Thought this video was interesting and fills in some of the stuff you probably didn't know about the Earps.

Thanks for sharing this.

I have read everything I could on the Earps, Holiday, Tombstone and the Cowboys. I went to Tombstone, the Cochise Co. Courthouse, the shoot out location (which is not in the OK Corral) and saw Wyatts house.
There is much more to the shoot out than the many movies depict. Politics, culture as well as personal and family pride all come into play.
The best thing the video points out is that Earp was a man of the times.

Hollywood has really shifted focus in the last decade to the anti-hero. If Tombstone were made today it'd probably a good bit different. Wyatt Earp was no white knight reluctantly dragged back into law enforcement because nobody else could mete out the justice that the Cowboys were owed...

I haven't watched the video, but the thing that stands out to me the most is the claim by Kate Elder that after the gunfight, Doc Holliday came back to their hotel room, sat on the edge of the bed and cried like a baby.

Make of that what you will, but if this account is true, it puts a bit of different perspective to this event, doesn't it?

Elder's claim is so very far from the mythology surrounding Holliday, that I tend to believe her. Her claim sounds like the truth.

Interesting. I’ve said before that Old Man Clanton was my 5x or something great uncle. I’ve got the family tree around here somewhere. I enjoy learning about this stuff.

Thanks for sharing. Watched much of it.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
I haven't watched the video, but the thing that stands out to me the most is the claim by Kate Elder that after the gunfight, Doc Holliday came back to their hotel room, sat on the edge of the bed and cried like a baby.

Make of that what you will, but if this account is true, it puts a bit of different perspective to this event, doesn't it?

Elder's claim is so very far from the mythology surrounding Holliday, that I tend to believe her. Her claim sounds like the truth.

video does mention that while Holliday was known as a feared gunfighter, there's only record of him killing two men.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
I haven't watched the video, but the thing that stands out to me the most is the claim by Kate Elder that after the gunfight, Doc Holliday came back to their hotel room, sat on the edge of the bed and cried like a baby.

Make of that what you will, but if this account is true, it puts a bit of different perspective to this event, doesn't it?

Elder's claim is so very far from the mythology surrounding Holliday, that I tend to believe her. Her claim sounds like the truth.

Holliday was a talented pistoleer - but not the cold blooded killer that he was portrayed as. I also tend to believe Elder's recollection of the event.

I’ve read a lot about the old west gunfighters and if we could go back in time we’d probably be shocked to find that they were mostly petty criminals, swindlers and unremarkable people. Lying, cheating, gambling and drinking they’re way through life.

quote:

Originally posted by sigspecops:
I’ve read a lot about the old west gunfighters and if we could go back in time we’d probably be shocked to find that they were mostly petty criminals, swindlers and unremarkable people. Lying, cheating, gambling and drinking they’re way through life.

Based upon history, there wasn't many gunfights in general. The gunfights that did happened, were usually between criminals, bullies and those of quite flexible morals. Most people were armed and gave a damn about their well being willing to fight for their property and not be pushed around; unlike how Hollywood has portrayed men in the West as either: the alpha male willing to use his gun (main character or, protagonist) to solve problems or, the cowering, pathetic, wimp scared of this own shadow (bartender, barber, merchant, banker...).

I love this movie! I know that the Earps weren't perfect (or guiltless), but it is a wonderful movie.

I love this stuff, thanks for posting. Last year I found myself about 2 hours from Tombstone and of course spent one whole day walking around and taking everything in. It was awesome, to be there and walk into all those buildings, it put everything into a new perspective.

When Marion Morrison aka John Wayne was hired as a prop boy by John Ford Wyatt was a consultant on silent film westerns. Wayne and Wyatt became friends. The Duke always gave credit to Wyatt for developing his on screen persona in westerns.
Wayne said that his walk and speech came from Wyatt.

Wyatt personally described to John Ford the shoot out at the OK Corral and even drew it out for him on paper.
Ford later used the diagram drawn out for him from Wyatt in the movie My Darling Clementine.

I haven't watched this video yet but if its like any of his other videos, it'll be amazing. He really does his homework.

I enjoy reading some of the history of the West. Not long ago, I finished Jeff Guinn's "The Last Gunfight", a very good take on Wyatt, Doc and Tombstone. Well regarded as factual.

I saw another documentary on the making of Tombstone and was amazed At the reverence that the primary actors like Kurt Russell, Powers Booth, Sam Elliott, Michael Biehn, etc paid to the characters they played and the authenticity that they all tried to adhere to in the production. I found some of Kurt Russell's comments quite moving and he clearly understood the reality of what they went through at that point in time.