Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Apache warriors had engaged the U.S. Army near Tombstone just three weeks before the O.K. Corral gunfight, so the need for weapons outside of town was well established and accepted. Billy and Frank stopped first at the Grand Hotel on Allen Street, and were greeted by Doc Holliday. They learned immediately after of their brothers' beatings by the Earps within the previous two hours. The incidents had generated a lot of talk in town. Angrily, Frank said he would not drink, and he and Billy left the saloon immediately to seek Tom. By law, both Frank and Billy should have
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral open range for outlaws, largely unopposed by law enforcement officers who were spread thin over vast territories. The gunfight was not well known to the American public until 1931, when Stuart Lake published the initially well-received biography "" two years after Earp's death. The book was the basis for the 1946 film "My Darling Clementine", directed by John Ford, and the 1957 film "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral", after which the shootout became known by that name. Since then, the conflict has been portrayed with varying degrees of accuracy in numerous Western films and books, and has become an archetype