Having grown up in the 1990s, a decade full of great movies, Tombstone was a major part of my upbringing. With all those iconic quotes, unforgettable characters like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Johnny Ringo, and some of the best shootouts ever filmed, there are plenty of reasons why this is considered one of the best Westerns of all time.
Until recently, I hadn’t watched the great Kurt Russell movie in years, and in doing so, I realized something I had long forgotten: the movie does one character dirty. No, it’s not Doc, Wyatt, or any of the Earp brothers (or Cowboys, for that matter). Instead, it’s the lawman-turned-proprietor-turned-U.S.-marshal’s common-law wife, who is given the short end of the stick on multiple occasions. Let me explain…
Tombstone Is An All-Time Great Western And Wyatt Earp Is A Great Character
behind the O.K. Corral at a friend’s house as a kid, I’ve been mesmerized by the movie, and it honestly gets better with age.
Though Kurt Russell’s characters from John Carpenter movies will always take up prime release in my heart, his take on Wyatt Earp is undeniably iconic (and not just because that’s a first-ballot Hall of Fame mustache he’s rocking). The lines, that reluctance to take on the Cowboys because he knows what it’ll bring, his slapping Billy Bob Thornton, and then later calling folks “curs,” it’s all great. I mean, his transformation from beginning to end is wonderfully powerful, and it’s a journey I never mind taking over and over again.
Kurt Russell’s most badass characters, but you know what’s not badass about the historic figure, at least how he is portrayed in Tombstone? Well, the way he treats his common-law wife, Mattie Blaylock (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), throughout the movie.
I mean, this guy pretty much wants nothing to do with her before they even get to the titular town of Tombstone early in the runtime. Sure, there’s that wholesome shot of the Earp brothers with their brides looking at their reflection in a storefront window, but then he starts harping on her about taking too much laudanum all the time. And it just gets more outrageous from there as he becomes too wrapped up in the goings-on of town and his infatuation with Josephine Marcus (Dana Delany).
He’s off shooting, gambling, going on long horse rides with a famous actress while his wife is lonely at home with nothing to do but be confused about her husband and what he wants out of life.
Bill Paxton) dying on a pool table after being shot in the back, Mattie is just there. I get that the movie is loosely based on historical figures, but there wasn’t anything positive to share about Mattie?
And Wyatt, when he’s not pining over Josephine and trying to find a way to make it work, or slapping the crap out card dealers, constantly belittles his wife about her addictions and treats her more like a child or younger sibling than someone with whom he shares a bed. Instead of helping her or at least asking her what’s going on, Wyatt offers no solutions.
Sam Elliott) and his wife before everything went to hell in town, but honestly felt like a copout to get rid of her and not have it hang over his head.
what happened to all the major characters, Mattie’s fate seems like nothing more than a footnote, as it’s revealed she overdosed not long after leaving Tombstone. And what’s being shown on the screen while Mattie’s fate is discussed ever so briefly? Well, it’s just Wyatt Earp and Josephine Marcus dancing and kissing in the snow. Just rub it in, already.
Is the treatment of Mattie Blaylock enough to ruin Tombstone for me or anyone else who watches? No, not really. But it still bums me out that the character was treated with such disrespect and disregard when she clearly needed help or at least some attention.