Summary

• Doc Holliday's iconic quotes elevate Tombstone to legendary status in the Western genre.
• Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday is scene-stealing and unforgettable for fans of the film.
• The best Doc Holliday quotes showcase his loyalty, humor, and unwavering determination in the face of death.

The Doc Holliday quotes in Tombstone are one of the big reasons it is one of the most popular Westerns of the modern era. It tells the story of legendary lawman Wyatt Earp after he decides to retire and spend his days in the town of Tombstone, Arizona. However, thanks to outlaws in the town terrifying the citizens and law enforcement refusing to do anything about it, the Earp brothers come out of retirement to bring justice to the town. By their side is Wyatt's long-time friend, Doc Holliday, a former dentist turned poker-playing gunfighter.

It is Val Kilmer's scene-stealing portrayal of Doc Holliday that most fans point to when discussing their love for the film. The amazing dialogue, delivered with ease by Kilmer, elevates the character to legendary status. The actor's performance as the legendary Doc Holliday is so iconic that almost every line that he says feels like an all-time great and so many of them remain memorable long after the credits roll. With fans looking back on Kilmer's iconic acting career, and the amazing roles he took on, Tombstone ranks near the top of the list, and the best Doc Holliday quotes are a big part of the reason why.

20 "Not Me; I’m In My Prime."

Doc To Johnny Ringo About His Possible Retirement

One of the key storylines in Tombstone is that Doc Holliday is not in the best of health. While the Earp brothers moved to Tombstone to retire, Doc was also no longer a dentist by trade and was just spending his days drinking, gambling, and spending time with Big Nose Kate. However, his pride was still there and that was on display when he met Johnny Ringo.

It says even more about Doc that he likely knew he didn't have much longer to live and still said this.

While Curly Bill was measuring up Kurt Russell's Wyatt Earp at the poker table, Ringo turned his eyes to Doc and asked if he was retired too. Doc just looked at him and said, "Not me, I'm in my prime." This led to a tense moment between the two, and these Doc Holliday quotes would pay off later in the movie. It says even more about Doc that he likely knew he didn't have much longer to live and still said this.

19 "It’s Not Revenge He’s After. It’s A Reckoning."

Doc On The Threat Of Johnny Ringo

Doc Holliday was there to stand by Wyatt Earp's (Kurt Russell) side to the end. However, even he knew that the fight they were taking on was one that would have dire consequences. Death had already come to the town of Tombstone on both sides, with Wyatt losing a brother and Johnny Ringo losing two. This led Doc to understand what needed to happen next and how there was no avoiding the bloodshed to come.

When talking about Johnny coming for them, he said it was "not revenge he's after. It's a reckoning." He also knew that Wyatt Earp would lose to Johnny Ringo in a gunfight, setting the villain up as a truly formidable enemy to the heroic lawman. However, it also sets the stage for Doc's clever and oddly touching way of handling the situation.

18 "Forgive Me If I Don’t Shake Hands."

Doc Shutting Down The Corrupt Official

When the Earp brothers show up in the town of Tombstone, they meet the local sheriff Johnny Behan, who is aligned with the murderous cowboys - even after they gunned down Marshal Fred White. When Wyatt meets the sheriff, he is cordial, but Doc Holliday is not. As Doc looks at the sheriff, he delivers a typical example of his withering insults when he just mockingly says, "Forgive me if I don't shake hands."

While Doc is very skilled with his guns, such comments as that achieve significant damage on their own. It showed that Doc did not respect the sheriff and revealed to the town who had the real power in this confrontation. Doc may have his faults, but there was a sense that he had superiority over most people he came across, making them feel inferior with a dismissive look and pointed comment.

17 "Then Again, You May Be The Antichrist."

Doc Showing Why Kate Is His Ideal Match

Doc Holliday was not alone when he arrived in Tombstone with the Earp brothers, as he had a lover by his side in Big Nose Kate. After Doc collapses and his tuberculosis worsens, a doctor tells him to quit drinking and smoking and leaves the room.

That is when Kate takes his shirt off and begins to care for him, telling him that she is a good woman. Doc looks at her and agrees that she is a good woman, but then adds, "Then again, you may be the Antichrist."

There is genuine love and affection between the two, but they are also two people who enjoy the wild side of life with Doc showing Kate respect by pointing out her dangerous side. For a man like Doc, it is hard to decide whether he would prefer a good woman or the Antichrist as a companion.

16 "Wyatt Earp Is My Friend."

