Kurt Russell’s gravestone had to follow a strict mustache rule

If you’ve seen the 1993 movie “Tombstone,” you know it has one of the greatest visual effects westerns ever seen. No, it’s not the film’s explosive gunfights, nor is it the footage showing teams of horses riding over perilous terrain. Instead, it’s the weird, hairy, downright masculine mustaches that almost every actor in the movie world has. “Tombstone” is a movie about the Capital-D Dudes, and the mustache game the actors play is so powerful that it has the power to change lives. Take me for example; I’ve been primarily a beard guy for many years, but upon visiting “Tombstone” again during the 2023 holiday season, I made the decision to become a mustache guy, and I haven’t looked back yet.

It just so happens that the power and impact of the mustaches in “Tombstone” was 100% intentional. There was no casual or idle hair or makeup on that set, as the film’s truly stacked cast list – Including star (and made-up director) Kurt RussellVal Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, and Charlton Heston – they were putting work into their facial hair to make it look not only subtle, but as strong as possible. According to a 2010 interview with Michael Biehnwho portrays psychopathic gunslinger Johnny Ringo in the film, the actors had to follow a strict mustache-keeping rule to maintain their “claws”. This rule not only encouraged actors to grow mustaches, but also allowed their real facial hair to double as a status symbol, leaving at least one actor who was forced to wear a fake mustache to feel left out. .

As Bean explained to Movieweb in 2010, the task of maintaining the mustache originated with the original director (and still credited writer) of “Tombstone,” Kevin Jarre. According to Behn, it was not that Jarre insisted that all men grow mustaches, but that if they so chose, they should follow his own rule:

“Everyone has grown a mustache. When it comes down to it, this goes back to Kevin Jarre, the original director of the movie. He was very specific about how he wanted the mustaches. He wanted them to curl at the end. Which means, if you grow a mustache, and it grows long enough, You have to use wax at the end.”

Bean is quick to point out that the atmosphere on set “wasn’t like a mustache-designing contest,” but he seems to imply that Jarre’s rule only served to encourage actors to grow their mustaches as large and as long as possible. Try to stick to the director’s preferences. While this may not have incited an actual competition between the actors, it did leave one actor feeling inadequate for having to wear a fake “hide,” as Ben explains:

“Everyone was so proud that they had grown mustaches. There was one guy, John Tenney. He couldn’t grow a mustache because he had a job right before that. They had to put a fake mustache on him. I think he always felt like a little dog in the group Because it wasn’t his real mustache, he had to take it off every day.

Sheriff Johnny Behan’s character Tiny eventually became one of the film’s villains, so he was at least able to give his character a “little dog” vibe, one that gave the Sheriff some added menace and resentment towards Wyatt Earp (Russell). And his honorable brothers.

Of course, most discussions of “Tombstone” have to touch on the film’s troubled production, as Penn alluded to in his comments. It turns out that enforcing the mustache wasn’t the only rule Jarre instituted on set while he was still directing the film, which led to tension between him and the main cast, crew, and producers, all of which led to his eventual departure. fire. Ben tried to explain that all the problems stemmed from Jarre being too strict in his creative choices:

“It was sad for me. I loved Kevin so much. He was the one who wrote the script. He really wanted this script to be the way he wanted it to be. He wanted to present it the way he wanted it to be presented. He wanted the saddles to look the way he wanted them to look.” He wanted the mustaches to be a certain way. He wanted the dialogue to be a certain way. He wanted everything exactly the way he wanted it. I wanted that, and you know filmmaking is a little more collaborative than that.

The controversy doesn’t end there, of course, as it has long been implied that Gary’s replacement, George P. Cosmatos, was hired to cover for star Russell taking the directorial reins, despite Cosmatos preparing a (full) director’s cut of the film. (with commentary track) in 2002. Whatever the ownership of “Tombstone,” it’s undeniable that Jarre’s influence is still present in it – the film fits perfectly with the screenwriter’s penchant for stories about men having to confront and/or demonstrate their masculinity when faced with circumstances Cruel.

In fact, it is thanks to Jarry’s work that the film survives Popular and indelible as it is. His distinct themes of men wrestling with their egos, responsibilities, and pride are peppered throughout Tombstone. When combined with the movie Oh, quotable tough guy dialogue And yes, those magical mustaches, “Tombstone” is exactly the kind of movie that can – ahem – really grow on you.