Image: Hollywood Pictures / Cinergi Pictures
About This Quiz
Although it was only a modest success upon its release in December 1993, "Tombstone" has gone on to gain a reputation as one of the most famous westerns ever made. Set in the 1880s in the boomtown of Tombstone, AZ, the film is based on the real-life events surrounding Wyatt Earp's war with a group of outlaws known as the Cowboys.Â
Starring veteran actor Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp, "Tombstone" features a top-notch cast. With Sam Elliott and Bill Paxton as brothers Virgil and Morgan Earp, Val Kilmer rounds out the ensemble with a scene-stealing performance as the legendary gunfighter and gambler Doc Holliday.
Although the film plays fast and loose with the facts, it makes up for its lack of historical accuracy with sheer entertainment value. Packed with memorable performances, classic "big sky" cinematography and some of the most quotable tough-guy dialogue ever committed to film, "Tombstone" holds a hallowed place among 1990s cult movies and in the hearts of Western fans.
If you're a "Tombstone" superfan, then you're our huckleberry! It's time to strap on your movie trivia six guns and meet us at the O.K. Corral. Can you outdraw us in this "two truths and a lie" showdown?
It's narrated by actor Charlton Heston.
The narration at the film's opening and closing is spoken by legendary actor Robert Mitchum, a veteran of the Western genre. Charlton Heston, himself no stranger to Westerns, appears in the film as rancher Henry Hooker.
It contains a clip from Edwin S. Porter's 1903 Western "The Great Train Robbery."
It contains modern footage treated to look like silent-era film.
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Curly Bill drops the red sashes of two slain Cowboys.
The Cowboys spare the priest's life.
At the film's opening, the villainous Cowboys attack the wedding of a Mexican policeman in retaliation for the deaths of two of their brethren. Although the priest who intervenes to stop the bloodshed is, at first, spared, he's then slain by Johnny Ringo.
Johnny Ringo quotes from the Book of Revelation.
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Curly Bill wears a black bowler.
"Tombstone" differs from many Western films in that the production design attempted to recreate the vivid hues of 1880s clothing and architecture rather than depend on a typical sepia-toned palette. Curly Bill is a standout in his red shirt, grimy white hat and custom ace card boots.
Curly Bill's boots have ace cards stitched on them.
Curly Bill wears a bright red shirt.
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Big Nose Kate's not wearing a bustle.
Ed Bailey lunges for Doc's throat.
Doc Holliday dispatches Ed Bailey with a gunshot between the eyes.
We first see Doc Holliday in his natural environment — a high stakes poker game. Angered that Doc has beaten him, Bailey accuses the tubercular gambler of being nothing without his guns. Doc places his pistols on the table. Bailey lunges but meets his end at the point of Doc's concealed blade.
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Wyatt is greeted by Sheriff John Behan.
Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan meet their younger brother Warren who arrived in town the week before.
In real life, Warren Earp was the youngest of the Earp Brothers. Although he does not appear in the film, he arrived in Tombstone with his brothers in 1880. He was not in town for the showdown at the O.K. Corral, but he returned to join Wyatt's posse after Morgan Earp's murder.
The Earps arrive in a covered wagon.
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It's the most profitable establishment of its kind in Tombstone.
While showing Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan around, Marshall Fred White explains that the saloons lining Allen Street are the "real motherlode" of Tombstone. With gambling, hostesses and liquor, all the saloons are successful except the Oriental, which the old marshall calls "a real slaughterhouse."
It's owned an operated by a man named Milt Joyce.
A bully named Johnny Tyler runs the Faro table.
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Wyatt slaps Johnny twice across the face asking him if he's "going to do something or just stand there and bleed?"
Johnny Tyler draws his pistol and is quickly disarmed by Wyatt.
An unarmed Wyatt Earp helps out the Oriental Saloon's owner by ousting Johnny Tyler, a crooked bully who has installed himself as the bar's Faro dealer. Using sheer intimidation (and a couple of well-placed slaps), Wyatt forces the cowardly outlaw to turn over his gun. Johnny never draws his weapon.
Wyatt dares Johnny to draw his gun asking the crooked Faro dealer if he's "gonna skin that smoke wagon?"
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Doc explains to Wyatt that poker is an honest trade.
