Wyatt Earp (James Garner), his brothers and friend Doc Holliday (Jason Robards) win the shootout at the O.K. Corral, but the trouble isn’t over for the Earp family.
Soon, both Morgan and Virgil are ambushed. Morgan, just elected sheriff, dies of his wounds. Virgil is left a cripple for life.
The man behind it all is Ike Clanton (Robert Ryan), a man who wants to build an empire before Eastern interests move into Tombstone and a man who needs the Earps out of the way to do so.
He sends the men responsible for gunning down Morgan and Virgil into hiding, then hires 20 gunmen to bring the Earps to justice.
Wyatt secures warrants of his own against the men responsible for shooting his brothers and forms his own, albeit smaller, posse.
There’s a $20,000 price on the head of the men for whom Wyatt is searching. But the reward is only paid if they’re brought back alive.
But in spite of Doc’s warnings not to throw away the principles he’s always lived by, Wyatt isn’t inclined to bring these men in alive.
James Garner as Wyatt Earp, looking to settle a score for his brothers in Hour of the Gun (1967)
Jason Robards as Doc Holliday, forced to seek a healthier climate in Hour of the Gun (1967)
Review:
In 1957, the same director filmed the glorious “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral,” starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas.
This film isn’t nearly as entertaining and doesn’t find its stride until the final 30 minutes or so, when it’s down to just Doc and Wyatt against the men they’re seeking.
But it is interesting in its portrayal of Wyatt as a man more interested in vengeance than justice, more cold-blooded killer than hero.
And Robards turns in a spirited performance as Doc Holliday, the hard-drinking friend who isn’t afraid to tell Wyatt the truth about his motives.
Edward Anhalt, who wrote the screenplay, also has a small part as the doctor caring for Doc Holliday in Denver. Interestingly, there isn’t a single female character in the film.
Robert Ryan as Ike Clanton, trying to plot the demise of the Earps in Hour of the Gun (1967)
Steve Ihnat as Andy Warshaw, facing a showdown with Wyatt Earp in Hour of the Gun (1967)
Directed by:
John Sturges
Cast:
James Garner … Wyatt Earp
Jason Robards … Doc Holliday
Robert Ryan … Ike Clanton
Albert Salmi … Octavius Ray
Steve Ihnat … Andy Warshaw
Michael Tolan … Pete Spence
William Windom … Texas Jack Vermillion
Lonny Chapman … Turkey Creek Johnson
Larry Gates … John P. Clum
William Schallert … Herman Spicer
Bill Fletcher … Jimmy Bryan
Karl Swenson … Dr. Charles Goodfellow
Austin Willis … Anson Safford
Monte Markum … Sherman McMasters
Richard Bull … Thomas Fitch
Sam Melville … Morgan Earp
Frank Converse … Virgil Earp
Jon Voight … Curly Bill Brocius
Robert Phillips … Frank Stilwell
Runtime: 100 min.
Monte Markman as Sherman McMasters, a fellow lawman who joins Wyatt’s crusade for ‘justice’ in Hour of the Gun (1967)
Larry Gates as John P. Clum and Charles Aidman as lawyer Horce Sullivan, aligned with Wyatt in Hour of the Gun (1967)
Memorable lines:
Deputy, trying to arrest Wyatt Earp and his brothers after the gunfight at the O.K. Corral: “We’ve got enough men behind us to make it stick.”
Doc Holliday, cocking his shotgun: “If you so much as turn your head toward those men, you’ll be laying in the horse manure with your (dead) friends.”
Dr. Charles Swenson, losing at black jack again: “I can’t understand why I never win.”
Doc Holliday: “You don’t play very well. And besides that, you never cheat.”
Doc Holliday, after Wyatt Earp has emptied his gun into Andy Warshaw:
“You sure gave him a chance. Might as well just blowed his head off as he lay in bed.”
Doc Holliday: “Five minutes after we left the O.K. Corral, I wanted to say, ‘Get Clanton, Wyatt. Get him, before he gets you.’ I didn’t. You don’t speak that way to Wyatt Earp. You got too much respect for him. … Those aren’t warrants you’ve got there. Those are hunting licenses.”
Doc Holliday, offering Wyatt Earp a drink: “Go ahead. Have one. If you’re going to kill like me, you might as well drink like me.”
Michael Tolan as Pete Spence, Clanton’s handpicked lawman after the Earps leave Tombstone in Hour of the Gun (1967)
Bill Fletcher as Jimmy Bryan, Clanton aligned and offering his view on the gunfight in Hour of the Gun (1967)
Doctor at Colorado clinic: “You don’t have to get well to please me. I’m used to people dying on me.”
Doc Holliday, laughing: “So am I.”
Doctor: “Don’t laugh too hard. Those lung scars won’t stand it. My fried, it you go on drinking, you’re die like that.” He snaps his fingers.
Doc Holliday: “I’ll say one thing for you: You’ve got one hell of a bedside manner.”
Wyatt Earp, bidding Doc farewell: “You gonna be okay here?”
Doc Holliday: “Except for a slight dying spell.”
Wyatt Earp, about tracking down Clanton: “I don’t care about the rules anymore. I’m not that much of a hypocrite.”
Doc Holliday: “The whole thing is hypocrisy. The rules they tack on today that unless you’re wearing that badge or a soldier’s uniform, you can’t kill. But they’re the only rules there are. They are more important to you than you think. Play it that way, Wyatt, or you’ll destroy yourself.”
Wyatt: “Virg played it by the rules. He’s crippled for life. And Morgan. He’s dead. I can’t let Clanton get away with that.”
Doc Holliday, at Wyatt goes after Clanton: “You got some kind of plan?”
Wyatt Earp: “I have.”
Doc: “Want to tell me about it?”
Wyatt: “We take whoever gets in our way.”
Doc: “You call that a plan?”
Jason Robards as Doc Holliday and James Garner as Wyatt Earp after the shooting of Morgan and Virgil in Hour of the Gun (1967)
Albert Salmi as Octavius Roy, the oft-drunk lawyer working for Clanton in Hour of the Gun (1967)
James Garner as Wyatt Earp, breaking up his hunting party after another kill in Hour of the Gun (1967)
Jason Robards as Doc Holliday, accusing Wyatt of using warrants as an excuse to kill in Hour of the Gun (1967)
Jon Voight as Curly Bill Brocius, set to Texas to booze his memory away in Hour of the Gun (1967)
James Garner as Wyatt Earp and Jason Robards as Doc Holliday, refusing to be arrested at the O.K. Corral in Hour of the Gun (1967)
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