Hour of the Gun

1967

1h 40m

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

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Western

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.

Directors

John Sturges

Writers

Edward Anhalt(writer by)

Stars

James Garner

Jason Robards

Robert Ryan

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Watch Hour of the Gun ≣ 1967 ≣ Trailer
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Watch Hour of the Gun (1967) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]

Photos36

Top cast

Marshal Wyatt Earp

Doc Holliday

Ike Clanton

Octavius Roy

Horace Sullivan

Andy Warshaw

Pete Spence

Texas Jack Vermillion

Turkey Creek Johnson

John P. Clum

Judge Herman Spicer

Dr. Charles Goodfellow

Monte Markham

Tucson Sheriff Sherman McMasters

Curly Bill Brocius

Jimmy Bryan

Anson Safford

Thomas Fitch

Morgan Earp

Directors

John Sturges

Writers

Edward Anhalt(writer by)

All cast & crew

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User reviews1

Review

Featured review

9/10

If you are going to kill like me, you might as well drink like me. Hour of the Gun is directed by John Sturges and adapted to screenplay by Edward Anhalt from Douglas D. Martin's novel Tombstone's Epitaph. It stars James Garner, Jason Robards and Robert Ryan. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography is by Lucien Ballard. Story begins with the shootout at the O.K. Corral and tells of the aftermath involving the major players. Although John Sturges' Gunfight at the O.K. Corall ten years previously proved to be popular, the director was never happy with the finished project, due in no small part to the fact that Hal B. Wallis controlled the script. Here Sturges takes control and crafts what in essence is a sequel to the 57 movie. Leaning more towards a character study with a dark edge, Hour of the Gun is refreshing in giving the Wyatt Earp/Doc Holliday characters a different story than the one we normally see on the screen; one that actually attempts historical accuracy where possible. Viewing it now it's easy to see why the film was received coldly back on release. The Western movie was just about creaking along as a viable cinematic genre as it was, but with Sturges and Anhalt portraying one of America's folklore heroes in moral decline, it's unsurprising that it found itself out of sync with the times. However, time has been very kind to it, where over decades the re-evaluation of many a psychological Western has seen it viewed as one of the more bolder and cynical tinted oaters from the 60s. With a fine script from Anhalt to work from, who also features as a player in the film as Holliday's whiskey smuggling carer, the cast work well. Ryan files in for villain duties as Ike Clanton and Garner as Earp and Robards as Holliday make for a suitably sombre pairing. There's also some quality in the support ranks where Albert Salmi, John Voight, Jorge Russeck and Karl Swenson leave good impressions. With Goldsmith tonally aware for the scoring and master photographer Ballard utilising the Panavision on offer for the Durango locations, it's an all round well put together production. Some fat could have done with being trimmed off it to get it 10 minutes shorter; for the story starts to feel over long entering the last quarter. But Hour of the Gun is not only a better than your average 60s Western, it's also one of the better Wyatt Earp movies available to those interested in the subject. 7.5/10

John Chard04 May, 2017