Hour of the Gun Page #2

Synopsis: Marshal Wyatt Earp kills a couple of men of the Clanton gang in a fight. In revenge, Clanton's thugs kill the Marshal's brother. Thus, Wyatt starts to chase the killers together with his friend Doc Holliday.
Genre: Western
Director(s): John Sturges
Production: United Artists
 
IMDB:
6.7
Rotten Tomatoes:
100%
APPROVED
Year:
1967
100 min
185 Views


Wyatt, did malice move you

against the Clanton group?

No.

Would you tell the court what did?

The Clanton group was armed

and made threats

of death and violence against us.

It was our duty as sworn peace officers

to disarm and arrest them.

I would disarm and arrest

General Ulysses S. Grant

if he appeared on the streets of

Tombstone under those circumstances.

Wyatt, I told you

before you went down to the corral

that I had met with the Clanton group

and they agreed to leave town peaceably.

Bryan, you take bribes. You're a thief,

a liar, and a disgrace to your office.

I wouldn't take your word

if you swore to it on your mother's grave.

You'll live to regret that.

I want to recall Sheriff Bryan.

Now, Sheriff Bryan...

would you mind repeating under oath

the statement you just made?

I said I attempted

to stop the Earps and Holliday

as they marched down the street

toward the corral.

How did you go about that?

I told them that none of the men

at the corral were looking for trouble.

They had all agreed

to leave town immediately.

And what was their reply?

They ignored me.

And what did you do then?

I watched them.

I saw Billy Clanton and Frank McLowery

raise their hands above their heads...

and Tom McLowery threw back his coat

and lapel to show that he was unarmed!

And that's when the Earps

and Holliday opened fire!

- You swear this under oath?

- I do!

That they fired on the deceased

with their coats open

and their hands raised in the air!

That's all, Your Honor.

So we see that the prosecution has

introduced a substantial body of evidence

pointing to the guilt

of the defendants.

And much of this stands unrefuted

by the defense.

But in the last analysis,

the prosecution's case

turns on two points.

Whether in fact

the shooting was a crime,

and whether there was a motive.

As to the first point,

both the coroner's report and the

independent medical testimony indicate

that William Clanton's wrist

was penetrated from the outside

and that the bullet lodged

in his abdomen.

That is not the wound received

by a man with his hands in the air.

Tom McLowery's wounds were not

the sort that could be received

with his hands

on his lapels like that,

but rather with his hands

around a Winchester carbine

which he had recently extracted

from his horse's saddle holster.

The testimony of Sheriff Bryan

therefore stands refuted.

Therefore, since no crime

has been established...

or even a motive for one...

I find that the defendants

were fully justified in their actions,

and that these homicides occurred

in the discharge of their official duties.

The case of the prosecution

is therefore dismissed.

Court is adjourned.

Everybody rise.

Well, shooting from the front side

didn't work.

Next time, he'll try it from the back.

We'll get Clanton at the election.

Thanks, Horace.

See you at the polls.

Good night.

Harry... take this over to Doc

before you check out, will ya?

Okay.

- Good night, Marshal.

- Good night, Harry.

Hit me.

How much the baby weigh?

Too much.

Don't distract me.

Hit me again.

- Charley, I don't think that...

- Just give me the card, will ya?

If the population keeps growing

and you keep stopping in here

every time you deliver a baby,

you're gonna go broke.

I can't understand

why I never win.

You don't play very well.

Besides that, you never cheat.

Cheat?

Do you?

No, I'm too good.

I don't have to.

Well, if you weren't that good?

I'd cheat.

Well, I'll be damned.

I don't think

the correct word is "cheat," Charley.

What is that word? Just how much

is a player supposed to lose?

Well, now...

the house rules fix the percentage.

The regulars know the odds.

Doc's just trying to keep you

from giving us your money.

Checked the horses and the prisoners.

You're on duty.

Don't you think it's time

to go home, Charley?

I'll walk along with you.

Nope. I'm gonna stay

and do a little rule bending.

Good night.

Harry.

Harry, wake up.

Harry, get out of bed.

I just got into bed.

There's someone breaking in

downstairs in the barbershop.

What can they steal

in the barbershop?

Harry, do you want me

to go downstairs?

Sure. You go. You go.

All right. All right.

- Marshal.

- Get my brother. Get my brother, please.

Morg, check the alley!

It's your brother, Marshal.

- Virgil, you all right?

- Couldn't see.

- Stick with us.

- I don't feel anything.

- Where'd the shots come from?

- Barbershop.

Out of the way, Wyatt.

Hold him up, will ya?

Harry, did you see anything?

No. Nothing. Nothing.

Harry, you're lying.

Who did you see?

It was dark.

Where was it dark, Harry?

Marshal... I got a boy and a wife.

So has Virgil.

I can't.

They'll kill me.

That won't help nothing.

Harry, you've got just as much to fear

from me as you have from Clanton.

Now, who was it?

It makes no difference

what you do to me.

I can't.

Unless you promise I don't have

to say this to anyone but you.

All right, Harry.

You've got my word.

Stilwell.

You said "they."

Brocius.

And Spence.

And Warshaw.

All right, Harry.

Whereas six witnesses

for the defense have testified

that the accused, Peter Spence,

Andrew Warshaw, and William Brocius

were playing poker

at the Alhambra Saloon

at the time of the assault

on Marshal Earp's life,

and whereas Sheriff Bryan

has sworn

that his deputy, Frank Stilwell,

was on duty at the county jail...

...and since the city prosecutor has failed

to produce any evidence to the contrary

or any witnesses

to the actual assault

or to the number

or identity of assailants...

Mr. Fitch?

Therefore, the charges of feloniously

assaulting Marshal Virgil Earp

brought by the city of Tombstone

against these defendants are dismissed.

This court is adjourned.

Everybody rise.

Wyatt, he knew you had a witness.

He gave you every chance...

Let it go, Tom.

I'll be damned

if I understand a man

whose word to a waiter

is more important than his brother.

The law won't work

when part of it is ignored

because everyone is either

bought off or terrified.

Then I'll enforce the part

that does work.

Wyatt...

Your brother will be

a cripple for life.

Who's gonna take his place

on the ballot, Wyatt?

I am.

I don't wanna hear

a word from you.

I'm just educating myself.

I've never been

on the right side of the law.

I want to see how much good

it does you when you are.

Andy Warshaw.

Andrew Warshaw.

Andrew Warshaw.

Anson Safford.

Anson Safford.

Anson Safford.

Nervous?

Fair amount.

Well, it should be over

by midnight.

I won, didn't I?

Yes, Morgan.

You did.

Wyatt?

What'd he say?

When we were kids,

we used to argue about whether,

when you were dying,

your whole life

flashed in front of you or not.

He said,

"It ain't so, Wyatt."

There's two more bags

in the carriage.

What are you gonna do, Wyatt?

I'm taking them to Tucson to meet

the transcontinental train to California.

Virgil will bury Morgan

Rate this script:4.5 / 2 votes

Edward Anhalt

Edward Anhalt (March 28, 1914 in New York City – September 3, 2000 in Pacific Palisades, California) was a noted screenwriter, producer, and documentary film-maker. After working as a journalist and documentary filmmaker for Pathé and CBS-TV he teamed with his wife Edna Anhalt during World War II to write pulp fiction. (Edna was one of his five wives.) more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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