Hour of the Gun (1967)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

John Sturges

Writer:

Edward Anhalt (written by)

Release Date:

1968 (Austria)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

Wyatt Earp - hero with a badge or cold-blooded killer?

Plot:

Marshal Wyatt Earp kills a couple of men of the Clanton-gang in a fight. In revenge Clanton's thugs kill the marshal's brother. Thus, Wyatt Earp starts to chase the killers together with his friend Doc Holliday. |

Plot Keywords:

Shootout | Gambling | Pool Hall | Shotgun | Gunfight At The O.k. Corral

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Nov. 26

6:15 AM

TCM

Cast

James Garner	...	Wyatt Earp
Jason Robards	...	Doc Holliday
Robert Ryan	...	Ike Clanton
Albert Salmi	...	Octavius Roy
Charles Aidman	...	Horace Sullivan
Steve Ihnat	...	Andy Warshaw
Michael Tolan	...	Pete Spence
William Windom	...	Texas Jack Vermillion
Lonny Chapman	...	Turkey Creek Johnson
Larry Gates	...	John P. Clum
William Schallert	...	Judge Herman Spicer
Bill Fletcher	...	County Sheriff Jimmy Bryan
Karl Swenson	...	Dr. Charles Goodfellow
Austin Willis	...	Anson Safford
Monte Markham	...	Tucson Sheriff Sherman McMasters
Richard Bull	...	Thomas Fitch
Sam Melville	...	Morgan Earp
Frank Converse	...	Marshal Virgil Earp
Jon Voight	...	Curly Bill Brocius
Robert Phillips	...	Frank Stilwell
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edward Anhalt	...	Denver doctor (uncredited)
Walter Gregg	...	Billy Clanton (uncredited)
Ben Johnson	...	Man hired by Clanton for $50 (uncredited)
David Perna	...	Frank McLowery (uncredited)
Jorge Russek	...	Deputy Latigo (uncredited)
Jim Sheppard	...	Tom McLowery (uncredited)

Directed by
John Sturges

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Edward Anhalt		written by

Produced by
John Sturges	....	producer

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Cinematography by
Lucien Ballard		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ferris Webster

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Art Direction by
Alfred Ybarra		(as Alfred C. Ybarra)

Set Decoration by
Rafael Suárez		(as Rafael Suarez)

Makeup Department
Charles Blackman	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Nate H. Edwards	....	production manager
Jack Lacey	....	unit production manager
Allen K. Wood	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Thomas J. Schmidt	....	assistant director

Art Department
Joe LaBella	....	property
William Maldonado	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Jesús González Gancy	....	sound (as Jesus Gonzalez Gancy)
Frank E. Warner	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Sass Bedig	....	special effects

Stunts
Roydon Clark	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Combs	....	stunts (uncredited)
David Perna	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jim Sheppard	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gordon T. Dawson	....	wardrobe (as Gordon Dawson)

Editorial Department
Jorge Azcárate	....	assistant editor (as Jorge Azcarate)

Music Department
Richard Carruth	....	music editor
David Tamkin	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
John Franco	....	script supervisor
'Chema' Hernandez	....	head wrangler: Mexico (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Mirisch Corporation, The (presents)
• Mirisch-Kappa Production

Distributors

• United Artists (1967) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1968) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1971) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS) (rental)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (retail)
• United Artists Films (1968) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2008) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.  facilities
• Union of Motion Picture Production Workers of the Republic of Mexico  appreciation for their co-operation

Also Known As:

Fünf Geächteten, Die (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Aseiden hetki (Finland) [fi]
Hora de la pistola, La (Mexico) [es]
Hora de las pistolas, La (Spain) [es]
Ora delle pistole, L' (Italy) [it]
Ora tou pistoliou, I (Greece) [el]
Seksløberens time (Denmark) [da]
Sept secondes en enfer (France) [fr]
Sheriffen i Tombstone (Sweden) [sv]

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Norway:16 | Netherlands:AL (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Durango, Mexico

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Trivia:

Prior to production, United Artists had made it quite clear to director John Sturges that none of the primary roles were to be filled by the actors who played the same characters in Sturges' previous Wyatt Earp film, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). Wanting to distinguish this film from the previous one, they demanded different actors be cast in the roles. However, Sturges believed that the roles of Virgil and Morgan Earp from the previous film were small enough that the same actors who played them could do it again without harming the film's uniqueness. The studio agreed and allowed Sturges to cast John Hudson (Virgil Earp) and DeForest Kelley (Morgan Earp). Unfortunately, Hudson had retired from acting in the early '60s and was unwilling to do the role. Kelley, on the other hand, was currently working on the TV series "Star Trek" (1966) and was unable to break away to play Morgan Earp. Thus, both Earp brothers were recast.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Curly Bill Brocius is shot by Wyatt Earp, only a tiny entrance wound is shown in his forehead as he falls over, even though Earp fired a shotgun. A shotgun blast would have blown Brocius's head apart.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[The Earps and Doc Holliday approach the O.K. Corral]
Wyatt Earp (Tombstone city marshal: Ike Clanton, Andy Warshaw, Latigo, Curly Joe Brocious... Who's in the corral, Virg?
Marshal Virgil Earp: Billy Clanton and the McLowerys.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Star Trek: Spectre of the Gun (#3.6)" (1968)

I can't understand why this isn't more popular.

Sturges' sequel to Gunfight at the OK Coral is in some ways a better film with a less predictable (obviously) storyline transformed into a bitter tale of vengeance. James Garner isn't his usually laid back self as an increasingly disillusioned Wyatt Earp while Jason Robards catches the acting honours as a Jimmy Cricket-style Doc Holiday. Clever, moody, well made. (8/10)