The Most Overlooked Part Of Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday In Tombstone

Val Kilmer's performance as Doc Holliday is widely celebrated as the best thing about Tombstone, both by those who love the 1993 western and those who don't. Common points of discussion include Holliday's immensely quotable dialogue, his blend of nonchalance and intensity, his friendship with Wyatt Earp, and his rivalry with Johnny Ringo.

All of the above are worthy aspects of Holliday's character, and contributed significantly to his reputation as an all-time-great western antihero. Nevertheless, Kilmer's Tombstone character has so many layers and strengths, it's only natural that some of his best Wild West work flies under the radar.

Doc Holliday's Relationship With Kate Is An Overlooked Part Of His Tombstone Story

Doc Holliday's romantic endeavors in Tombstone are easy to take for granted. Val Kilmer and Joanna Pacula have such an easy, natural onscreen chemistry, their relationship sits comfortably in the background without ever really announcing itself, and with Kilmer on such good form, Pacula never gets enough credit as his sparring partner.

But the bond between those characters is really just as important as the one between Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. Tombstone's Holliday is a man who moves where the wind takes him, even coming and going freely in his association with Earp, but it's clear from their first scene that Doc Holliday and Big Nose Kate share a loyal connection and deep understanding that transcends traditional definitions.

Aside from being called "Big Nose" Kate (a carry-over from real life as opposed to an invention of Tombstone), she and Holliday share a strangely endearing relationship. As well as being constantly flirtatious, it feels like Wyatt and Kate are the only two people Holliday truly admires in Tombstone. They're two free spirits who found each other against all odds and developed a symmetry that can't be found within any of Tombstone's other romantic pairings.

At a glance, it's easy to dismiss Doc and Kate's partnership as purely sexual, or a gamblers-with-benefits arrangement, but when Holliday's health takes a turn for the worse, the more tender notes of their "association" rise to the surface, and it's hard to see anything other than a genuine love story.

Doc Holliday's Relationship With Kate Proves He's Nothing Like Wyatt Earp

It's interesting that Doc Holliday is supposed to be Tombstone's antihero and Wyatt Earp the story's hero, yet their respective lovers would suggest the exact opposite.

Throughout Tombstone, Wyatt's wife (and, indeed, the wives of his brothers too) are largely sidelined by their partners. The women hang back while their husbands do the law-keeping, the money-making, and the fun-having. This is a reflection of the era, but it's curious that Doc Holliday and Kate appear to stand on slightly more equal footing, with the latter usually involved in whatever Doc is involved in (the two major gunfights excluded).

Crucially, Wyatt Earp demonstrates a quiet contempt towards his wife all the way through Tombstone, ignoring her addiction issues before getting his head turned by Josephine Marcus. Ultimately, Earp abandons his wife to run away with Josephine, but it's hard to conclude that he's actually in love by the end of Tombstone. Wyatt is more in love with the idea of Josephine than Josephine herself - and perhaps vice versa too.

It's hard to imagine Tombstone's Doc Holliday doing the same. Even as tuberculosis takes hold, Doc suggests to Kate, "We have to redefine the nature of our association." He changes his mind pretty quickly, but that's still more of a courtesy than Wyatt Earp affords Mattie Blaylock.

Release Date December 25, 1993

Runtime 130 minutes

Director George P. Cosmatos

Writers Kevin Jarre

Producers Bob Misiorowski, James Jacks, Sean Daniel

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