The story of Wyatt Earp has been told many times over the years, from history books teaching us about the O.K. Corral, to television shows, and all the way to the big screen and back. Perhaps no telling of his life, however, is as accurate or as well-made as Tombstone. The film, debuting December 25th, 1993, had an incredible cast that would be almost impossible to assemble in today’s films, and it carried a swagger — so much so that it is still directly referenced and quoted to this day, mainly Doc Holiday’s famous quote, “I’m Your Huckleberry.”
In addition to the incredible cast, the history, from those involved in the story, is fairly accurate to what Earp went through in his travels. All of this, the performances from the cast, and the real history behind the story — it all culminated in a near-perfect translation that not only holds up, but deserves praise to this day. Here’s why Tombstone is the best western ever made.
The Cast
In a time when it was common for maybe three or four major actors to lead a film, Tombstone was able to assemble a master ensemble cast: Kurt Russell, Sam Elliot, Val Kilmer, Dana Delany, Stephen Lang, Thomas Haden Church, Michael Rooker, Billy Zane, the late Powers Boothe, Bill Paxton, the legendary Charlton Hesten, and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from Billy Bob Thornton (per Cinema Blend). Terry O’Quinn ,who seems to be in everything from the 90s, plays the town’s mayor as well. If some of those names sound familiar, it’s because many are now alumni of the MCU and Avatar.
Russell, who portrays Wyatt Earp in classic fashion, pairs nicely with his brothers, played by Elliot and Paxton. Additionally, the friendship he and Kilmer’s Doc Holiday depict jumps out of the screen and hits the viewer in the mouth with their unshakable bond. Doc, showing his loyalty to his friend time and time again throughout the film, is one of the most heartwarming recurrences Tombstone offers. The love the cast shares with each other, and the hate they garner for Lang’s Ike Clanton, Boothe’s Curly Bill, and Johnny Ringo, portrayed in the film by Michael Biehn, almost jumps off the screen as real. As actors, they are supposed to get the audience to buy in, of course, but very rarely are the emotions tackled to run as deeply as they do in Tombstone. The chemistry the cast has among itself is nothing short of legendary.
The History
Tombstone, for the most part, does away with Hollywood liberties and lets the actual history tell the story. Sure, some things are added for that extra audience appeal — any movie worth its salt will do that — but with Tombstone, those liberties truly are few and far between. One of the best actual historical references in the film is the struggle between Wyatt’s wife Mattie Blaylock and her laudanum addiction. The substance, used to treat headaches, was an opiate-based pain reliever, thus highly addictive. The struggle with the addiction cause erratic behavior in Mattie, which, in turn, pushes Wyatt away and ends up with him falling out of love with her and to start pursuing Josephine Marcus, an actress portrayed by Dana Delany in the film. Marcus would become Wyatt’s common-law wife in reality.
Additionally, the gun fight at the O.K. Corral was incredibly well done. The actual gunfight lasted about thirty seconds, and, of course, for entertainment purposes, Tombstone brings the conflict to life a bit longer, but the results are the same. Wyatt takes a step back so his older brother Virgil can lead them into a fight with Ike Clanton and his fellow Cowboys. In reality the conflict ends with two Cowboys dead and Ike Clanton surviving, as he did in the film. Additionally, Virgil, Doc, and Morgan were all injured in the fight, which is slightly different from movie events. At the heart of Tombstone, however, are the brothers and their families being in the spirit of the Old West, a time when the West was booming and the hunt for treasure and gold was on.
A Beautiful Translation
The beauty of the acting, as well as the history, all transform on-screen to tell the story of Wyatt Earp and, by extension, his brothers. The lawman in Tombstone sums it up beautifully with the second-most memorable quote from the film (behind Doc Holiday’s famous exclamation, of course):
“All right, Clanton, you called down the thunder, and now you got it. See that, it says United States Marshall. Take a good look at it him Ike, because that’s how you’re going to end up. The Cowboys are finished you understand me? I see a red sash, I kill the man wearing it. So, run, you turd, run. Tell all the others the law is coming. You tell them I’m coming and hell’s coming with me, you hear? Hell’s coming with me.”
It’s in this moment that everything the film has been leading towards, all the conflict, resolves with these iconic words from Russell’s Earp and the ensuing carnage that leads to a standoff with Curly Bill in a creek side ambush. Furthermore and apart from the on-screen action, the film did just as much for the actors in it as it did to the audiences who loved it. Russell’s son, Wyatt, was named so after his role in the film. Additionally, Val Kilmer’s memoir is called I’m Your Huckleberry, after the most iconic quote in the film. It is rare when a perfect mix of what both audiences and actors get from a film, but in the case of Tombstone, the proof resonates throughout the life of the film, its actors, and those that enjoy it.
