A few weeks ago, Necole and I spent some time in Arizona, and that provided us with the opportunity to travel to Tombstone. I had been there several times, but this was Necole’s first trip. It was about time that she experience “The Town Too Tough To Die.”
Like everyone else, we had to take a look at the OK Corral. To do that, we had to make our way through a souvenir shop that sold everything with OK Corral written on it. That wasn’t surprising. The fact that there was a movie about the history of Tombstone in the next room was also not surprising. However, discovery that Vincent Price was the narrator of the movie caught me off guard. Of all people chosen to narrate a movie about a western town, Vincent Price would not have been my first choice.
Anyway, we paid our money and walk out the back door to the OK Corral. There was some blacksmith stuff going on, and there was a carriage for a photo opportunity. However, there wasn’t anything about the gunfight that made the OK Corral and Tombstone famous. There have been movies about the Gunfight at the Ok Corral. There have been books written about the Gunfight at the OK Corral. Unfortunately, the gunfight did not take place in the OK Corral. It took place in a vacant lot around back.
It seems that the Gunfight at the OK Corral sounds more interesting that the Gunfight at the Vacant Lot.
We followed the path of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and the gang and found ourselves staring at Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and the gang. As you can see from the above image, they looked very realistic. I thought Disney World was the only place with animatronic figures. In fact, Tombstone has them, too.
Necole noticed that their boots had curled up from long exposure to the elements. She also noticed that they were standing close together. That’s because the combatants we standing close together. At least, that’s what Wyatt Earp said. The problem is that a lot of things Wyatt Earp said have turned out to not be true.
As we stood pondering these thoughts, a booming voice came over the loud-speaker, and the figures began to move. The Gunfight at the OK Corral was happening all over again. It was not very action packed, but the most disappointing aspect was that the booming voice did not belong to Vincent Price.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 
As they said in “Liberty Valence,” — “This is the west. Print the legend.”
I believe Maxwell Scott was the newspaper editor who said that.
Good catch. It’s my husband’s favorite quote.
It’s one of mine, too. Remember what Jason said. “Nothing’s too good for the man who shot Liberty Valance.”
My only reference to the OK Corral incident (which turns out to be the Vacant Lot incident, as you point out) is the movie ‘Tombstone’ – a highly dramatized and romantic version I suspect. Is there any movie that you may have seen that has done reasonable justice to this incident?
I can’t think of one. It was a small town struggle for political and economic control. I’ve never seen a movie that shows it in that light.
Which reminds me — Tombstone has climbed to the top of our “needafix” western movie chart. Plenty of violence and revenge, not to mention loving revisiting Tombstone and some of the best lines in modern movies.
It’s a great film.
‘Gunfight at the OK Corral’: 1957
Earp (Lancaster) to Holliday (Douglas) “Hold up your right hand. Do you solemnly swear to uphold… oh, this is ridiculous. You’re deputized. Grab some gear, I’ll get the horses.”
Still my favorite of all the Earl sagas. Hey, where do you find another Lancaster or Douglas?
“Vincent Price” ?? I woulda chose Bela Lugosi myself.
Yeah. Vincent Price of all people. In reply to your other comment, there are few stars who can compare to the old ones. However, some could make more Westerns. Tom Selleck. Kevin Costner. Sam Elliot. Cowboys stars are here if they allow themselves to do it.