Search - Outride the Devil - A Morning With Doc Holliday on DVD

The Man, The Myth, The Legend

Edward Lee | 05/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've seen an awful lot of Westerns, and I've had more than my fair share of debates regarding what film is the quintessential retelling of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. (And, yes, for the record my personal favorite has always been -- and probably will always be -- HOUR OF THE GUN, the James Garner / Jason Robards flick that largely dispenses with recounting the events that led up to the gunfight mostly b/c the film begins as the gunfight ends.) Invariably, Kurt Russell's TOMBSTONE and Kevin Costner's WYATT EARP always come up, and I think this is because they were released so closely in cinema history to one another. While both had their own narrative focus and both arguably were greeted with middling box office receipts at best, Western enthusiasts almost always agree on one point: in both cases, Doc Holliday stole both films!

Doc's a character. Equal parts man, myth, and legend, he's an archetype plucked right from the pages of the great American West. He's as fast with his wit as he was with a gun, and that made him so much more than the average good guy or average bad guy. Whether you find him a hero or an antihero, there's plenty to marvel at, to sink you teeth into. As relevant and irascible, Doc Holliday IS a part of history, and OUTRIDE THE DEVIL celebrates this man, myth, and legend with the videotaping of a one-man show performed in front of a studio audience.

It's terrific, and I wouldn't necessarily say that it's for fans of either TOMBSTONE or WYATT EARP, though purists -- the die-hard supporters of either film -- would quite possibly find plenty to enjoy here. The setting is the nursing home in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, where Doc spent his final days. The premise is that he's encouraged by his nurse to come down one morning and tell his story to the other residents and that's exactly what Doc does. He recounts his humble beginnings, relives the days in Colorado and Arizona, and climaxes where his life was most memorable to him: fighting side by side with Morgan, Virgil and Wyatt Earp in the defining moment of the American West. It's one terrific performance that deserves to be enjoyed again and again, and I give OUTRIDE THE DEVIL the highest recommendation possible."

"Gripping Portrayal of the Dentist, Gambler and Gunfighter .

J. Lovins | Missouri-USA | 01/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"VCI Entertainment present "OUTRIDE THE DEVIL - A MORNING WITH DOC HOLLIDAY" (2005) --- (Dolby digitally remastered) ... This critically praised original one-man show presents highlights of the last fourteen years of the life of Doc Holliday the frontier dentist, gambler and gunfighter and culminates with a re-enactment of the gunfight at the OK Corral ... from the Fort Worth Star Telegram review: "Kit Hussey...may well own the definitive portrayal of the dentist turned gambler and gunfighter"... "Hussey...provides a thunderous enactment of the nine-gun shootout ...John Henry "Doc" Holliday (August 14, 1851 - November 8, 1887) was an American dentist, gambler and gunfighter of the Old West frontier, who is usually remembered for his associations with Wyatt Earp and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral ... In a (probably ghost-edited) article in 1896, Wyatt Earp had this to say about Doc Holliday: "Doc was a dentist whom necessity had made a gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a frontier vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a caustic wit; a long lean ash-blond fellow nearly dead with consumption, and at the same time the most skillful gambler and the nerviest, speediest, deadliest man with a gun that I ever knew."

Doc was once asked if his killings had ever gotten on his conscience. Holliday is reported to have said "I coughed that out with my lungs, years ago" ... Big Nose Kate, however, remembered Doc's reaction after his role in the O.K. Corral gunfight. She reported that Doc came back to his room, sat on the bed, and wept. "That was awful-- awful," said Doc ... the Gunfight only lasted 30 seconds!

Life-long lawman Virgil Earp, interviewed May, 30 1882, in The Arizona Daily Star (two months after Virgil had fled Tombstone after Morgan Earp's death), summed up Holliday ... "There was something very peculiar about Doc. He was gentlemanly, a good dentist, a friendly man and yet, outside of us boys, I don't think he had a friend in the Territory ... tales were told that he had murdered men in different parts of the country; that he had robbed and committed all manner of crimes, and yet, when persons were asked how they knew it, they could only admit it was hearsay, and that nothing of the kind could really be traced to Doc's account. He was a slender, sickly fellow, but whenever a stage was robbed or a row started, and help was needed, Doc was one of the first to saddle his horse and report for duty."

