Top 10 Portrayals of Wyatt Earp in Film

Over the years almost every big name actor has attempted a Western at some point in their career. There is probably no Western story known better than Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday so naturally many of the big name actors attempting Westerns played Wyatt Earp himself. These actors had varying degrees of success but these ten are the actors that are the most memorable

10) Guy Madison ("Gunmen of the Rio Grande")
Guy Madison started by acting in romantic comedies but his acting was said to be too wooden. Eventually Madison ended up starring in spaghetti westerns where he had much more success. "Gunmen of the Rio Grande" is just one of the many Westerns on his resume and Madison won the Golden Globe for best Western star at one point in his career.

9) Joel McCrea (Wichita)
Joel McCrea once said that he enjoyed being in comedies but as he got older he felt that Westerns fit him better. In addition to playing the part of Wyatt Earp in "Wichita" McCrea was also in a NBC TV series called "Wichita Town" and he once teamed up with another Wyatt Earp actor, Randolph Scott, for the movie "Ride the High Town".

8) James Stewart ("Cheyenne Autumn")
"Cheyenne Autumn" was the final film from the legendary John Ford. Ford later said that his film "Cheyenne Autumn" was an elegy to the Native Americans that were abused by the American government and hand their land taken from them.

7) Kevin Costner ("Wyatt Earp")
"Wyatt Earp" was a 1994 film filmed during the height of Kevin Costner's career. "Wyatt Earp" featured a star-studded cast that included Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Bill Pullman, Tom Sizemore and others. Unfortunately "Wyatt Earp" was released around the same time as "Tombstone" and was inferior to the Kurt Russell/Val Kilmer flick.

6) Randolph Scott ("Frontier Marshal")
Sol M. Wourtzel had already directed one movie based on Stuart N. Lake's fictional account of Earp in 1934 and decided to give it another try in 1939. This time around Wourtzel cast Randolph Scott as Wyatt Earp and the great Cesar Romero played Doc Holliday.

5) James Garner ("Hour of the Gun")
"Hour of the Gun" was sure to be a great movie with James Garner in the lead as Wyatt Earp and John Sturges at the helm. Sturges works include great Westerns like "Gunfight at the O. K. Coral" and "The Magnificent Seven" as well as "The Great Escape". Sturges was awarded the Golden Boot Award for his Contribution to Westerns and he considered his proudest moment to be when Akira Kurosawa presented him with a samurai sword for his movie "The Magnificent Seven".

4) Errol Flynn ("Dodge City")
Errol Flynn played a lot of legenday characters and historical figures. Flynn has been William Tell, Don Juan, Robin Hood, Captain Blood and...Wade Hatton? Technically Errol Flynn portrays a character named Wade Hatton in "Dodge City" but the character is pretty much a replica of the legendary Wyatt Earp.

3) Burt Lancaster ("Gunfight at the O. K. Coral")
"Gunfight at the O. K. Coral" is obviously about Wyatt Earp and his gang fighting the Cowboys in their famous battle but, unlike some other Wyatt Earp films, this one does not claim to be historically accurate in any way. Not only is Burt Lancaster great as Wyatt Earp but "Gunfight at the O. K. Coral" has one of the best Wyatt Earp/Doc Holliday combos of all-time with Kirk Douglas playing Doc.

2) Henry Fonda ("My Darling Clementine")
"My Darling Clementine" stars Henry Fonda and is directed by legendary western director John Ford. Ford has been named Best Director at the Academy Awards more times (4) than anyone. This Wyatt Earp film was adapted from the book "Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal" by Stuart N. Lake. The title of the film comes from the popular song "Oh My Darling Clementine".

1) Kurt Russell ("Tombstone")
"Tombstone" is one of the few examples in Hollywood where the most recent version is the best. "Tombstone' came out in 1992 but is one of the few Westerns in the last thirty years to be considered a classic. Kurt Russell gives as good a performance as Wyatt Earp as legends like James Stewart and James Garner and it might not even be the best performance of the movie.