It's 14 years late but I just got around to watching Tombstone. It's been recommended numerous times over the years but as I'm not a big western guy I always found a reason to put it off. The movie itself was entertaining but the performance of Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday has to be one of the top three I have ever seen. His classic line, "I'm your huckleberry...", was so bad ass...
yeah, like that movie as well, esp kilmer's performance. Hated that scene with Kurt Russell though. Makes me cringe every time. " NO ... NO .... NO ... NO"
So many great lines from that movie - For those interested in what Doc and Ringo were saying to each other in Latin. Doc Holliday: In Vino Veritas. [In wine is truth. - Meaning - "When I'm drinking, I speak my mind."] Johnny Ringo: Age Quod Agis. [Do what you do. - Meaning - "Do what you do best."] Doc Holliday: Credat Judaeus Apella, Non Ego. The Jew Apella may believe it, not I. [Meaning, "Oh I don't believe drinking is what I do best."] Johnny Ringo: Eventus Stultorum Magister. [Events are the teachers of fools. - Meaning - "Fools have to learn by experience."] Doc Holliday: In Pace Requiescat. [Rest In Peace - Meaning - "It's Your Funeral!"]
On and off I hear discussions in which people speculate on the exact origin and meaning is of the quaint idiom used by Doc Holliday in the movie "Tombstone." I've heard some wild suggestions, including "huckleberry" meaning "pall-bearer" suggesting "I'll bury you." Still others think it has something to do with Mark Twain's character, Huckleberry Finn, and means "steadfast friend, pard." This is unlikely, since the book of that title was not written until 1883. Tom Sawyer was written in 1876, but nowhere there is the term "huckleberry" used to mean "steadfast friend" or the like. Still others claim that a victor's crown or wreath of huckleberry is involved, making the statement "I'm your huckleberry" something like "I'll beat you!" But no such reference can be found in the historical materials supporting the use of this term in 19th century America. Additionally, "huckleberry" was native to North America so it's unlikely it was used in ancient Britain as a prize! Solutions to such questions are actually very easy to find, since there are numerous dictionaries of the English language in its various periods, and there are dictionaries of English slang. These works simply cull from books, magazines, and newspapers of the period representative usages of the words to illustrate their meaning. I consulted several of these and found the expression to have a very interesting origin. "Huckleberry" was commonly used in the 1800's in conjunction with "persimmon" as a small unit of measure. "I'm a huckleberry over your persimmon" meant "I'm just a bit better than you." As a result, "huckleberry" came to denote idiomatically two things. First, it denoted a small unit of measure, a "tad," as it were, and a person who was a huckleberry could be a small, unimportant person--usually expressed ironically in mock self-depreciation. The second and more common usage came to mean, in the words of the "Dictionary of American Slang: Second Supplemented Edition" (Crowell, 1975): "A man; specif., the exact kind of man needed for a particular purpose. 1936: "Well, I'm your huckleberry, Mr. Haney." Tully, "Bruiser," 37. Since 1880, archaic. The "Historical Dictionary of American Slang" which is a multivolume work, has about a third of a column of citations documenting this meaning all through the latter 19th century. So "I'm your huckleberry" means "I'm just the man you're looking for!" Now ain't that a daisy! The "Daisy" comment is easier. In the late 19th century "daisy" was a common slang term for "the best in it's class." So for "daisy" just substitute "the best" and you'll have it. It was a short-lived idiom and doesn't seem to be popular much after 1890.
One of my alltime favorites and it's good to see it still getting some love. My favorite line: Creek: God Doc, what are you doing this for? You should be in bed. Doc: Wyatt Earp is my friend. Creek: Shoot I got lots of friends. Doc: I don't.
I think it was when they walked up on the dude that had his head in the trough and somebody got trigger happy. Tombstone is one of the few movies I can see over and over and not get tired of it.
The shootout at the creek where Earp just stomps out into the open and mows Cowboys down. Definitely the cheesiest part of the movie and I was SHOCKED to discover it was more or less historically accurate! Yeah, Doc Holliday is obviously the awesomest character in the movie, and it's Val Kilmer's coolest role. Other quotes: "Whyy, Johnny Ringo-- you look like somebody just... walked over your grave." "I got you now, you son of a b****!" "You're a daisy if ya do." "Ain't none of you got the guts to play for BLOOD!" "I'm your huckleberry. That's JUST my game." "I was just... foolin' about." "I wasn't."
It was when Wyatt's younger brother was killed, and there's this dramatic scene where he goes slo-mo out into the streets with bloodied hands while the rain pours down... reminiscent of that scene where Darth Vader learns that Padma was killed or when Luke learns about his parentage. The interesting thing is if you watch this scene, it's obviously in a studio because the rain only falls directly on Wyatt -- you can see dry dirt beyond the circle of rain on the screen. EDIT: woops - my bad. This was the scene of the shootout.. I guess Kurt overacted in a couple of scenes in this movie..
Yeah - I loved the movie though! One of my favorite lines: "There ain't no bad life or good life -- there's just life."
