Tombstone: The movie?

Question

In this movie, Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) says a great line, when confronted by one of his antagonist:

"I'm your Huckleberry."

What did he mean by this? Huck was a friend of Tom Sawyer and Becky in the novel which introduced us to the character Huck Finn. So, does that mean the antagonist is really a protagonist? What was the meaning of this line?

Answer 1

This question seems to pop up on YA every few months or so. First off, huckleberries are similar to blueberries in appearance and flavor and are common (and quite popular) in northern mountain parts of the US. Unlike blueberries, huckleberries have never been cultivated on farms, but can only be collected in the wild where they were often a popular food with poorer country folks.

Because huckleberries were wild and uncultivated, a huckleberry' was a slang term a hundred years ago for somebody who is nieve or uneducated; a 'country bumpkin' sort (for much the same reason, the term 'huckleberry' was sometimes used to mean something small or unimportant). Think of the two famous huckleberry characters - Huckleberry Finn is an uneducated half-wild runaway and Huckleberry Hound is portrayed as something of a nieve hillbilly. Both are well meaning, but also somewhat innocent and unassuming - not always recognizing when people are out to do them harm.

In the movie, John Ringo thinks that he is such a great and feared gunfighter that only a fool would get in a fight with him. When Doc Holiday says "I'm your Huckleberry", he is playing along with Ringo's mind game and calling his bluff by saying - "I'm your sucker". Of course, Holliday knows that he can beat Ringo, he is just taunting Ringo by playing along with the game.

You will undoubtably see websites and answers (without authoritative sources) that claim 'Huckleberry' meant the 'best person for the job', but you will notice that most make reference to the movie and not historical sources. When you think about all the other places where 'Huckleberry' is used, that meaning does not make sense - is Huckleberry Hound's character one of always being 'the right person (hound) for a job'? Nope... does not really fit.

A 'huckleberry' (certainly in the context of the movie) meant somebody who is a nieve simpleton or sucker - somebody who does not know any better and could easily be duped.

Answer 2

I do not know the actual meaning but I always assumed that a huckleberry was thorny or sour and uneatable. I figured a huckleberry as a protagonist.

This movie is a western classic, in my eyes. I bet I have seen it 10 times. "I have not yet begun to defile myself" is also a great quote from Val (Doc).

Answer 3

Tombstone Is My Favorite Western Of All Time.
I don't think there is any deep or hidden meaning to it. It's just a great all time bada** line. The Film is chock full of them. It just means "Johnny Ringo You Want A Fight, I'm Your Man"