The same year that Wichita came out, 1955, the TV series about Wyatt Earp debuted with that famous theme song, “Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp, brave courageous and bold.” And certainly Hugh O’Brian was all these things in that series.

But the western hero that fit all those virtues was certainly Joel McCrea. After portraying Buffalo Bill Cody in the way Cody would have liked to have been remembered it was only natural that Wyatt Earp be done the same way.

Wichita was the first town that Earp had a job in law enforcement and he was there one year, 1875-1876. Wichita is purportedly the story of that year and how he cleaned up the town and made law and order function in Wichita. It’s certainly all been done before, but the story is in the hands of a capable cast.

Particularly to watch is the double dealing role that Edgar Buchanan has and how a bad case of mistaken identity costs him dearly.

Tex Ritter sings a nice title song over the credits and while it didn’t exactly have the impact that his same efforts had in High Noon, it certainly sets the tone for this film as well. After all back in the day Tex made a western or three.