Corrected entry: Opening scene at the train station the water tank shows elevation 2650 ft, written on it. Needless to say they had no idea of such thing back then.
Corrected entry: In one scene when Wyatt Earp is crying out in the middle of town and it's raining, around Wyatt, the street is soaked and puddled with pouring rain, a few feet further up the street is clearly still hard-packed dirt where the sprinklers stop - you can even see exactly where the "rain" ends.
Correction: This actually happens in Arizona. I was down in tombstone and it happened where you can see where rain stops and starts - it's pretty neat.
No that's just bad direction.
Correction: I've had it raining at my house and the neighbors is dry.
Corrected entry: At the beginning of the movie, when The Cowboys kill the bride and groom and groomsmen, they shoot and kill all of the groomsmen. If you look closely at one who has been shot at least twice, (he starts out on his side then gets kicked on to his back by one of the other actors a few seconds later) you can see him breathing.
Correction: Just because you are shot twice, you may not die instantly. He was mortally wounded and still breathing at the time. No mistake.
Corrected entry: After Doc stabs Ed Bailey and he and Kate are exiting the saloon, he is holding his cigarette in his left hand down by his hip when he is moving through the doorway. Yet when the scene cuts to him stepping onto the boardwalk, he has the cigarette to his lips in his right hand.
Correction: Not correct. In fact Doc has the cigarette in his right hand as he approaches the door to leave, turns and puts the cigarette in his mouth with his right hand collects the money from the table,puts the smoke in his mouth to tip his hat to them and then takes the cigarette out of his mouth with his right hand and walks through the door holding the smoke in his right hand which the camera picks up outside where he takes it out with his right hand to kiss his partner.
Corrected entry: The movie shows Frank McLaury being the last one killed during the gunfight. Actually, Billy Clanton was the last one to die. After Frank was killed, Billy got off his last shot, the one that caught Morgan in the shoulder. (01:16:16)
Correction: Several of the chronological events are compressed or switched around, by the filmmakers, using creative license to tell the story in a dramatic and coherent manner. The movie is "based on true events"; it never represents itself to be the end-all-and-be-all historical account.
Corrected entry: When the Earps arrive in Tombstone, they are greeted by Sheriff Johnny Behan. The actual date of Wyatt's arrival is December 1, 1879. Johnny Behan didn't move to Tombstone until September of 1880 and wasn't elected Sheriff until the latter part of 1880 or early part of 1881.
Correction: Several of the chronological events are compressed or switched around - including Behan's arrival, Josie's arrival, the attacks on the Earps after the famous 'corral' gunfight (which took place over a several-month period). All of this was obviously done to tell the story in a seamless and coherent manner. The movie is "based on true events"; it never represents itself to be the end-all-and-be-all historical account.
Corrected entry: In the scene where Wyatt is dealing Faro, the bettor says "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen." This phrase was coined by Harry Truman in the 1940s.(http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/get-out-of-the-kitchen.html).
Correction: Not a mistake. Movies are commonly filmed using the venacular familiar with the climate at that time, using contemporary language over traditional, so the audience can be more involved and follow the movie easier. Using a phrase that is out or pre-dated is not considered a mistake, simply a means to make the movie more palatable to the overall audience.
Corrected entry: During the gun fight that precedes Wyatt Earp killing Curly Bill in the river, one of the gun fighters is seen reloading his shotgun. The shells he pulls out are red plastic with brass collars. They didn't have plastic then, the shells were all brass.
Correction: Some shells back then were very thick paper on brass. They were cheaper and couldn't be reloaded.
Corrected entry: Wyatt did not meet Josephine Marcus after she came to town for a show at the Birdcage Theater. It opened in December 1881, a few months after the gunfight at the OK corral, which occurred in an alley near the corral but not in it.
Correction: This is not a documentary. This is a movie based on the events that happened. Therefore since it's not a documentary, they can make any changes to events they want.
Corrected entry: Fred White, the town marshal, is portrayed as an old man with white beard. In reality, he was only 31 years old when Curly Bill shot him.
Correction: As noted in several other corrections here, the facts are adjusted in several areas to accommodate the filmmakers' artistic license. In the commentary, we learn that they chose to have an aged Marshall White to accentuate the cowardice of the young Sheriff Behan, who forces White to confront the opium-crazed Curly Bill which leads to his death.
