Gunfight at the O.K. Corral to town, and shootings were frequent. In the 1880s, illegal smuggling and theft of cattle, alcohol, and tobacco across the Mexico–United States border, about from Tombstone, were common. The Mexican government assessed heavy export taxes on these items, and smugglers earned a handsome profit by stealing them in Mexico and selling them across the border. James, Virgil, and Wyatt Earp arrived in Tombstone on December 1, 1879, when the small town was mostly composed of tents as living quarters, a few saloons and other buildings, and the mines. Virgil had been hired as Deputy U.S. Marshal for eastern Pima County,
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (film) The two parties were initially only about apart. The real gunfight lasted only about 30 seconds. In Fort Griffin, Texas, Ed Bailey (Lee Van Cleef) comes looking to avenge the death of his brother at the hands of gunslinger John H. "Doc" Holliday (Kirk Douglas). Seeing him in a bar, Holliday's girl, Kate Fisher (Jo Van Fleet), returns to Holliday's room, where the two argue—while Holliday throws knives at the door-near her once she brings up Holliday's once-prominent family. At the same time, well-known marshal Wyatt Earp (Burt Lancaster) arrives in Fort Griffin thinking he will take outlaws Ike Clanton