Wyatt introduces Sheriff Behan to a chagrined Doc.
Doc introduces the Earps to his consort, Kate Horony.
After Wyatt's confrontation at the Oriental, the brothers run into their old friend Doc Holliday who alerts them to an angry and armed Johnny Tyler. Doc is without his lady friend Kate in this scene.
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Mr. Fabian does a dramatic reading from Christopher Marlowe's "Edward II."
The eloquent and mannered Mr. Fabian delivers the famous St. Crispin's Day speech from Shakespeare's "Henry V." Unfazed by gunshots from the rowdy Cowboys, Fabian makes quite an impression on lawman Billy Breckenridge.
Josephine plays the role of the devil in a "Faust" vignette.
The Cowboys frighten Professor Gillman, a juggler, off the stage.
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When Ringo asks Doc if he's retired, Holiday assures him that he's in his prime.
Doc tells Kate that Ringo is the deadliest gunfighter since Billy the Kid.
There is immediate tension when Doc Holliday meets Johnny Ringo at Wyatt's Faro table in the Oriental Saloon. Doc, visibly unimpressed with the young gunfighter, tells Kate that Ringo is "the deadliest pistoleer since Wild Bill ... they say."
Ringo and Doc trade barbs in Latin leading Holliday to surmise that Ringo is an educated man.
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Mattie was pregnant with Wyatt's child.
Although Wyatt says to Josephine that his idea of heaven is a family and kids, he and Mattie are childless and have a strained relationship. Mattie, resentful of Wyatt and Josephine, is frequently bedridden because of headaches she treats with laudanum to which she had become hopelessly addicted.
Mattie was addicted to laudanum, a medication containing opium.
Mattie was suspicious of Wyatt and Josephine Marcus.
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Doc's playing a nocturne by Chopin.
Billy Clanton mistakes Doc's tune for a Stephen Foster song.
Josephine is singing along with Doc's song.
Despite being a hard-drinking gambler and gunfighter, Doc repeatedly proves himself to be a cultured Southern gentleman. While playing a nocturne by Frédéric Chopin to entertain himself and Kate, a drunken Billy Clanton says the tune sounds like Stephen Foster's "Old Dog Tray."
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He howls at the moon like a madman.
He kills Virgil Earp.
After leaving an opium den, an intoxicated Curly Bill, leader of the Cowboys, stumbles to the street babbling absurdities, howling at the moon and shooting wildly at passersby. Marshall Fred White attempts to apprehend Curly Bill, but the drug-deranged Cowboy kills him with a shot to the chest.
Curly Bill fires his pistols wildly breaking windows and streetlamps.
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Wyatt threatens to turn Ike's head into a canoe if the Cowboys rush him.
An inebriated Doc Holliday covers Billy Clanton with two pistols.
Ike tells Billy that Wyatt is bluffing about shooting him.
After Wyatt takes Curly Bill into custody, Ike Clanton tells him to release the Cowboy leader or be torn apart by the gang. A steely-eyed Earp places his pistol to Ike's forehead. Clearly terrified, Ike warns Billy Clanton off because he knows Earp is not bluffing.
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It was written and directed by Kevin Jarre, screenwriter of "Rambo: First Blood Part II."
Although screenwriter Kevin Jarre who wrote the script for "Tombstone" was initially hired as director, he was fired early on because he was unable to keep up with the production's shooting schedule. George P. Cosmatos replaced him.
The film was shot almost entirely on location in Arizona.
Billy Bob Thornton's lines as the crooked Faro dealer were completely ad-libbed.
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The case is dismissed and Curly Bill is released because of lack of witnesses.
The trial was delayed for three weeks because the judge was out of town.
Curly Bill claims that Fred White had already been shot when he found him lying in the street.
Curly Bill's trial for the murder of Fred White is not shown on screen. Wyatt recounts the trial to his brothers over a game of billiards stating that "it took (Judge) Spicer three weeks to get back to town" for the trial and since Earp didn't see the shooting, that no witnesses means no murder.
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Virgil takes up the badge after the Cowboys threaten his wife.
Despite his insistence to the mayor that he's "barking up the wrong tree" by trying to get the Earps to help clean up Tombstone, Virgil's conscience begins to get the better of him. When the Cowboys rampage through the streets nearly trampling a small child, Virgil has had enough.