Corrected entry: In the early scene where Wyatt slaps Johnny Tyler, in one shot, his entire bottom lip is drenched in blood. In the next shot, there are two small blood droplets on his bottom lip.
Correction: We see Tyler wipe his mouth on his handkerchief.
Corrected entry: In the scene where the Earps are playing pool and the mayor is trying to get them involved, Virgil is wearing a sidearm. The following scene when he exits the billiard hall and cowboys are shooting up the street, he reaches to his hip for his gun but it's not there.
Correction: Virgil's pistol was on his left hip because he was playing pool with his right (dominant) arm. Outside he reaches instinctively for his gun which would usually be on his right hip, as a reflexive action when he hears gunfire. You will see when he picks up the boy that the gun is still on his left hip.
Corrected entry: After Morgan is killed, the Earps leave Tombstone with Wyatt driving a flat wagon carrying Morgan's body and Virgil driving the covered wagon with the women. In the next scene, as they cross the prairie headed for the train station, only the covered wagon appears with a man (most likely Wyatt) riding a black horse in front of it. The other wagon is nowhere to be seen.
Correction: Morgan's body was taken by wagon to the nearest railhead (in Benson) and was sent to his parents in Colton, California, where he was buried. Virgil and his wife continued on to Tucson - this is where we see only the covered wagon and Wyatt.
Corrected entry: When the Earps are in the Oriental discussing Curly Bill's acquittal, Wyatt relates that Judge Spicer said, "Without witnesses, you can't have a murder." But there were witnesses - Josie and Behan both were shown as eyewitnesses.
Correction: If they were not willing to testify in court, then there would be no witnesses before the judge, and none according to the law.
That shooting had zero witnesses. It took place behind a place off Allen street. Nobody would have seen it.
In real life, the shooting took place in an alley. In this movie, it is in the middle of the street, where Josie and Behan are present.
In real life, yes. But in the context of this movie, it took place at a different site, with witnesses.
Corrected entry: After Wyatt obtains his 25% stake from the Oriental, he is seen walking over to his brothers and putting his cigar in his mouth. The camera angle changes and he is now seen putting his arms around his brothers shoulder's and the cigar is now in his left hand. (00:21:40)
Correction: With the cigar in his left hand, Wyatt takes a drag as he descends the steps of the Oriental and is approaching his brothers from behind. When he reaches them, the cigar is correctly in his left hand when he touches Morgan on his shoulder.
Corrected entry: When Wyatt's younger brother tells Doc that they have a stake in the Oriental, he is seen putting his cigar in his mouth. The camera angle changes and the cigar is now seen back in his hands.
Correction: Morgan actually tells Doc they've acquired a Faro game (he doesn't say where). Also, the cigar is unlit and it is common to put an unlit cigar in your teeth and remove it (which he does while the camera is focused on Doc), whether because he was simply chewing the end or whether he realized it was unlit.
Corrected entry: During the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Ike Clanton is seen running into a store, grabbing the sheriff's gun, and then breaking the window and window frame so he could shoot at the Earp's and Doc Holliday. When the camera angle changes you see the window frame intact and when the camera angle changes again the frame is broken again. (01:15:35)
Correction: The panes of glass (of which there are many) are broken throughout the fight and none of them are "restored" at any point in this sequence.
Corrected entry: During the scene in which the boy pretends to shoot the Earps and Doc Holiday as they walk to the OK Corral, the first camera shot shows that the ground is completely dry. The shot changes and there is a large puddle of water close to Wyatt. (01:00:10)
Correction: There is no "large puddle of water". There is a patch of ground that is slightly more damp than the surrounding area.
Corrected entry: After the shootout at the OK Corral, there's a shot of a bell tolling. But the sound of the tolls is out of sync with the movement of the bell.
Correction: If you've ever actually watched a large bell tolling, you would see that the sound resonates while the bell is swinging back the other way. So, there is no audio mistake here.
Corrected entry: In the scene toward the end of the shootout at the O. K. Corral, Texas Jack and Creek Johnson are shown walking over a large video or sound dish used by the crew as they back into the street. Wyatt then joins Doc to walk away.
Correction: It's a hatbox, on its edge. It's not a piece of movie equipment.
Correction: Not "needless to say" at all. The height of Everest was calculated in 1856, accurate to 0.01%. The Greeks used basic trigonometry to measure the height of tall buildings.