In 1887, now prematurely gray and ailing badly, Doc made his way to a hotel (the Hotel Glenwood) near the hot springs of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, hoping to take advantage of the reputed curative power of the waters. However, the sulfurous fumes from the spring may have done his lungs more harm than good, and Holliday eventually died in his hotel room, after being bedridden for two months ... In the end, it was tuberculosis that got Doc Holliday, at the age of 36. Fifteen years after the doctors gave him only months to live, he died peacefully in his hotel bed ... Kate helped care for Doc in the last months of his life, and was with him at the end ... Dying, Holliday asked for a drink of whiskey, and his reputed last words were "This is funny." Perhaps he was looking at his bootless feet. No one ever thought that he would die with his boots off, or in bed. Doc's dying words, however, are also a matter of speculation, and they are not reported by Kate or any contemporary account of his death ... Doc Holliday's grave is in Glenwood Springs cemetery. There is dispute about whether he is actually buried in his marked grave, or even in the cemetery itself ... he died in deep winter when the ground was frozen and was buried the same day in what was probably a temporary grave. This grave may not have been in the old cemetery, which was up a difficult road on the mountain. It is thus possible his body was never later relocated, but the truth is not known, since no exhumation has been attempted. If Doc is not in Glenwood Cemetery, he may be in somebody's back yard in modern Glenwood Springs city, at a lower altitude.(as noted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIO:
1. John Christopher (Kit) Hussey
Date of birth: 1942 - Washington D.C.
Date of death: Still Living

John Christopher (Kit) Hussey graduated as president of his senior class from Woodrow Wilson High School in the D.C. area 1960 ... in 1964 Kit was awarded a B.A. in history from Trinity College in Hartford, CT., where he was active in the ROTC program as both drill team commander and corps commander. ... upon graduating, Kit was commissioned in the Air Force, entered pilot training and served as an Instructor pilot and check airman. In the T-37 aircraft until 1969 ... after leaving the Air Force to pursue a career in commercial aviation, Kit was hired by American airlines and moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area ... he spent his career on the 727 aircraft and retired as captain and check airman in 2000 ... Kit has been acting in feature films and television for over twenty years, he has been on stage in comedies, dramas and musicals, playing heroes, villains, animals and inanimate objects, he has also directed shows for theaters in Dallas-Fort Worth area ... in addition to acting and directing, Kit has written two novels and nine plays. He is an accomplished artist whose paintings are in collections across the country ... he has created scenic art, props and special effects for several theaters and currently has a prop and model making business for photographers and national clients ... active in amateur soccer as a player and coach, Kit held a national coaching license for several years. He enjoys turning walnut into sawdust and furniture, and he looks forward each year to skiing in powder snow ... Kit has three sons and a daughter and lives with his wife Gayle in Dulworthington Gardens, Texas.

TRAILERS:
1. "Cattle Queen of Montana" (1954) featuring Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan
2. "Tennessee's Partner" (1955) featuring John Payne, Ronald Reagan and Rhonda Fleming
3. "Any Gun Can Play" (1967) featuring Edd Byrnes, George Hilton and Gilbert Roland

Great job releasing "Outride the Devil - A Morning With Doc Holliday" (2005) - Kit Hussey ... this portrayal of a dentist that ran the gambit of gambler and then gunfighter is a gripping account with an outstanding performance by Mr. Hussey ... very informative with a classroom target for many historians to sample ... order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on DVD --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 87 mins on DVD ~ VCI Home Video #8472 ~ (1/30/2007)"

Morning's at 4 pm . . .

Ronald Scheer | Los Angeles | 01/22/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This one-man show is an entertaining and mostly factual account of Doc Holliday's years on the frontier, presented in the style of Hal Holbrook's "Mark Twain Tonight." Kit Hussey plays the West's most famous dentist in a script he also authored, which follows Holliday from his beginnings in Georgia to the shootout in October 1881 at (near, as he corrects the legend) the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, alongside the Earp brothers - a shootout which is reenacted not once but twice.

His performance is a worthy parallel (and a corrective) to all the screen portrayals we have seen over the decades. The only fault is that Hussey is somewhat old for the part of a man who died at the age of 36. In all other respects, including his appropriately Southern accent, he seems to be a faithful reincarnation of the man. The play is performed before a live - and appreciative - audience. Recommended for those with a historical interest in both the era and the man who was Wyatt Earp's best friend.
"

AWESOME!

Charles R. Jones | Denver, Colorado USA | 09/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Outride The Devil is a treasure for Doc Holliday and Tombstone fans. So well done, one almost believes he has met John Henry Holliday! If their is a negative about this DVD, it is that it ends with Doc telling his audience "that he will return for another session to discuss the Vendetta Ride." Unfortunately....he passed before he could return for that session. Kit Hussey was incredible in his portrayal of Doc at the end of his days. I highly recommend this DVD to all students of Tombstone, Doc, Wyatt and the gunfight in Tombstone!"