Tombstone

Continuity mistake: In the beginning, when Doc Holiday is playing poker with Ed Bailey, they tell Doc to drop his cards. He does so, and reveals a poker of queens. In a fury, Ed Bailey stands up pushing the table. When he does this, you see Doc's cup with liquor in it fall and roll off the table. Doc even watches it fall off the table onto the floor. When they show Doc again, the cup is right there where it was before, in perfect stance. Doc even drinks the rest of the liquor inside it, a little bit later on in the scene. (00:11:55)

Continuity mistake: When Curly Bill is shooting up the town while drunk, he fires about 10 more rounds than his six shooter can hold without reloading (so too many shots even if he had a second gun), and still has a round remaining when he shoots Marshal Fred White. In the 1880 court hearing held after Marshal White's death, Curly Bill still had 5 rounds remaining in his pistol.

Continuity mistake: Just prior to the actual gunfight scene as both sides have their hands on their guns waiting for something to happen, Frank McLaury is first shown wearing his hat. A few moments later he is shown by himself, looking to his right, without the hat. Then again, moments later, the hat reappears.

Continuity mistake: In the first scene when the priest, bride, and groom, etc. come out of the church you can see the priest putting on his hat in two different angles.

Continuity mistake: During the fight at the O.K Corral Doc empties one of his guns into the man with the blue shirt on, then the man starts shooting through the window and Wyatt shouts "Doc, behind us." Doc Holiday immediately empties both his guns into the building without time to reload one.

Continuity mistake: When Doc and Kate are leaving the saloon after he stabbed Ed Bailey, as they stand in the doorway facing the people In the saloon, the light outside shows bright sun with shadows from the buildings, indicating it is mid to late afternoon. When they step outside, there is no bright sunlight and the entire street is in dusky shadow.

MovieFan612

Continuity mistake: In the scene where McMasters is looking through his eyeglass and telling Wyatt how many cowboys there are, there's a shot of Doc coughing with a bloody rag up to his mouth. The camera goes back to Wyatt, and when it goes back to Doc, there is blood dripping out of his mouth and all over his bottom lip and chin. In the very next shot when Doc falls off his horse, about two seconds later, his mouth and chin are completely clean.

Continuity mistake: During the fight at the OK corral, Doc Holiday has a double barrel shotgun but he shoots it three times, once in the air to spook the horse, once again to shoot the guy behind the horse, then the scene changes and he shoots another guy with the same gun without reloading.

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Suggested correction: This is already explained in corrections. The "third shot" is the same as the second shot from a different angle. The mistake is that he changes how he shoots. However, the same guy is shot - and falls dead from each angle.

Zwn Annwn

I don't buy the explanation. What would be the point of the filmmaker doing that when it's not done elsewhere in the movie, and why would the killing of the guy Doc shot be important enough to warrant a shot of it from two angles when none of the others were? No sale; still an error.

Continuity mistake: The scene where Ed says "there's three of them over there" referring to the Cowboys, but when the shot is shown there's actually four Cowboys.

Continuity mistake: After shooting up the wedding near the start, they are sitting at the table eating the feast. As the camera shows Curly Bill's plate the food on it keeps changing.

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

Johnny Tyler: Is something on your mind?
Wyatt Earp: Just want to let you know you're sittin' in my chair.
Johnny Tyler: Is that a fact?
Wyatt Earp: Yeah, it's a fact.
Johnny Tyler: Well, for a man who don't go heeled you run your mouth kind of reckless, don't you?
Wyatt Earp: No need to go heeled to get the bulge on a tub like you.
Johnny Tyler: Is that a fact?
Wyatt Earp: Mm-hmm. That's a fact.
[Johnny Tyler stands up.]
Johnny Tyler: Well, I'm real scared.
Wyatt Earp: Damn right, you're scared. I can see that in your eyes.
[Wyatt walks up to Johnny as Johnny reaches for his gun.]
Johnny Tyler: All right now.
Wyatt Earp: Go ahead. Go ahead, skin it. Skin that smoke wagon and see what happens.
Johnny Tyler: Listen, mister, I-I'm gettin' awful tired of your-
[Wyatt slaps Johnny hard in the face.]
Wyatt Earp: I'm gettin' awful tired of your gas. Now jerk that pistol and go to work.
[Johnny doesn't do anything and Wyatt slaps him in the face again.]
Wyatt Earp: I said throw down, boy.
[Wyatt slaps Johnny harder and when Johnny turns to look at Wyatt his mouth is bleeding.]
Wyatt Earp: You gonna do somethin' or just stand there and bleed?
[Johnny still doesn't do anything.]
Wyatt Earp: No? I didn't think so.

More quotes from Tombstone

Trivia: The expression "I'm your huckleberry" spoken by Doc means "I'm the perfect man for the job." It is not a reference to Mark Twain's Huck Finn, as that book was published in 1885 and this movie takes place in 1881. And it's not a reference to carrying caskets by the huckle bearers. Kilmer's autobiography is entitled "I'm Your Huckleberry." End of discussion.

MovieFan612

More trivia for Tombstone

Question: Whatever happened to Morgan's wife and Kate? They are never mentioned by the narrator at the end of the movie.

Answer: Morgan's wife, Louisa "Lou" Earp accompanied Morgan to be buried in California. She remarried Gustav Peters in December of 1885 and died in 1894, at the age of 36, in Los Angeles. Kate "Big Nose Kate" Haroney is thought to have spent time with Doc Holliday during his time in Colorado until his death in 1887. Afterwards, she married a man and moved to a town near Tombstone until she left him for another man. She lived with the other man until his death in 1930 doing odd jobs in hotels and for the railroad. She died in the Pioneer's Home in Arizona in 1940 just a few days before her 90th birthday.

Zwn Annwn

More questions & answers from Tombstone

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