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Welcome to my Tombstone book and movie review. Being a McLaury descendant, I've always been interested in the events surrounding the streetfight. Being a just-a-little-too-obsessed research hound, I've read far too many books on the subject. While I'm definitely not a qualified book and movie critic, here's my two bits worth anyway. |
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| RATING SYSTEM The rating system is divided into three categories. The first two categories share the same scoring system: |
GRADING -5 |
RANGE +5 |
OVERALL: Just because the Earps win all the time doesn't mean I don't enjoy the book or movie! MCLAURY: How the McLaury brother's were treated... if even noticed. |
Boothill Tombstones  Lowest Possible Rating |
McLaury Branding Irons  Highest Possible Rating |
| LEGEND: How well it shapes up as far as historical fact.The Legend Rating uses a different scoring system: |
 Deputy Sheriff |
Deputy Sheriff: Wyatt Earp was never a Marshall. He did become a deputy Marshall in Jan. 1882 but tarnished his star when he took up his ride of vengeance. When he was a lawman, he usually was a deputy sheriff. This rating is for books and movies that tries to back everything up with proven documented fact. |
 Frontier Marshall |
Frontier Marshall: Close to factual, but with just enough b.s. (buffalo shingle) to start making it a tall tale. |
 Buntline Special |
The Buntline Special: With a barrel as long as Pinnochio's nose. More legend than fact. |
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| HELLDORADO | |||
| William M. Breakenridge, 1928 Edited and Introduction by Richard Maxwell Brown (Bison Books,University of Nebraska Press, 1992) |
Overall: |  +4 Branding Irons |
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| "As long as I was in the sheriff's office I never knew of any warrant being issued for any of the McLaurys or Clantons." | McLaury: | +4 Branding Irons |
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| Legend: | Frontier Marshall |
| Overall: Although many of Billy Breakenridges facts have been debunked, Helldorado is still a first-person account of the events around Tombstone. Regardless of embellishment, or maybe because of it, The book provides an interesting slice of life in 1880's Arizona. I enjoyed the book. McLaury: Much of what's known of the McLaury brothers in Tombstone, good and bad, comes from from this book. Legend: Breakenridge may have tended to bend the truth at times for personal and profitable reasons, his book has provided important research data. Some tall tales definitely started with this book, but it still deserves credit for being one of the more important contributions to the Tombstone story. |
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| WYATT EARP: FRONTIER MARSHALL | |||
| Stuart N. Lake, 1931 (Pocket Books Publishing, 1994) |
Overall: |  +3 Brands |
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| "If you ever follow us again," Frank McLowery promised, as he and his brother walked away, "your friends'll find what the coyotes leave of you in the sagebrush." | McLaury: |  -2 Tombstones |
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| Mine (Wyatt's 18" Buntline Special) was my favorite over any other gun. I could jerk it as fast as I could my old one and I carried it at my right hip throughout my career as marshall." | Legend: |  Buntline Special |
| Overall: When legend is better than fact, print the legend. Wyatt Earp as the white knight of the west, almost single-handedly taming Tombstone, comes mainly from this book. Very entertaining, but as in Helldorado before it, accuracy pays the price. McLaury: Frank and Tom were as bad as "bad guys" get. But, I guess that's how you make the good guy look so good. Legend: Although Lake helped to shape the lawman and cowboy image on the silver screen for decades to come, his book provided more myth than fact. |
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| MY DARLING CLEMINTINE | (1946) | |||
| Directed by John Ford Walter Brennan as Old Man Clanton Grant Withers - Ike Clanton Fred Libby - Phin Clanton |
Based on a story by Stuart Lake Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp Tim Holt as Virgil Earp Ward Bond as Morgan Earp |
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Overall: | +5 Branding Irons |
| John Ireland - Billy Clanton Mickey Simpson as Sam Clanton |
