“Settling the Scores at OK Corral”, an absolute classic of the genre released in 1957, has a direct sequel released ten years later. Signed by the same director John Sturges, it even begins where the first film ends!
It is an understatement to say that the famous Settling of Scores at OK Corral is a totemic figure in the history of the American West. The story of Sheriff Wyatt Earp launched into his ruthless war against the Clanton clan, which will culminate with the famous duel, has logically inspired many westerns, of unequal quality moreover.
At the top of the basket is of course John Sturges’ masterpiece released in 1957, led by two fabulous actors. Burt Lancaster as the sheriff; and Kirk Douglas, who plays Doc Holliday, the alcoholic ex-dentist and poker player, but above all very trigger-happy. Lulled by the unforgettable musical tune composed by Dimitri Tiomkin, the film is largely one of the essentials of Douglas’ career.
A sequel better than the first film?
Apart from informed film buffs of course, very few know that this western classic has a direct sequel, released ten years later, under the title Seven Seconds in Hell. Directed by the same John Sturges, Seven seconds in hell brings together a brilliant cast, all the more disturbing for the viewer as the film begins precisely where the 1957 film ends, with the final duel!
Exit Burt Lancaster in the guise of Wyatt Earp, room for an equally excellent James Garner. Drunk with revenge after the massacre, the marshal immediately undertakes a punitive expedition to “finish” the work, always supported by a Doc Holliday who is more disillusioned than ever. The character is played by a formidable Jason Robards, a great western regular. In the shoes of the Clanton patriarch pursued by Earp is Robert Ryan, who two years later will be at Peckinpah tracking down The Savage Horde.
The Mirisch Corporation James Garner in “Seven Seconds in Hell”
“I really like Seven Seconds in Hell, it’s perhaps one of John Sturges’ best films, in any case one of his most little-known films” confided Bertrand Tavernier in a long interview about the film, always as inexhaustible in discussing his love of cinema. “I even find this film very superior to the first.
When Sturges returns to this same subject ten years later, I think he knows that his description of the events in the first film was not accurate enough. […] The film is also absolutely exceptional for its photography signed by Lucien Ballardand for its very good music signed by Jerry Goldsmith“.
With less Manichean characters and more ambiguous motivations than before, armed with robust staging and a very solid storyline, Seven seconds in hell is a real gem. Interested in its discovery? It is available on DVD and Blu-ray.