Sadly Over-hyped

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The First Time I Knew Anything About The Shoot Out At The OK Corral Was On (Get Ready For This) An Episode Of Star Trek The Original Series Called "Spectre Of The Gun" ... Then I Saw John Sturges' "Gun Fight At The OK Corral" And Thought Wow What A Movie, Then I Saw John Ford's "My Darling Clementine" And Thought It Was Better Than (And It Turns Out More Historically Correct) "Gunfight At The OK Corral" ... Now We Have "Frontier Marshal" And I Am Once Again Thinking Wow What A Movie ... Randolph Scott Plays Wyatt Earp And Cesar Romero Plays Doc Halliday And The Combination Is Excellent ... While The Story Does In Small Ways Veer Off The Actual Events It Is None The Less A Great Story ... Allan Dwan's Direction And Attention To Detail Is Exceptional ... Bit Parts By Eddie Foy Jr (Playing Himself), Lon Chaney Jr, John Carradine Make This Cast Icing On The Cake ... Lovers Of Westerns And History Buffs In General Will Love Watching This Version Of A Classic Story ...

I'm not a huge fan of the Western genre but there are a few Westerns that really enjoy - this film goes into the my liked Western films. It is highly fictionalized version of the events that lead up to the famous gun fight but really fun to watch.I have to say I enjoyed the entire cast which is one of the reasons why I like this film - it's not just the story and action on screen but the actors themselves that makes this particular film worth watching to me.Binnie Barnes as Jerry - she really tickled me, constantly trying to keep up her tough exterior but in the end we saw the softer side of Jerry. A character I really liked watching.Scott and Romero were good together. While Carradine, Chaney and Sawyer was made a great trio of "villains". You can't but to laugh as some of the things that happens - in particular when Doc Halliday (Romeo) gets Pringle (Chaney) to dance... lol.Anyway, this one worth checking out if you haven't seen it already. Fictionalized Fun.8.5/10

Frontier Marshall (1939) *** (out of 4)Another telling of the infamous Tombstone battle where Wyatt Earp (Randolph Scott) and Doc Halliday (Cesar Romero) try to run the outlaws out of town. This film shares a lot of the same scenes and dialogue as John Ford's remake but overall this film can't come close to what Ford did with the story. There's a lot to enjoy here but there are also a few major flaws, which really hurt the movie. The best parts of the performances from Scott who once again delivers a strong performance as the hero. It's Romero who steals the show however with a very dark turn as Halliday. The director makes his character very dark and moody, which is a better take than some of the other versions where he comes off more charming than anything else. The dark and moody Halliday also leaks over into the rest of the film, which is one of the problems. The film is shot with some incredibly dark scenes where it's hard to tell what's going on. This makes for a couple good shots but overall this style really hurts the film as sometimes it's hard to make out what's going on. The supporting cast is also very impressive and includes John Carradine, Joe Sawyer, Lon Chaney, Jr., Nancy Kelly and Ward Bond. Charles Stevens plays a drunk Indian here and repeated the role in the Ford version.

A popular subject for westerns throughout the years, this is an account of Wyatt Earp and the legendary Gunfight at O.K. Corral, though the showdown here is pretty far afield from what most of the other movies depicted. Scott plays the newly appointed marshal, taking the job after proving that he could handle it and then some, and after being told that there was no more room in Tombstone for his original plan of a instituting a stage coach line. His primary antagonist in this rendition of the story is underhanded saloon owner Carradine. He also has to contend with headstrong dancehall girl Barnes. Aiding him is his TB-stricken pal Romero, who is equally handy with a gun and who lashes out at everyone whenever he's feeling poorly (which is often!) Kelly, a long lost love of Romero's, comes into town to persuade him to give up his gunslinging ways and return to her. Scott and Romero work hard to rid the town of corruption, though they hardly get off scott-free. Scott is stalwart in his role and easily convinces the viewer that he means business. Romero is brooding, yet strangely charming, and makes a nice counterpart to Scott. Barnes has an out of place accent, but manages to convey the pushy, common aspects of her character. Kelly is lovely, demonstrating an understated, appealing quality that was almost completely absent from her later, Oscar-nominated role in "The Bad Seed." Foy, jr. (playing his own father who was allegedly and entertainer in town the day of the gunfight) performs a mostly unintelligible song and overstays his welcome. Carradine is appropriately slimy, but isn't given a chance to really make a strong impression as the villain. Bond appears briefly as an intimidated sheriff. It's a short movie, which makes it pretty easy to get through, though some viewers may be bored by the musical numbers. Nothing about it makes it stand out as a classic, but it's also not a throwaway. Romero's work is interesting and there are certain amounts of tension generated. Just four years prior to this film, another version was released with character names even further removed from actuality (the marshal's last name was Wyatt!) and several years after, the story was told again as "My Darling Clementine", a film that uses several of this picture's plot points. Of course, it would be told again and again in films such as "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral", "Wyatt Earp" and "Tombstone".