Val Kilmer's line "I'm your huckleberry", delivered as Doc Holliday in the 1993 Western Tombstone, remains one of cinema's most enduring quotes 33 years on. The film, directed by George P. Cosmatos, arrived amid a Western revival sparked by the success of Dances With Wolves and Unforgiven, and beat a rival Kevin Costner project, Wyatt Earp, to cinemas by a year while earning far stronger reviews.

Tombstone holds a 76% "certified fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes compared with 31% for Wyatt Earp, a gap largely attributed to Kilmer's performance. His Holliday blends the historical gunfighter's real dual identity as a genteel, educated dentist and a reckless gambler, delivering the "huckleberry" line with quiet, unbothered menace during a stand-off with outlaw Johnny Ringo, played by Michael Biehn. Kilmer, who led an ensemble including Kurt Russell, Sam Elliott and Bill Paxton, later reflected on the role in his 2020 memoir I'm Your Huckleberry, linking Holliday's appetite for violence to America's enduring relationship with guns.