Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) - Lancaster/Douglas nearly burn through the celluloid in Sturges' iconic western

5/14/2021

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) - Lancaster/Douglas nearly burn through the celluloid in Sturges' iconic western

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A star-touting, hot-colored poster for John Sturges' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

In a little small town in the West the sheriff Wyatt Earp rides in and gets mixed up in the local troubles of Doc Holliday.

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is written by Leon Uris (Battle Cry (1955)), inspired by the actual 1881 gunfight and 1954 Holiday magazine article The Killer by George Scullin, and directed by John Sturges (The Man Who Dared (1946)).

It opens with a beautiful credits sequence and the wonderful title theme by Dmitri Tiomkin (score) (Rio Bravo (1959)) and Ned Washington (lyrics) (High Noon (1952)), sung by Frankie Laine (Thunder in the East (1952)). Burt Lancaster (The Scalphunters (1968)) and Kirk Douglas (Top Secret Affair (1957)) are splendid together in a radiant production.

Entanglements and romance prolong the film beyond what was necessary, and some of its magic is thus lost. But Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is still an iconic, style-assured western that's as near to becoming a caricature and a pastiche on itself as it possibly can without actually being one.

The Great Escape (1963) - Sturges' further manly exploits in war-adventure classic

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 2 mil. $

Box office: 10.7 mil. $ (likely North America alone)

= Some uncertainty but at least a big hit (returned at least 5.35 times its cost)

[Gunfight at the O.K. Corral premiered 29 May (New York) and runs 122 minutes. Shooting took place from March - May 1956 in Arizona, including Phoenix, and in California, including Los Angeles. The film includes countless historical inaccuracies. It reportedly earned 4.7 mil. $ on its first run and 6 mil. $ on a re-release; it is unclear but likely that this was just in North America, meaning that the world gross was likely in the 15-17 mil. $ range at least, which would change the film's status to that of 'huge hit' or even 'mega-hit'. It was nominated for 2 Oscars: It lost Best Sound to Sayonara and Editing to The Bridge on the River Kwai. Sturges later made sort-of sequel Hour of the Gun (1967), which is more historically accurate, about the gunfight's aftermath, with other stars. Sturges returned first with uncredited work on Saddle the Wind (1958) and in official front with The Law and Jack Wade (1958). Lancaster and Douglas returned together again in their next movie, Sweet Smell of Success (1957). Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is fresh at 83 % with a 6.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

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Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

William Friedkin has died

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Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

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Wolfgang Petersen has died

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Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

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Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (14-24)

5/14/2021

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) - Lancaster/Douglas nearly burn through the celluloid in Sturges' iconic western

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (13-24)

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