Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die (1942) - Once Upon a Time in a Western

Having cleaned up Dodge, Wyatt Earp (Richard Dix) figured to have put away his guns for good.

Until he arrives in Tombstone only to find Curly Bill Brocious (Edgar Buchanan), an old acquaintance, and his band of cowboys shooting up the town.

Wyatt takes Curly Bill into custody, but still has no intention of becoming a lawman in the bustling town.

Until he sees Ike Clanton gun down a child in the middle of the street.

At that point, Earp accepts a sheriff’s badge and sets about cleaning up Tombstone, even forbidding cowboys from riding horses on the sidewalks and into buildings.

In order to put a stop to such nonsense, Curly Bill figures it would be best to lure Wyatt out of town and begins plotting with the mayor to do just that.

He has the mayor hire a young gun named Johnny Duane (Don Castle) as tax collector, then has him assign Wyatt the task of collecting those taxes.

It doesn’t quite go as Curly Bill planned. In fact, Wyatt is determined to reform the young gunman.

But the Clantons and the McLowerys aren’t interested in elaborate schemes to coax Wyatt into a trap. They want a showdown. In Tombstone. At the OK Corral.

Richard Dix as Wyatt Earp, picking up his guns and pinning on a badge again in Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die (1942)

Don Castle as Johnny Duane, the young gun Curly Bill tries to pit against Wyatt Earp in Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die (1942)

Review:

A second rate telling of the Tombstone legend starts, oddly enough, with narration by the town itself.

The film is salvaged to a degree by the subplot. Wyatt even plays matchmaker, bringing Johnny’s estranged girlfriend Ruth to town in an effort to keep the youngster on the right side of the law.

Dix is as stiff as ever as the film’s lead, and Kent Taylor brings none of the flare to the Doc Holliday role we’d see in subsequents versions of the story.

It is interesting to see Edgar Buchanan, at age 37, in the role as the primary villain.

Edgar Buchanan as Curly Bill Brocious, causing trouble again in Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die (1942)

Frances Gifford as Ruth Grant, wondering if Johnny is really going straight for good in Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die (1942)

Directed by:
William C. McGann

Cast:
Richard Dix … Wyatt Earp
Kent Taylor … Doc Holliday
Edgar Buchanan … Curly Bill Brocious
Frances Gifford … Ruth Grant
Don Castle … Johnny Duane
Clem Bevans … Tadpole Foster
Victor Jory … Ike Clanton
Rex Bell … Virgil Earp
Harvey Stephens … Morgan Earp
Hal Taliaferro … Dick Mason
Wallis Clark … Ed Shieffelin
Chris-Pin Martin … Chris
Donald Curtis … Phineas Clanton
Dick Curtis … Frank McLowery
Paul Sutton … Tom McLowery
Charles Stevens … Indian Charley
James Ferrera … Billy Clanton

Runtime: 79 min.

Victor Jory as Ike Clanton, talking tough with the Earps in Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die (1942)

Kent Taylor as Doc Holliday, wielding his shotgun at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die (1942)

Memorable lines:

Opening narration by Tombstone

Wyatt Earp: “Hello, Curly. I thought I had you cured in Dodge. But you seem to have had a relapse.”
Curly Bill Brocious: “Every time I get a town organized, you show up.”

Wyatt Earp, of the mayor of Tombstone: “He’s crookeder than a ram’s horn, and he’s under Curley’s thumb.”

Ed Shieffelin, as Johnny Duane heads into the saloon after a meeting with Ruth that was arranged by Wyatt: “There goes your bridegroom on his honeymoon — alone.”
Tabpole Foster: “Yes sir, Wyatt, as a matchmaker, it looks like you’re a pretty good sheriff.”

Wyatt Earp to Ike Clanton: “I’ll use my fists.”
Tadpole Foster: “No you don’t, Wyatt. You wouldn’t get the stink off your hands in a year.”