Victor Mature as Doc Holliday Cathy Downs as Clemintine Carter |
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McLaury: |  -5 Tombstones |
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Legend: | Buntline Special |
| Overall: My all time favorite OK Corral movie. The only Wyatt I didn't hold a grudge against. The movie never got very close to fact, but it's a good shoot-em-up. McLaury: McLaury who?? The brothers weren't even in the movie! Legend: Facts are mighty slim in this one. Tombstone Tidbit: The actor who played Marshall Luke was named Harry Woods. In 1881 Tombstone, the editor's name of the Nugget was Harry Woods. |
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| GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL | (1956) | |||
| Directed by: John Sturges Lyle Bettger as Ike Clanton Mickey Simpson as Frank McLaury Jack Elam as Tom McLaury |
Burt Lancaster as Wyatt Earp Deforest Kelly as Morgan Earp Martin Milner as Jim Earp |
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Overall: |  +2 Branding Irons |
| Dennis Hopper as Billy Clanton John Ireland as Johnny Ringo |
Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday Jo Van Fleet - Kate Elder |
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McLaury: |  -3 Tombstones |
| "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" Written by Ned Washington |
Sung by Frankie Laine and Dimitri Tiomkin |
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Legend: | Buntline Special |
| Overall: I think Stuart Lake would have even cringed at this one. Still it's a pretty good shoot-em-up, as far as 50's Westerns go. McLaury: Frank is a chubby old guy. The actor isn't even in the credits. During the gunfight, after a burning Frank jumps out of the wagon, Tom runs out from cover and challenges Wyatt. Both stand and face each other, but then craven Wyatt ducks for cover and blazes away amid the pall of gun smoke and drops Tom... ain't that the way it went? Legend: Facts are slim in this one. The gunfight was a farce. Doc Holliday dives into a three feet deep trough at the beginning of the fight. Frank dies after jumping out of a burning wagon. Tombstone Tidbits: Deforest Kelly got to play both sides of the corral by playing Morgan in Gunfight at the OK Corral and Tom McLaury in Spectre of the Gun ALSO: Mickey Simpson, who played Frank McLowery was Sam Clanton in My Darling Clemintine; Jack Elam, who played Tom McLowery was... Tom McLowery!! in The Gunfighter (1950); Furthermore, Henry Mendoza, "Cockeyed" Frank Loving also played Frank Loving in The Gunfighter; Dennis Hopper played Doc Holliday in the TV movie, Wild Times (1980); and Burt Lancaster played Ned Buntline in Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976). |
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| THE EARP BROTHERS OF TOMBSTONE | |||
| Frank Waters (University of Nebraska Press, 1960) |
Overall: | +3 Branding Irons |
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| "The reason (for the gunfight) was pathetically simple. Young, full breasted, and fun loving Hattie one evening was glimpsed crawling out of the window and getting into the buggy of her cowboy swain." "'...I always thought she was sweet on one of the McLowery brothers'" | McLaury: |  -1 Tombstone |
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| "'Pull my boots off,' he (Billy) whimpered real pitiful, 'I always told my mother I'd never die with my boots on.'" **Billy was 4 years old when his mother died. |
Legend: | Buntline Special |
| Overall: An obvious case of Earp bashing and the mangling of a valuable biographical source. Still, it's a fun book to read. Whether it's actually Allie Earp's words or just good writing by Water's, one can imagine, in places, this feisty little woman living in the Old West. The book would have gotten +4 McLaury Branding Irons if Water's hadn't spent so much paper inserting his own bias opinions. McLaury: His McLaury data is just a mishmash of earlier books, except for Hattie Earp's lascivious liaisons. Legend: Like so many previous and future author's, Water's erroneously felt his embellished story would be more interesting than Allie's. And like so many, he has done more than his share to blur the line between fact and fiction. |
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| HOUR OF THE GUN | (1967) | |||
| Directed by: John Sturges Written by: Edward Anhalt Robert Ryan as Ike Clanton ? as Frank McLaury ? as Tom McLaury |
