'Doc' (1971)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Frank Perry

Writer:

Pete Hamill (writer)

Release Date:

1 August 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

For the past 90 years these three people have been heroes. Until now!

Plot Keywords:

Consumption | Opium | Wyatt Earp | Target Practice | Desert

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Stacy Keach	...	Doc Holliday
Faye Dunaway	...	Katie Elder
Harris Yulin	...	Wyatt Earp
Michael Witney	...	Ike Clanton (as Mike Witney)
Denver John Collins	...	The Kid
Dan Greenburg	...	Clum, Editor Tombstone Epitaph
John Scanlon	...	Bartlett, Saloon Owner
Richard McKenzie	...	Tombstone Sheriff John Behan
John Bottoms	...	Virgil Earp
Ferdinand Zogbaum	...	James Earp
Penelope Allen	...	Mattie Earp
Hedy Sontag	...	Alley Earp
James Greene	...	Frank McLowery
Antonia Rey	...	Concha, Whore
Philip Shafer	...	Morgan Earp (as Phil Shafer)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (cut) (1989) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1972) | Netherlands:AL | West Germany:16 (f) | Singapore:NC-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | USA:R (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

FP Films

Good but depressing

The best thing about this film is the first half hour, the classic posturing in the first scene ("We ain't got no cold beer"), Doc and Kate Elder's damaged courtship, a stark, music-less ride across scorching desert. The first glimpse of Tombstone (the town, not the movie) is equally exhilarating, everything is dirty and chaotic, men are fighting in the streets. From that point on, much of the film is boring and slow, though there was enough to hold my attention throughout. Seeing how the story will unfold is the most riveting aspect. The ending is satisfying enough, as is the script's odd take on how and why Doc wound up in the fateful gunfight at the coral. The performances are good all around. It warrants mentioning here that this movie is no more historically accurate than other films on the subject. Two major inconsistencies were already mentioned, and most historians' and witnesses' accounts have Doc playing a much more active role in events leading up to the fight. The overall feel of the film, though, is much more believable than your average Hollywood western. That's probably the most satisfying thing here next to the cast: the physical details, the look and feel. Just pretend the characters are all made up. And don't watch it if you're already in a bad mood.