Tombstone

Tombstone is a well-acted and well-produced western that works surprisingly well given its troubled production history.

First, Robert Mitchum, signed to star as Old Man Clanton, fell from his horse on the first day of filming and injured his back. Mitchum went on to do the film’s narration and the part of Old Man Clanton was cut from the script.

Then, writer-director Kevin Jarre began butting heads with producer Andrew Vajna over the length of his screenplay, which provided significant back-story for virtually all the characters in the film. Vajna eventually fired him as director and hired John Fasano to trim the script.

Finally, fearing the studio would shut down production with no director in place, star Kurt Russell unofficially assumed Jarre’s role as director, continuing even after credited director George P. Cosmatos arrived.

Given these problems, it’s amazing Tombstone even got made, let alone that it works so well.

It retells the classic story of retired lawman Wyatt Earp, played by Kurt Russell, attempting to settle down with his brothers in the small town of Tombstone, Arizona, only to find trouble from a gang of outlaws and help from an old friend, Doc Holliday, played by Val Kilmer.

Despite the screenplay edits, which render most of the characters paper-thin, the individual performers have enough presence and charisma to make up for it, especially Kilmer, who steals the film. Striking just the right balance between fragility and lethality, Kilmer delivers a tour-de-force performance that easily outshines the rest of the cast and more than makes up for the both loss of Mitchum and the screenplay cuts.

That said, Mitchum playing a truly nasty Old Man Clanton with a longer, more fleshed out script might have elevated Tombstone to a true classic.