Doc (1971)
A town that won’t die
Doc and Kate try to find love
The Corral ends it
“You’d be surprised, things you can solve with a gun.”
This isn’t your parents’ Tombstone…or your great grandparents’ My Darling Clementine. Doc is a dirty, gritty, dust covered retelling of the 1881 gunfight at Tombstone’s storied OK Corral.
The story centers around (no big Spoiler) Doc Holliday (Stacy Keach), from his meeting with Katie Elder (“Big Nose Kate”) (Faye Dunaway) to the infamous showdown with the Clanton and McLowery families. In between we meet Wyatt Earp (Harris Yulin - Ozark), hear a lot of Mexican music, watch much whiskey consumed, and sit in on a few card games.
The Good Cards: Doc is very well acted, the take on the figures is fresh (at least it was in 1971) and it shows Tombstone for what it was in 1881: a hyperactive boom town that made Vegas look like Mayberry.
The Bad Cards: The movie plays fast and loose with history, particularly when stacked against later movies (especially Tombstone). Major figures die who did not die in the gunfight; Doc and Kate’s relationship was different that presented (and Kate looked a lot different than Faye Dunaway); the landscape around Tombstone looks a lot more like the sand dunes of Saudi Arabia than the high desert of southeast Arizona (‘though Tombstone itself is very well represented); and while Stacy Keach is great as an uber intense Doc, he ain’t no Val Kilmer.
The Verdict: If you can look past the annoyingly inaccurate historical bits, Doc is a decent western. The acting is good and although the motivation of some characters is questionable (especially Earp), the twists on the Clantons and McLowery’s are pretty cool. Don’t come here for history, but if you want a slightly different take on an old story it is worth the 90 minutes.
You can catch Doc HERE.
Two out of Five Cowboys.
🤠🤠
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