Search - Gunfight at the O.K. Corral/Last Train from Gun Hill on DVD

Great Double Feature of John Sturges Westerns.

James Simpson | USA | 05/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one terrific double feature of director John Stugres two best Westerns of the 1950s. Sturges is best known today as the man who revitalized the international Western with his "The Magnificent Seven" in 1960. He lacked the style of Ford and Hawks and the subtleties of Mann and the poetic brutality of Peckinpah, but he told his stories WELL.

These two films are wonderful examples of his "A" budget Westerns at there best and stand at the foreground of the late 50s wave.

The first film is his "Gunfight at the OK Corral"(1958), the umpteenth version of the West's most infamous gunfight that is perhaps even more fabricated than Ford's definitive version, "My Darling Clementine'(1946).
At a little over two hours, the film may seem overlong but Sturges keeps the film lively with exciting fast action sequences and interesting characters.

Burt Lancaster is a strong, no-nonsense, self righteous Wyatt Earp, very much unlike the real deal, yet he is thoroughly believable in the lead. Kirk Douglas is also a very good Doc Holliday offering a quiet intensity to his performance that anchors the film's dramatic weight and adds to the ensuing violence.

Some read into the relationship of the two infamous gunmen as being homo-erotic and while the edge is there, it seems whenever two men are shown as being close friends that this becomes the conclusion. Perhaps it's there, but that dosen't seem the point here. If there is a point it's in a man's own code of ethics and honor and how far will one go to prove himself in the face of adversity.

The end gunfight is fairly good, but nothing special, yet again very much unlike the real gunfight. At least this one had shotguns present unlike Ford's version. Still, perhaps the scene is a bit of a letdown since the Earp/Clanton rivalry does not reach the fever pitch it did in the Ford version either. It becomes quite a chore to compare the two frankly, but it's inevitable.

Overall, this is a solid Western and one of the best about this famous Western incident. Though if you'd like a darker more factual version try the same director's 1968 film, "Hour of the Gun" and compare.

The second film is the superior Dark adult Western Drama that is "Last Train From Gun Hill"(1959), a truly first rate Western that also stars Douglas. In this film, Douglas' wife, an indian woman, is raped and killed by the son of Douglas' best friend, Anthony Quinn,a powerful land baron and cattle rancher. Douglas is a Marshall and goes to meet his friend with vengeance on his mind and tension builds as the two friend's collide and it becomes a stand-off against Douglas' Marshall and an entire town full of men gunning for him. The conclusion of this classic is one of the decade's best and it's tension rivals that of similar white knucklers in particular the similarly first rate, "3:10 To Yuma"(1957).

Both actors deliver two of there best performances in there career in what is one complex and suspenseful Western. Douglas brings a level of intensity to his performance that also underlines his fragility. He's a man set against not just a veritable army of gunmen, but also at war with his own morality and conscience. In an effort to strike vengeance, he also must serve justice and yet question his own sanity along the way. This is one the actor's most underrated roles.

Quinn is equally good as a father who has meant well but his tough upbringing of his son has created a licentious Monster with no regard for humanity. Quinn's role is as morally conflicted as Douglas as he wrestles with the idea of saving his son, but yet feeling that his friend is far from being wrong in his assumptions and the fear of having to kill the only friend he ever had.
It's these character arcs that make the inevitable gunfight at the end that much more powerful.

This one is highly reccomended and this double feature should sit well with Western fans of all persuasions, whether your in it for the Action or the Drama or both, these two should deliver."

O.K. Train from Gunfight Hill

Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 07/31/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This PARAMOUNT Studio double feature consists of two DVDs stored on both sides of a standard snap case. Movies are widescreen format, encoded with copyguard. Condition of source prints is flawless. There's no extras on the discs beyond set up and chapter access.

John Sturges directed these westerns and Dimitri Tiompkin scored both. His booming music track dominates "Gun Hill" while it's properly in the background on "OK Corral." The latter picture has a superb theme, sung by Frankie Laine. Tiompkin, who composed it, deftly quotes phrases from this tune throughout the movie.

LAST TRAIN FROM GUN HILL bears a slight resemblance to 3:10 TO YUMA (1957). Both stories have a lawman under siege; he and a prisoner are in a hotel room awaiting a train out of town while several armed men who seek to free the shackled fellow lay in wait on the street. That's where the similarity ends, however.

Here, Kirk Douglas is the sheriff that travels to Gun Hill in search of two men who sexually assaulted and killed his Native American wife. One of them is the only son of Kirk's old friend, a man who once saved his life. During the intervening years, Anthony Quinn has so prospered, he's now the power in little Gun Hill. Douglas captures Quinn's son (Earl Holliman) in a saloon; the father resolves that his boy will never be brought to trial, even if it means Kirk's death.


GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL (1956) is a highly entertaining if historically inaccurate telling of the famous showdown between the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday vs. the Clanton and McLowery clans. Burt Lancaster and Douglas have play well off each other and the fight itself is most enervating. "O.K." has a stronger cast and is the better of this pairing, but only by a little.


Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 imdb viewer poll ratings.

(7.2) Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) - Burt Lancaster/Kirk Douglas/Rhonda Fleming/Jo Van Fleet/John Ireland/Earl Holliman/Ted de Corsia/Dennis Hopper/Whit Bissell/DeForest Kelley/Martin Milner/Lee Van Cleef/Jack Elam

(7.2) Last Train from Gun Hill (1959) - Kirk Douglas/Anthony Quinn/Carolyn Jones/Earl Holliman/Val Avery (uncredited: 'Billy' Benedict/Dabbs Greer/Dïck Haymes/Glenn Strange)


Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 imdb viewer poll ratings.

(7.2) Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) - Burt Lancaster/Kirk Douglas/Rhonda Fleming/Jo Van Fleet/John Ireland/Earl Holliman/Ted de Corsia/Dennis Hopper/Whit Bissell/DeForest Kelley/Martin Milner/Lee Van Cleef/Jack Elam

(7.2) Last Train from Gun Hill (1959) - Kirk Douglas/Anthony Quinn/Carolyn Jones/Earl Holliman/Val Avery (uncredited: 'Billy' Benedict/Dabbs Greer/Dick Haymes/Glenn Strange)"

Two Kirk Douglas westerns

J. Carey | oregon | 10/15/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"These 2 westerns both have Kirk Douglas in them. OK Corral co stars Burt Lancaster and Gun Hill has Tony Quinn in it. Of the 2 Gun Hill is the much better film. Good acting and interesting plot with good pacing. If you are a western fan you will no doubt be able to figure the plot but you will still enjoy it.
As for the OK Corral, it is a disjointed waste of talent that I just couldn't sit thru. I had hoped for something more than this fabrication of one of the few documented shootouts of the old west.

My suggestion is that if you can find the Gun Hill by itself at a good price just buy it."