Virgil's conscience begins to get to him after the mayor tells the brothers that good people are suffering.
Virgil sees the toll the Cowboys are taking on the innocent townsfolk after saving a child from being trampled.
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Guns can't be carried within the town limits of Tombstone.
Red sashes are not to be worn in town.
Virgil's first act as town marshall proves unpopular with the people of Tombstone. Posting notice that guns are not to be carried within the city limits, Virgil is met with angry jeers. A weary Wyatt scolds his older brother for getting involved.
Virgil's solution is unpopular with the townsfolk.
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Morgan sides with Wyatt not wishing to get involved in Tombstone's troubles.
Young and idealistic, Morgan is loyal to his brothers. When confronted by Wyatt over his decision to help Virgil clean up Tombstone, Morgan tells his older brother that he's only doing what he thought Wyatt would do.
Morgan's the youngest of the Earp brothers seen in the film.
Morgan is interested in spiritualism.
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Doc wins ten hands in a row.
On what Morgan says is a 36-hour drinking and gambling binge, Doc beats Ike Clanton 12 straight hands much to the Cowboy's anger. Doc suggests that poker might not be Ike's game and sarcastically challenges him to a spelling contest.
Doc's been playing and drinking for 36 hours straight.
Doc challenges Ike to spelling contest.
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Doc's tuberculosis is quite advanced.
Doc has lost 60% of his lung tissue.
Holliday's physician says he has five years to live if he quits drinking.
After Doc Holliday's 36-hour binge, he begins coughing up blood and collapses. The next day, his physician warns him that his condition is advanced and that he has lost around 60% of his lung tissue. The hard-living gunfighter is warned that he has "two years, maybe two days" if he stops immediately.
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Doc Holliday provokes Billy Clanton with a sly wink.
Ike Clanton pleads with Wyatt not to shoot him.
Wyatt is wounded by Frank McLaury.
One of the most exciting scenes in the film is its recreation of the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. As depicted in the film, Doc goads Billy Clanton into drawing with a wink. As the lead flies, Ike Clanton begs for his life. Virgil and Morgan are hit, but, as in real life, Wyatt is unscathed.
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Ringo says he wants the Earps' blood and souls.
Virgil attempts to arrest Ringo.
An angry and drunk Johnny Ringo warns Virgil, Wyatt and Morgan that he will have his revenge stating that he wants their blood and souls. Wyatt refuses to fight the hotheaded gunslinger, but Doc informs Ringo he's ready and willing. Curly Bill intervenes before shots are fired.
Curly Bill drags Ringo away to avoid a gunfight with Doc Holliday.
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Kurt Russell once played Elvis in a TV movie.
Kurt Russell was once under contract to Walt Disney.
Kurt Russell was a guest star on the TV Western "The Big Valley."
Kurt Russell has had a long career in TV and film going back to the early 1960s. Early in his career, he had a 10-year contract with Disney. In 1979 he starred as Elvis in a TV movie directed by John Carpenter. Although he appeared in many '60s TV Westerns, he was never on "The Big Valley."
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Ally Earp draws the Tower of Babel, Death and the Devil from her Tarot deck.
Virgil Earp is killed.
Under the cover of night and a raging thunderstorm, the Cowboys exact a bloody revenge on the Earps. Eldest brother Virgil is wounded, losing the use of his left arm. Morgan is killed.
A thunderstorm is raging over Tombstone.
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Wyatt tells Curly Bill that he wants him to know it's over.
Curly Bill tells Wyatt, "Well, bye."
Ike Clanton tells Wyatt to stay out of Tombstone forever.
Emotionally crippled by Morgan's death and Virgil's maiming at the hands of the Cowboys, Wyatt loads his family on the wagon and leaves town. Meeting Curly Bill on the way out, Wyatt tells him, "I want you to know it's over." A smiling Bill replies, curtly, "Well, bye." Ike, however, is silent.
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Bill Paxton was once in a new wave band called Martini Ranch.
Paxton directed the "Fish Heads" video by the band Barnes & Barnes.
Bill Paxton composed some of the incidental music used in "Titanic."
Although the late Bill Paxton had a musical background having played in the short-lived '80s new wave band Martini Ranch, his involvement with "Titanic" was limited to acting. However, Paxton did direct several short films including the infamously bizarre video for Barnes & Barnes' "Fish Heads."
