Tombstone

Question: In the scenes when McMasters' body is dropped, the Cowboy says to meet Ringo at 7 o'clock. It was light out. Then they show Ringo and it is dark. Then when Wyatt talks to Doc at Hooker's ranch it appears the sun is rising. Then just before the showdown between Doc and Ringo it appears that the sun is up. It seems more than 12 hours passed. Did 7 o'clock mean 7am?

Answer: Yes, the showdown was meant to have taken place at 7am the next day.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: Why would Ike Clanton, who is cowardly when he's unarmed, outnumbered and/or has a gun pointed at him, be allowed to be in the cowboys? Considering the others are fearless even in the face of danger, they should never have let him in.

Answer: Anyone could join the Cowboys if they followed their code of conduct. Ike's brother was a member and there's no reason for him not to be. It's not like it was the Marines who require an ounce of common sense. The Cowboys were hooligans, Ike being one of the dumbest.

MovieFan612

Question: What were Doc Holiday's last words?

Answer: "This is funny." It's rumored he said that when he saw his bare feet. He thought he would die with his boots on.

Question: Who was the hooded person who shot at the women with the shotgun?

Answer: Florentino, the Mexican member of the Cowboys played by Paul Ben-Victor. Earlier a brief close up of him is seen as he is stalking the Earps and, though only seen briefly as he shoots at the women, his mustache is quite easily recognizable if you pause the movie.

BaconIsMyBFF

Factual error: During the gunfight in the lot behind the OK Corral, Tom McLaury is firing a six shooter at Doc just before Doc fires his shotgun in the air to scare Tom's horse away. The mistake is that Tom McLaury wasn't armed during the actual gunfight. He was shot by Doc while he was reaching for the rifle he had stored in his saddle. (01:14:58)

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Suggested correction: The events have been intentionally adjusted by the filmmakers to create a coherent and entertaining movie. It is not a documentary. This film is loosely based on true events; it's not a day-to-day account of the events of 1880 through 1882. Artistic license does not constitute a movie mistake.

Brenda Elzin

Changing facts in historical material does constitute factual mistakes, whether anybody wants to call them that or not.

It really depends on the degree to which the film-maker alters the facts, and whether that alteration is glaring or changes the story line. For most, it doesn't. Tom got shot and Doc shot him. There is an implicit duty of the audience to "suspend disbelief" - an acknowledgment that it is impossible to get every small detail correct.

How does changing the facts make it a good movie? I guess it might entertain those who know nothing about the facts. But for those who have studied and read up on things, going way out of the story does little in making a good story. That is why I like "Wyatt Earp" MUCH more than "Tombstone." No, "Wyatt Earp" is not a documentary. It, too, has altered some facts. But, to me, it is much closer to the truth. Even some of the dialog is from the Tombstone Epitaphs reporting of the incident.

More mistakes in Tombstone

Doc Holliday: Oh. Johnny, I apologize; I forgot you were there. You may go now.

More quotes from Tombstone

Trivia: Val Kilmer is widely believed to be the most historically accurate portrayal of Doc Holliday. He is the same height, same build, and uses phrases used by Doc Holliday (eg "I'm your huckleberry" and "You're a daisy if you do").

Vin15Nets

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Suggested correction: But Hucleberry Finn appeared in Tom Sawyer in 1876 and was a bad influence on, or "made trouble' for Tom.

Not sure what this correction is trying to state, but "I'm you're Huckleberry" was slang in the late 1800's for "I'm your man" and didn't derive from Twain or Huck Finn. Twain uses the earlier slang meaning of huckleberry for Finn, meaning an inconsequential person, to establish Finn is a boy of lower extraction or degree than Tom Sawyer.

Bishop73

More trivia for Tombstone

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