James Garner as Wyatt Earp Frank Converse as Virgil Earp Sam Melville as Morgan Earp |
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Overall: |  +1 Branding Iron |
| ? as Billy Clanton Jon Voigt as Curly Bill Brocuis |
Jason Robards as Doc Holliday Larry Gates as John Clum |
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McLaury: |  -4 Tombstones |
| "This picture is based on fact. | This is the way it happened." | |
Legend: | Buntline Special |
| Overall: "This is the way it happened." ... Well, almost. This version had a vengeful Wyatt committing Cowboy cleansing. Wyatt and the boys must have plugged a couple dozen cowboys in this film. But even with all shooting, it's a sleeper. McLaury: The movie started with the gun-fight and Tom and Frank didn't have any lines (Billy did. He got to say, "uuggghh."). The film got such a bad McLaury rating solely because the actors who played Frank, Tom and Billy weren't even recognized in the credits. Legend: Wyatt became such a murdering thug that he even sickened Doc Holliday by the end of the film. Just by having the nerve to say that this is the way it happened, this film deserves The Buntline Special award. |
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| Star Trek: SPECTRE OF THE GUN | (1968) | |||
| Created by Gene Roddenberry Written by Lee Cronin William Shatner as Kirk-Ike Leonard Nimoy as Spock-Frank Deforest Kelly as Bones-Tom |
Ron Soble as Wyatt Earp Charles Maxwell as Virgil Earp Rex Holman as Morgan Earp |
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Overall: |  +4 Branding Irons |
| James Doohan as Scotty-B Clanton Walter Koenig as Checkov-B Claiborne |
Sam Gilman as Doc Holliday Bill Zuckert as Johnny Behan |
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McLaury: | +5 Branding Irons |
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Legend: | Buntline Special |
| Overall: What can I say... It was a cinematic masterpiece! The McLaury's & Clanton's finally get to kick some Earp butt! Finally, there's justice in Tombstone. And his name his James T. Kirk! McLaury: For obvious reasons, this was my favorite version of the gunfight growing up! Tom, played by Doc McCoy, cooly stood up to that bully of a dentist, Holliday. And while it was Ike that got to do some whuppin' on Wyatt, it was Frank (played by Spock) who saved them. Legend: While they did manage to get some facts right, this tall tale was stellar. Tombstone Tidbit: Deforest Kelly got to play both sides of the corral by playing Morgan in Gunfight at the OK Corral and Tom McLaury in Spectre of the Gun |
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| DOC | (1971) | |||
| Directed by Frank Perry Written by Pete Hamill Michael Witney as Ike Clanton James Greene as Frank McLaury ? as Tom McLaury |
Harris Yulin as Wyatt Earp John Bottoms as Virgil Earp Phil Shafer as Morgan Earp |
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Overall: | -1 Tombstone |
| Bruce Fischer as Billy Clanton Denver John Collins as "The Kid" |
Stacey Keach as Doc Holliday Faye Dunaway as Kate Elder |
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McLaury: | -4 Tombstones |
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Legend: | Buntline Special |
| Overall: This is one bad movie! Keach and Dunaway must be pretty embarrassed about this one. Wyatt is the major bad guy, trying to take over the town. Virgil and Morgan are leg-wrestling bumpkins. And the Cowboys look they were borrowed from the next lot where they were shooting a "Hell's Angels" film. McLaury: Frank has just a couple bad lines... and an afro. Tom isn't even mentioned in the credits. Legend: This movie was so lame, I gave up looking for actual events. There was only one saving grace to this film. The first pan-shot of Tombstone was surprisingly well done. It was the best dramatization of Tombstone I've seen... for about thirty seconds. But then it was back to one bad movie! |
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| TOMBSTONE: MYTH AND REALITY | |||
| Odie B. Faulk (New York: Oxford University Press. 1972) |
Overall: | +3 Branding Irons |
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McLaury: | +2 Branding irons |
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| Legend: | Deputy Sheriff |
| Overall: A well documented biography on Tombstone. Lots of good facts, with a few that have been questioned in recent years. But like all good biographies, it's a little boring at times. McLaury: Not much on the McLaury's. The events surrounding the gunfight is only briefly explained. This book was about Tombstone, not Wyatt. Legend: A good primer on the history and people of Tombstone. Some inaccuracies but still a good research book. |
