The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

James Warner Bellah (screenplay) and
Willis Goldbeck (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

22 April 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Together For The First Time - James Stewart - John Wayne - in the masterpiece of four-time Academy Award winner John Ford

Plot:

A senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed.

Plot Keywords:

Senator | Funeral | Outlaw | Lawyer | Stagecoach

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

John Wayne	...	Tom Doniphon
James Stewart	...	Ransom Stoddard
Vera Miles	...	Hallie Stoddard
Lee Marvin	...	Liberty Valance
Edmond O'Brien	...	Dutton Peabody
Andy Devine	...	Marshal Link Appleyard
Ken Murray	...	Doc Willoughby
John Carradine	...	Maj. Cassius Starbuckle
Jeanette Nolan	...	Nora Ericson
John Qualen	...	Peter Ericson
Willis Bouchey	...	Jason Tully - Conductor
Carleton Young	...	Maxwell Scott
Woody Strode	...	Pompey
Denver Pyle	...	Amos Carruthers
Strother Martin	...	Floyd
Lee Van Cleef	...	Reese
Robert F. Simon	...	Handy Strong
O.Z. Whitehead	...	Herbert Carruthers
Paul Birch	...	Mayor Winder
Joseph Hoover	...	Charlie Hasbrouck - Reporter for 'The Star'
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Akins	...	(uncredited)
Mario Arteaga	...	Henchman (uncredited)
Gertrude Astor	...	(uncredited)
Leonard Baker	...	Man (uncredited)
Danny Borzage	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Robert Donner	...	(uncredited)
Larry Finley	...	Bar X Man (uncredited)
Shug Fisher	...	Kaintuck (uncredited)
Helen Gibson	...	(uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	(uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	...	Henchman (uncredited)
William Henry	...	(uncredited)
Bryan 'Slim' Hightower	...	Shotgun (uncredited)
Earle Hodgins	...	Clute Dumphries (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes	...	(uncredited)
Eddie Juaregui	...	Drummer (uncredited)
Jack Kenny	...	(uncredited)
Anna Lee	...	Mrs. Prescott - Widow in Stage Holdup (uncredited)
Jacqueline Malouf	...	Lietta Appleyard (uncredited)
Ted Mapes	...	Highpockets (uncredited)
Montie Montana	...	Politician on Horseback (uncredited)
Bob Morgan	...	Roughrider (uncredited)
Charles Morton	...	Drummer (uncredited)
Eva Novak	...	(uncredited)
Jack Pennick	...	Jack - Barman (uncredited)
Dorothy Phillips	...	(uncredited)
Stephanie Pond-Smith	...	(uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	...	Henchman (uncredited)
Buddy Roosevelt	...	Townsman in diner (uncredited)
Charles Seel	...	Election Council President (uncredited)
Slim Talbot	...	(uncredited)
Ralph Volkie	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Max Wagner	...	Poker Game Dealer (uncredited)
Blackie Whiteford	...	(uncredited)
Jack Williams	...	Henchman (uncredited)

Directed by
John Ford

Writing credits
James Warner Bellah		(screenplay) and
Willis Goldbeck		(screenplay)
Dorothy M. Johnson		(story)

Produced by
John Ford	....	producer
Willis Goldbeck	....	producer

Original Music by
Cyril J. Mockridge		(as Cyril Mockridge)

Cinematography by
William H. Clothier		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Otho Lovering

Art Direction by
Eddie Imazu
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Edith Head
Ron Talsky		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Nellie Manley	....	hair styles supervisor
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
Don Robb	....	unit production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wingate Smith	....	assistant director

Art Department
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Charles Grenzbach	....	sound recordist
Philip Mitchell	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography

Stunts
John Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom Hennesy	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bryan 'Slim' Hightower	....	stunts (uncredited)
John Hudkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Juaregui	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ted Mapes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Louise Montana	....	stunts (uncredited)
Montie Montana	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Morgan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hal Needham	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Williams	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Denis Cameron	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Stu Linder	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Irvin Talbot	....	conductor
Jack Hayes	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leo Shuken	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures
• John Ford Productions

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1962) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1962) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• CIC Victor (2002) (Japan) (DVD)
• CIC Video (19??) (West Germany) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (19??) (Australia) (VHS)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1967) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Continental Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (19??) (USA) (video) (????)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Paramount Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

123 min | Brazil:124 min | West Germany:113 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Spain:T | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved | Netherlands:12 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | South Korea:12 | UK:U | West Germany:12 (w)

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

First occasion of John Wayne calling someone "Pilgrim".

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the school scene, Ransom talks about the "law of the land" (US Constitution) and mentions changing or amending it. He continues the lesson but refers to it as the Declaration of Independence instead of the US Constitution.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ransom Stoddard: [descending from railway carriage and consulting pocket watch] Thanks, Jason. On time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in I Call First (1967)

Soundtrack:

Main Theme

"This is the west, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend".

"This is the west, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend". - Maxwell Scott, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance In John Ford's most mournful tale, the legendary director asks the question "How did this present come to be? Just how did an inferior race of men whose only weapon was that of law and books defeat the old gunslingers of the great West? Just what exactly happened to the Western heroes portrayed by John Wayne when law and order came to town? How did the wilderness turn into a garden? In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, John Ford depicts a world where everyone has got everything they wanted, but nobody seems happy with it… sound familiar to anyone? Senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) arrives to Shinbone on a train with his wife Hallie (Vera Miles) to visit the funeral of an old friend named Tom Doniphon (John Wayne, remarkably the film opens where this iconic star is dead). The newspaper men have never heard of him, so why would such a powerful political figure visit the town to attend this funeral of a "nobody"? Through the use of a flashback, Stoddard tells us the tale of how he came to the town as a young lawyer but was immediately attacked by the psychotic villain Liberty Valance (terrifyingly played by Lee Marvin) who teaches him "Western law". The rest of the film tells the tale of how the man of books eventually defeated the race of the gunslinger and what sacrifices had to be made for that to happen.

In truth, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is more of a melodrama than a Western. Gone are the vibrant landscapes of Ford's landmark movie The Searchers six years earlier, which was so proudly promoted as being in VISTAVISION WIDESCREEN COLOR and instead the film has given way to a bleak, claustrophobic black and white tale, with so many enclosed sets and not one shot of Monument Valley.

There's a lack of a real bar scene, lack of shots of the landscape, lack of horses, lack of gunfights. It's a psychological Western, probably unlike anything ever filmed until maybe Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven.

Why is this movie so good then? In basic terms, it's about the sadness of progression and without giving way too much away the film tells a remarkable tale which truly does examine what Ford's view of the West as promoted in his earlier work truly meant. It's a tragic and pessimistic movie but it's a rewarding one, with huge replay value and one that leaves you with so many more questions than it does answers.

Do we prefer the legendary tale of our heroes or the truth? Are tales of people such as 'The Man With No Name' just more interesting than Wyatt Earp? Is living a lie as a successful guy better or worse than quietly dying as a hero? The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is one of the most complex Westerns that has ever been put on film and is a remarkable film when you consider it was directed by a guy who made his living telling grandeur tales of the American West. Well acted, very well written and is one of the most rewarding Westerns for replay value in the history of the genre.

Matt Holmes

www.obsessedwithfilm.com