A Love Story Set in the Old West

The movie Tombstone is one of my favorite movies and it has been a favorite for decades now. There are, of course, the gunfights and the colorful, larger-than-life Western legends Wyatt Earp and John "Doc" Holliday. There is the dialogue between the characters. There are the scenes where the bonds of brotherhood and friendship are defended and upheld by the members of the Earp clan and "Doc" Holliday. Many of the "bad guys" are also larger than life personalities that adhere to their own code and they likewise defend one another, as well as mourn and seek to avenge their own losses.

But in addition to the more "manly" aspects of the movie, I really enjoyed the love story between Kurt Russell's Wyatt Earp and Dana Delany's Josephine Marcus. It could reasonably be seen as an illicit love affair, as Wyatt has a common-law wife, Mattie Blaylock.

Mattie seems like such a poor match for him and her addiction to laudanum is clearly straining their relationship. Wyatt and Josephine are obviously attracted to one another in a way that could be viewed as mutual love at first sight. Wyatt clearly is troubled by his feelings and his thoughts and by the fact that he is in a relationship that is no longer meeting his needs. His conversations and encounters with Josephine undoubtedly cause him to question a relationship with Mattie that was already strained before he ever laid eyes upon one Josephine Marcus.

I don't want to give away the ending if you haven't seen it. But I would encourage you to watch the movie. And remember the words of Val Kilmer's "Doc" Holliday when he corrects his friend by pointing out that, "There's no normal life, Wyatt, it's just life."

As is abundantly clear, the movie is based upon real historical figures and real-life events. How close the movie matches the historical reality is, of course, debated. Doubtless certain liberties were taken to tell a compelling story and one must acknowledge that there is likely to be at least some truth to the idea that the victors' stories may garner more ink in the history books than the losers' stories (although I would argue that true historians try to uncover the reality and the facts). In fact, we know that many of the real-life people shared their versions of the events portrayed in the movie. Regardless, it is an interesting film that has doubtless led some to look beyond the legends and the mythology and dig deeper into the history of the real Old West.

Below is a link to a scene between Wyatt and Josephine where they discuss what they want out of life. Enjoy! 🤠