The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a 1962 American Western film directed by John Fordand starring James Stewart and John Wayne. The black-and-white film was released byParamount Pictures. The screenplay by James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck was adapted from a short story written by Dorothy M. Johnson.

In 2007, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

John Ford also directed James Stewart and John Wayne in an hour-long Alcoa Premiereteleplay that same year, a baseball drama called Flashing Spikes. Stewart and Wayne were reunited again in 1976 for Wayne's final film, The Shootist

Plot

This article's plot summary may be too long or overly detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (July 2010)

In the late 19th century, the aging U.S. Senator Ransom "Rance" Stoddard (James Stewart) and his wife Hallie (Vera Miles) return to the small town of Shinbone, in an unnamed Western state, to attend the funeral of a friend. Stoddard is prevailed upon by a newspaper editor to explain why a U.S. senator would come to bury an apparent nobody, Tom Doniphon. As the Ransom explains, the film flashes back to decades before, when the railroad had not yet come to Shinbone, the region was a western territory with statehood the pressing issue, and Stoddard was a young attorney who had come from the east to set up a law practice.

As Stoddard makes his way to Shinbone, the stagecoach in which he's traveling is waylaid by outlaws. Stoddard is brutally beat and left him for dead when he dares to stand up to them. He is later found by rancher Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) and taken to the home of Peter Ericson (John Qualen) and his wife Nora (Jeannette Nolan) to be cared for. At the Ericson home, which doubles as a restaurant, Stoddard is nursed by the Ericsons' daughter, Hallie, a young woman widely regarded to be the love of Doniphon's life.

It is an open secret that the outlaws are led by feared gunfighter Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), who also wields a silver-handled whip as intimidation. Valance and his men often come to town to cause disturbances in saloons and restaurants. Local law enforcement in the person of slovenly, spineless town marshal Link Appleyard (Andy Devine) is helpless to stop Valance; Appleyard excuses his inaction in the stagecoach robbery since it was committed outside the town limits.

Doniphon, who is one of the few who will stand up to Valance, believes there is no law and that one "needs a gun in these parts". Stoddard, who believes in the rule of law rather than violence and is regarded by Doniphon as a tenderfoot unable to handle himself in the kind of fights that are common in the West, cannot understand Doniphon's thinking, which is exactly like Liberty Valance's: might makes right.

The sadistic, sneering Valance takes delight in humiliating Stoddard, who is earning his keep by working as a waiter in the Ericson restaurant. One evening, Valance trips Stoddard, who is carrying a tray of food, and orders him to pick up a steak laying on the floor. Doniphon, who had ordered the steak, steps in and tells Valance to pick it up. A tense stalemate is resolved when Stoddard picks up the steak. "Nobody fights my battles," he warns Doniphon.

When Hallie tells Stoddard she can't read or write, he sets up a makeshift school. Local children and some adults attend, including Doniphon's African-American hired hand Pompey (Woody Strode). As part of the lessons, Stoddard lectures the students on the benefits of democracy and the Constitution. While standing under a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, Pompey tries to recite the American Declaration of Independence but stumbles on "all men are created equal", claiming he "just plum forgot it". Stoddard replies, "A lot of people forgot that part".^[2] Doniphon is disdainful of the school and interrupts a class to tell Stoddard how Valance and his men have killed two homesteaders.

Valance is a hired gun for cattle barons who wish to keep the territory as it is; statehood might bring laws that could undermine their businesses. A meeting is held in Shinebone to elect two delegates to attend a convention on statehood at the territorial capital. Almost everyone in town attends, with the notable exceptions of Pompey and the women. Valance attempts to bully the townspeople into making him a delegate. Stoddard himself nominates Doniphon, but the latter refuses since he has "personal plans," i.e. marrying Hallie. Ultimately, Stoddard and Dutton Peabody (Edmond O'Brien), the alcoholic publisher and editor of the Shinbone Star, are elected.

After being thwarted in the meeting, Valance challenges Stoddard to a gunfight and nearly beats Peabody to death after the publication of an unflattering article in the newspaper. In response, Stoddard decides that he must face Valance in a gunfight. Unfortunately, Stoddard is completely unskilled with a gun and no match for the infamous gunfighter. But, when the shootout occurs, Stoddard miraculously kills Valance, a shock to everyone.

