Andrew Goodman Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

As it pertains to the role of the sidekick, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) can be, at times, a tad confusing. Clearly, Wyatt Earp, a skilled lawman, serves as the film’s alpha male cowboy as he conducts himself in manner which emphasizes duty. That duty guides his actions as he saves John “Doc” Holliday from a lynch mob, as he maintains law and order within Dodge City, and, after falling in love with Laura Denbow, as he leaves her so as to travel to Tombstone and “help his brother, a marshal who’s having trouble” (Tompkins 40). As Wyatt Earp is the alpha male cowboy, normally Doc Holliday would be Earp’s sidekick. However, describing Holliday as a sidekick simply does not do. Holliday, as a gambler who dresses in ornate clothing, a gunfighter, and a heavy drinker, does not play a role that leads itself to being described as that of a traditional sidekick. Instead, throughout the film, Earp and Holliday seem to be dependent upon one another. After Earp saves Holliday from a lynch mob, Holliday arrives in Earp’s Dodge City and indicates that he owes Earp a debt which he must repay. Earp, after indicating that he does not believe that Holliday owes him debt, utilizes Holliday’s abilities. In attempting to apprehend a trio of bank robbers, Earp deputizes Holliday, and the two ride off into the open land. When the bank robbers attempt to kill them in their sleep, Earp and Holliday shoot them first, as neither was actually sleeping. When they return to town, Holliday saves Earp’s life as he creates a diversion when Shanghai Pierce and his men are ready to shoot Earp. At this point, Holliday indicates that the debt owed to Earp has been repaid in full. Thus, even before the two head for Tombstone, they have each saved the other’s life and have collaborated in killing three outlaws.
After Earp receives word from his brother, Virgil, that assistance is needed in combating the Clanton Gang in Tombstone, Earp, as the alpha male cowboy, leaves Laura, who arrived in Dodge City as a “gambler and troublemaker” (Tompkins 40). Despite the fact that the two were set to marry and travel to California, Earp has a duty to assist his brother. When Holliday follows Earp out of town, the two agree to travel together. According to Tompkins, this reveals that “the person Wyatt Earp really loves is Doc Holliday, another gambler and troublemaker, whom he had…tried to get rid of at the beginning of the movie” (Tompkins 40). When, after arriving in Tombstone, Earp’s three brothers express concern that Earp rode into town with Holliday, Earp defends the former dentist. This defense of Holliday occurs despite the fact that, early in the film, Earp had declared “I’ve never needed anybody in my life and I sure don’t need Doc Holliday.” According to Tompkins, “the vehemence of [t]his claim to autonomy virtually guarantee[d] that it…[would] be undermined” (Tompkins 48). Thus, Earp reveals that he is dependent upon the character, who, in other Western films, would be his subservient sidekick.
After his brother, Jimmy, is killed by the Clanton Gang and Earp agrees to a gunfight at the O.K. Corral alongside his brothers, Earp seeks out Holliday’s assistance. Despite the fact that he is very ill, Holliday accompanies the three Earps to the gunfight. According to Tompkins, “by the time the showdown arrives you can hardly tell…[Earp and Holliday] apart: they dress alike, walk alike, talk alike, and finally they fight side by side as brothers” (Tompkins 48). During the course of the gunfight, both Morgan and Virgil Earp are shot, leaving Doc and Wyatt to finish off the Clanton gang. Thus, the two men, “who started out as opposites—gambler versus sheriff, drunken failure versus respected citizen, rake versus prude—have become indistinguishable” (Tompkins 48). As the film concludes, Wyatt Earp reveals to Doc Holliday that he is heading for California. When Holliday inquires about Laura, Earp is unsure as to whether or not they will reunite. Holliday then indicates his belief that Laura will be waiting for him. Earp, as the alpha male cowboy, then mounts his horse and departs into the desert, his back facing the camera.
Clearly, Doc Holliday is not Wyatt Earp’s sidekick. However, he is not an alpha male cowboy either. This is so as in comparing the alpha male cowboy/sidekick relationship between Ethan Edwards and Martin Pawley in The Searchers (1956) to that between Earp and Holliday, clear distinctions are apparent. While Ethan Edwards was significantly older than Martin Pawley, Earp and Holliday are approximately the same age. During the course of the film, Martin utilizes Ethan’s instructions in order to develop into an alpha male cowboy. In contrast, neither Doc nor Wyatt seems to depend upon the guidance of the other. They are, however, linked as they repeatedly save one another’s life. Thus, although not a true sidekick, Doc is not an alpha male cowboy. Doc, rather than Wyatt, is the sidekick; however, he does not fit the traditional sidekick role.