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| I MARRIED WYATT EARP, THE RECOLLECTIONS OF | |||
| JOSEPHINE SARAH MARCUS EARP Collected and Edited by Glenn Boyer (The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1976) |
Overall: | +3 Branding Irons |
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| "Frank McLaury was a little fellow with a short man's cocky attitude." "By contrast, Tom McLaury was reserved and had the reputation as the hard worker of the family." | McLaury: | -1 Tombstones |
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| "Virge testified in court that he heard these two cocking their pistols. What he had heard, as he well knew, was Morg and Doc cocking theirs." | Legend: | Buntline Special |
| Overall: I had already heard of the Boyer Controversy at the time I read this book, and so, read it with the same skepticism as Waters. Some of his personal source documentation is unavailable to the public and some question it's validity. The book itself is a good read. It would have been better if all sources were revealed. McLaury: I have often wondered if it were Josie's actual remarks describing the McLaury brother's or Glenn Boyer's visual assessment based solely on their photos. Legend: This should have been one of the definitive documents in the Tombstone genre. Boyers "public domain" documentation is excellent. But, by refusing to reveal all source documentation, Boyer casts doubt on any unsubstantiated fact this book. Until such records surface, he has only succeeded in adding another inch to the Buntline Special. Tombstone Tidbits: Here are three related articles on Glenn Boyer's books: Phoenix Newtimes, Tucson Weekly and an article by Gary L. Roberts on the WOLA website. Go to "Archives--Mythmaker". All three of these articles will take you off this site, so remember to use the "Back" button. |
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| AND DIE IN THE WEST | |||
| Paula Mitchell Marks (Morrow Publishing: 1989) |
Overall: | +4 Branding Irons |
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| McLaury: | +3 Branding Irons |
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| Legend: | Deputy Sheriff |
| Overall: This was the first serious OK Corral book I read and one of my favorites. The authors honest interpretation of the events surrounding the streetfight were very well laid out. McLaury: Marks uses the regular sources for the McLaury part of the story. No major surprizes. Legend: Although she received some knocks for using tainted information from Glen Boyer's I Married Wyatt Earp (ironically, even from Boyer, himself), Paula Marks' book is one of the best of the big biographies. Her source documentation was very good. |
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| TOMBSTONE CLIPPINGS | |||
| Edited by Ben T. Traywick (Red Marie's Bookstore, We Print It, Inc., 1989, 1994) |
Overall: |  +5 Branding Irons |
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| McLaury: |  +2 Branding Irons |
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| Legend: |  Deputy Sheriff |
| Overall: "Just the facts, Ma'am." That's all this is. Clippings from the Tombstone rags provide a glimpse of the daily doings of the common folk. McLaury: Nothing on the McLaury Brothers, other than an overall view of 1880's Tombstone, in genral. Legend: No embellishment. No spin... except from the articles, themsevles. As it should be. |
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| HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS | |||
| OF TOMBSTONE Ben T. Traywick (Red Marie's Bookstore, We Print It, Inc., 1991) |
Overall: | +5 Branding Irons |
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| McLaury: |  +4 Branding Irons |
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| Legend: | Deputy Sheriff |
| Overall: Lots of neat pictures! Full of old photos of Tombstones early citizenry and documents. McLaury: Only one copy of the coroner deposition mentioning the Mclaury's. Legend: This is a good Tombstone coffe table book. |
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The preceding reviews are my personal opinions, meant solely for entertainment. I have not received any financial assistance for creating this page. |