Doc On Why He Chooses To Fight

The best Doc Holliday quotes show that he is loyal and determined - as long as it is to a person that he feels is worthy and no one is more worthy of Doc's respect than Wyatt Earp. Even with Doc's health failing and death seemingly imminent, he is on the streets during the Fight at the O.K. Corral and holds his own in the battle.

It is here that Texas Jack exasperatedly asks Doc why he is out on the streets fighting when he should be in his room resting. This leads to just five words from Doc that really show who he is - "Wyatt Earp is my friend." With that, he made sure he lived long enough to ensure that Wyatt was safe. This sense of brotherhood is what helped make Tombstone such a beloved Western.

15 "You Know, Ed, If I Thought You Weren't My Friend, I Just Don't Think I Could Bear It."

Doc Taunting A Lesser Card Player

Doc Holliday is depicted in the movie as an excellent card player and this gets him into his fair share of fights. It seems that he is less interested in the money he gets and more interested in simply besting people at the card table. However, it is not enough to simply beat them, he wants to humiliate them as well.

When he's introduced at the beginning, one such argument happens right off the bat. Holliday is playing against a man named Ed Bailey, who takes exception to Holliday's victory and begins getting aggressive, only for Holliday to crank up his sarcasm and push right back. Of all the Doc Holliday quotes, this shows how he treats someone he has no respect for. While he will die for Wyatt, men like Ed don't deserve more than one line and a dismissal.

14 "I Stand Corrected, Wyatt. You're An Oak."

Doc Teasing Wyatt About His Love Interest

Another charming aspect of Wyatt and Doc's friendship is how they can tease each other like typical friends. When Wyatt first meets his main love interest, the actress Josephine Marcus, face to face after a performance, she enters the saloon by dancing with various men across the floor toward Earp.

Holliday had deliberately set Earp up by getting him to insist that he was a faithfully married man who would forsake all other women before she walked in and when Earp proves to be a man of his word and declines to dance with Josephine, Holliday is forced to it defeat. However, the tone with which Doc delivers the line suggests that he is well aware he'll be proven right before long. Indeed, when Earp next meets Josephine, he relents to his desire to pursue her by sarcastically telling himself, "Yeah, I'm an oak, all right."

13 "Evidently, Mr. Ringo's An Educated Man. Now I Really Hate Him."

Doc Mocking Johnny Ringo's Intelligence

Holliday's main rivalry in the movie is between him and the ruthless gunslinger Johnny Ringo, whose reputation appears to match Holliday's own as does his intellect and skill with a pistol. On their first meeting, the two immediately get into a little war of words, spilling over from English into Latin. This prompts Holliday to explain in a typically hilarious and sardonic manner.

[I]n the end, Doc was only learning who Johnny was and where his weaknesses lie.

What makes this particular moment so great is that Doc hates Johnny because he reminds him of himself. However, Doc proves smarter here because he studies Johnny's movements with the gun and uses them against him in their final duel later in the movie. Johnny thought that he was being intimidating and making Doc fear him. However, in the end, Doc was only learning who Johnny was and where his weaknesses lie.

12 "I Know, Why Don't We Have A Spelling Contest?"

Doc Antagonizes Ike Clanton

Tombstone depicts the Wild West as a vicious place filled with dangerous and aggressive people. The strong men in this movie are constantly challenging each other, attempting to make themselves out to be the toughest which means they cannot abide any insult however small. This is something that Holliday understands and is all too eager to provoke these high-strung gunfighters with some perfect insults. This proves particularly easy when it comes to Tombstone's cowardly villain Ike Clanton.

About halfway through the movie, once the central conflicts have begun to show themselves, Holliday once again gets into an altercation due to being too successful at cards. After beating Ike 12 hands in a row, things start to get heated. Holliday, seeing the opportunity to really push his opponent, suggests that poker isn't Ike's game and proposes this alternative as a joke, finally causing Clanton to snap.

11 "My Hypocrisy Goes Only So Far."

Doc To Wyatt About Turning Down The Badge

One of the most endearing things about Doc Holliday in Tombstone is that even though he is a carefree troublemaker most of the time, he has his own code and set of morals. Holliday was deputized before ing Wyatt Earp on his vendetta ride to hunt down the cowboys responsible for murdering Wyatt's brother Morgan. Before dueling with Johnny Ringo, Holliday was sure to show his opponent the badge letting him know he had the legal right to shoot him dead.

After killing Johnny Ringo, Doc took off his badge and placed it on the corpse. When Wyatt arrives on the scene, Doc explains that, although he is happy to stand beside his friend on his quest for vengeance it doesn't hide the fact that inside he will always be a killer, and he's at peace with that.