Stunned and wounded, Stoddard goes to Hallie, who responds with tearful affection. Doniphon sees this and remarks that Stoddard "... got outta that fix real handy." Assuming that he has lost Hallie's affection, Doniphon gets drunk in the saloon and drives out Valance's men who have been calling for Stoddard to be lynched. The barman tries to tell Pompey that, as a black man, he cannot be served, to which Doniphon angrily shouts: "Who says he can't? Pour yourself a drink, Pompey". Pompey instead drags Doniphon home, where the latter burns down the house he was building in anticipation of marrying Hallie.

Stoddard is hailed as a hero, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance". At a convention to pick delegates to Washington, D.C. to lobby for statehood, Stoddard is nominated but feels guilty that he may be capitalizing on an act of violence. It is only then that Doniphon, who has also turned up for the convention, tells him the true story about the gunfight. Doniphon, fetched by Pompey on the pleas of Hallie, had stood hidden in a nearby side-street and shot Valance with a rifle at the critical moment. He had timed his shot to coincide with Stoddard's and Valance's, saving Stoddard in a duel he would surely have lost and allowing him to save face. The fact that Doniphon shot Valance from a discreet distance without warning means that it was more murder than an actual gunfight. Unlikely though it is, Doniphon might face murder charges on those grounds.

When Stoddard asks why he did it, Doniphon bitterly replies that he did it to please Hallie, which he now regrets because "she's your girl now". Pushing Stoddard to go back and stand for nomination, Doniphon says, "You taught her to read and write, now give her something to read and write about!"

Stoddard returns to the convention and is chosen as representative. He marries Hallie and enjoys a busy political career, becoming acongressman, and serving three terms as Governor of the state and two terms as Senator. He even serves a spell as ambassador to Britainand is seen as a potential U.S. President.

Years later, Doniphon has died, having led the lonely, secluded life of a broken man. When Stoddard and Hallie return for the funeral, they meet old friends such as Appleyard and Pompey. Much has changed, and Shinbone has become a proper town. Stoddard confesses the whole story for the first time, but the newspaper editor refuses to publish it and burns the notes his reporter took, stating: "This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend".

Stoddard and Hallie board the train for Washington, melancholy about the lie that led to their prosperous life. With the area becoming more and more civilized, Stoddard decides, to Hallie's delight, to give up politics, return to the territory and set up a law office.

Stoddard asks a conductor how long it will take to get to Washington. The conductor tells them that the train is traveling at high speed and that at an upcoming junction they are holding the express train for him, saying, "Nothing's too good for the man who shot Liberty Valance".

[edit]Cast

• John Wayne as Tom Doniphon
• James Stewart as Ransom Stoddard
• Vera Miles as Hallie Stoddard
• Lee Marvin as Liberty Valance
• Edmond O'Brien as Dutton Peabody
• Andy Devine as Marshal Link Appleyard
• Ken Murray as Doc Willoughby
• John Carradine as Maj. Cassius Starbuckle
• Jeanette Nolan as Nora Ericson
• John Qualen as Peter Ericson
• Willis Bouchey as Jason Tully (conductor)
• Carleton Young as Maxwell Scott
• Woody Strode as Pompey
• Denver Pyle as Amos Carruthers
• Strother Martin as Floyd
• Lee Van Cleef as Reese
• Robert F. Simon as Handy Strong
• O.Z. Whitehead as Herbert Carruthers
• Paul Birch as Mayor Winder
• Joseph Hoover as Charlie Hasbrouck (reporter for 'The Star')

[edit]Production

The film was shot in black-and-white on Paramount sound stages, which was quite a contrast with Ford's other films of the period, such asThe Searchers, which included vast western exteriors and colour photography.^[3] Some maintain that Paramount needed to cut costs and insisted on a lower budgeted film.^[1] Paramount executive A.C. Lyles maintains that Ford wanted to make the picture but Paramount had not the budget available. Ford then offered to make it for whatever budget they had (a puzzling scenario since Ford had two of the industry's biggest box-office attractions, James Stewart and John Wayne, lined up to work together for the first time). Lee Marvin stated at length in a filmed interview that Ford realized that the film would not be as effective shot in color because the atmosphere and use of shadows would be adversely impacted and fought to make it in black-and-white.