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Ike and Stilwell get the drop on Virgil before he boards the train.
Unbeknownst to Ike Clanton and Frank Stilwell, Wyatt is on to Curly Bill's plot to finish him off. Wyatt surprises the two at the rail station as Virgil and the wives leave by train. The lawman cuts Stilwell down but tells Ike to run and tell the others that he's coming and hell's coming with him.
Ike Clanton tells Stilwell that Virgil is his.
Wyatt, having laid a trap for the Cowboys, blasts Stilwell and lets Ike go to warn the others of what's coming.
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Curly Bill has the posse surrounded, catching them in a crossfire.
Doc Holliday rides in with reinforcements driving Curly Bill and the Cowboys into the open.
Wyatt Earp and his posse, including Doc Holliday, find themselves pinned down by Curly Bill and the Cowboys near a creek. With Cowboys at their front and back, Earp is caught in a deadly crossfire. Driven by revenge, Wyatt charges Bill, killing him with a blast from his shotgun.
Wyatt charges across the creek on foot and blasts Curly Bill with his shotgun.
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Like co-star Kurt Russell, he's also portrayed Elvis Presley in a film.
He got the role of Batman in "Batman Forever" because of his performance in "Tombstone."
He was nominated for an Oscar for best-supporting actor for his role as Doc Holliday.
Although Val Kilmer's iconic portrayal of Doc Holliday garnered him no Oscar, it is a fan favorite. Walking a line between subtlety and audaciousness, Kilmer's performance is tinged with both humor and pathos — not to mention Doc's Southern-fried dialogue is eminently quotable.
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Henry Hooker says Wyatt and his men can stay but only for one night.
Doc's condition has gotten worse, and he's confined to bed.
Wyatt tearfully reunites with Mattie at the Hooker Ranch.
Nursing an unconscious Doc and realizing they're outgunned by the Cowboys who are now wearing badges thanks to Marshall Behan, Wyatt and his posse take refuge at Henry Hooker's ranch. Doc, presumed to be dying, is put to bed. In a surprise reunion, Josephine Marcus arrives at the ranch.
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Johnny Ringo expects to be dueling Wyatt but instead meets Doc Holliday.
Doc Holliday taunts the dying Johnny Ringo telling him that he's "no daisy at all."
Doc drops Ringo before he can draw.
In one of "Tombstone's" most memorable sequences, Doc Holliday steps up for his friend Wyatt Earp to duel gunslinger Johnny Ringo. Although Johnny seems to draw first, Doc is too quick and shoots the outlaw through the forehead. As Ringo stumbles, Doc tells him he's no daisy.
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Wyatt, Doc, "Turkey Creek" Jack Johnson and Texas Jack Vermillion hunt down the remaining Cowboys.
The posse captures several Cowboys alive.
Wyatt and his posse of Doc Holliday, "Turkey Creek" Jack Johnson and Texas Jack Vermillion ride across the plains making good on Earp's vendetta against the Cowboys. They spare no one save for the cowardly Ike Clanton who removes his red Cowboy sash rather than die at Earp's hand.
Ike Clanton relinquishes his red sash to avoid being killed by Wyatt and his posse.
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Kate is at Doc's side in his final moments.
After routing the Cowboys, Wyatt visits Doc Holliday who has been committed to a sanitarium. As Wyatt enters Doc's room, a priest is giving the dying gunfighter the last rites. Earp gives Doc a copy of "My Friend, Doc Holliday," which he's written in tribute to his friend. Kate is nowhere to be seen.
Wyatt brings Doc a copy of a book he's written titled "My Friend, Doc Holliday."
A priest is giving Doc the last rites as Wyatt enters the room.
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Mattie died of a drug overdose after leaving Tombstone.
Wyatt Earp died in 1929 after 47 years of marriage to Josephine Marcus.
Western star William S. Hart wept at Wyatt Earp's funeral.
"Tombstone" ends with voiceover narration from Robert Mitchum summarizing the later years of the principal characters. Among the revelations are that Mattie Earp died of a drug overdose and Wyatt and Josephine were married until Wyatt's death in 1929. Western movie star Tom Mix wept at the funeral.
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