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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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

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

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

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.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

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Ray Liotta has died

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

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William Hurt has passed away

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Ivan Reitman has passed away

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

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (6-24)

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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