Tombstone Changed Doc Holliday’s Famous Line and Made It Sharper

Collider reports that Tombstone alters a famous Doc Holliday quotation from history, replacing the historical phrasing with a pared-down line delivered by Val Kilmer.

The article recounts an 1881 newspaper account of the gunfight in which Frank McLaury crossed Fremont Street, shot at Holliday and said, "I've got you now." According to that account, Holliday replied, "Blaze away! You're a daisy if you have," and both Doc and Morgan Earp then shot and killed McLaury.

In the film, the exchange plays out similarly but with Holliday saying, "You're a daisy if you do," before firing. The piece notes that the movie's wording is shorter and that Kilmer's confident delivery — even with one sidearm out of bullets — helps make the line memorable as McLaury falls.

The article also discusses Kurt Russell's prominent role in guiding the production and credits Kilmer with making the Doc Holliday part his own, calling Doc the film's most quotable character.