Allen Barra
In Wine There Is Truth

In Wine There Is Truth

The most celebrated duel in recent Western films wasn’t fought with guns or bowie knives, but words: in 1993’s Tombstone, Val Kilmer’s “Doc”...

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The Reel Walk Downs

The Reel Walk Downs

The walk down to the lot behind the O.K. Corral has become a ritual in Tombstone productions—re-created, imitated and parodied in perhaps two dozen...

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Wyatt Earp Myth Busters

Wyatt Earp Myth Busters

Did Wyatt Arrest Ben Thompson?  This alleged arrest has driven researchers batty for decades. The most famous account appears in Stuart Lake’s Wyatt...

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Billy Vs. Ned

Billy Vs. Ned

Allen Barra: In Wanted, you cite a friend of Billy the Kid declaring, “He was a good kid, but he got in the wrong company.” Does that accurately...

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Pancho’s Lost Film

Pancho’s Lost Film

Raoul Walsh’s movie career began in 1912 and lasted more than half a century. A protégé of D.W. Griffith—he played John Wilkes Booth in Griffith’s...

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The Human Custer

The Human Custer

Allen Barra: You wrote in your preface, “Custer battled American Indians ruthlessly, yet wrote that he would resist too were he one of them.” His...

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