombstone: A Footnote by Kate Elder”, Arizona and the West, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Spring, 1977), pp. 65-84