Although greatly admired as a filmmaker, Ford was well-known for making life difficult for his long-suffering casts, sometimes using a kind of psychological warfare on his actors to extract the most powerful performances possible. James Stewart frequently told a story about Ford embarrassing him by making him look like a racist. When asked by Ford what he thought of the appearance of Woody Strode, an African-American, in dyed grey hair, overalls and hat, Stewart remarked that "it looks a bit Uncle Remus-like". Ford then called for the crew's attention and announced that "one of our actors doesn't like Woody's costume, doesn't like Woody, and probably doesn't like Negroes". Stewart enjoyed the ribbing, and Strode himself claimed that Stewart was "one of the nicest men you'll ever meet anywhere in the world".^[1]

But Ford's famed needling sometimes was more painful. Wayne made many films with Ford, with whom he was close. However, Wayne was a frequent target of the director's venomous remarks. Strode claims that Ford "kept needling Duke [Wayne] about his failure to make it as afootball player" while Strode was "a real football player". (Wayne's potential career in football had been put off by an injury.)

Ford also admonished Wayne for failing to serve in World War II while Stewart was regarded as a war hero: "How rich did you get while Jimmy was risking his life?" Wayne's failure to serve in the conflict was a source of great guilt for him.^[4]

Ford's behavior caused Wayne to take his frustrations out on Strode, who believed that they could otherwise have been friends. While filming an exterior shot on a horse-drawn cart, Wayne almost lost control of the horses and knocked Strode away when he tried to help. When the horses did stop, Wayne almost started a fight with Strode, who was much fitter. Ford gave them time to calm down, and Wayne later told Strode that they had to "work together. We both gotta be professionals". Strode blamed Ford's treatment of Wayne for the trouble, adding, "What a miserable film to make".^[1]

[edit]Music

Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote a song called "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", which became a Top 10 Hit for Gene Pitney but was not used in the film. Apparently, he was not asked to record it until after the film came out.^[5] Instead, the main titles contain a stirringly hard-driving instrumental theme. The chorus of the Pitney song features a single hard strike from a kettle- drum, or tympani that slides upward, in order to represent the shots that were fired. Jimmie Rodgers also recorded the song, in the Gene Pitney style. James Taylorcovered the song on his 1985 album That's Why I'm Here. The Royal Guardsmen also covered the song on their 1967 album Snoopy vs. the Red Baron.

In certain scenes involving the character of Hallie, Ford used part of Alfred Newman's "Ann Rutledge Theme" from his earlier film Young Mr. Lincoln. Ford told Peter Bogdanovich in the latter's book John Ford that the theme evoked the same meaning, lost love, in both films.

[edit]Notable aspects

The exact location of the film's setting is unclear. There are frequent references to the "Picketwire River" in the film. The Picketwire River was a previous name for the Purgatoire River in southeastern Colorado. Even though a date was never stated, the U.S. flag in the schoolroom scene has 38 stars, placing the film after Colorado became the 38th state on August 1, 1876. Saguaro cactus are visible in parts of the film. The only section of the U.S. in which the saguaro plant is native is the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and an extremely small area of California. There is, however, no overt mention in the film of a particular territory.

Before leaving the bar to meet Ransom Stoddard, Liberty Valance wins a hand of poker with two pair, aces over eights — a set known as adead man's hand.

[edit]Reception

The film was an instant hit when released in April 1962, thanks to its classic story and popular stars John Wayne and James Stewart. The film was nominated for Best Costume Design Edith Head, one of the few westerns to ever be nominated for the award. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance has continued its popularity through repeated television broadcasts and the rental market. Along with The Searchers, My Darling Clementine, and Stagecoach, it is also widely considered to be one of director John Ford's best westerns and generally ranks alongside Red River, The Searchers, The Big Trail, and Stagecoach as one of John Wayne's best films.

Sergio Leone, the director of such classic Westerns as Once Upon a Time in the West and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and one of the directors Ford influenced the most, said it was his favorite John Ford film because "it was the only film where he (Ford) learned about something called pessimism."

[edit]Billing

Stewart was given top billing over Wayne in the film's posters and previews, but in the film itself, Wayne has top billing. Their names are displayed on pictures of signposts, one after the other, with Wayne's name shown first and his sign mounted slightly higher on its post than Stewart's. Ford remarked in an interview with Peter Bogdanovich that he made it apparent to the audience that Vera Miles' character had never gotten over Tom Doniphon because "I wanted Wayne to be the lead"

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