IMDb > The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
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The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 3)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) -- Clip: You didn't kill Liberty Valance
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) -- Clip: Hit that can
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) -- Clip: You pick it up

Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   21,001 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
James Warner Bellah (screenplay) and
Willis Goldbeck (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 April 1962 (USA) more
Genre:
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. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(14 articles)
Directors We Love: John Ford
 (From Cinematical. 16 September 2009, 8:15 PM, PDT)

DVD: Review: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
 (From The AV Club. 2 June 2009, 10:00 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Who's The Better Man Here? Answer: Neither. more (152 total)
US TV Schedule:

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Runtime:
123 min | Brazil:124 min | West Germany:113 min (cut version)
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In the scene where Stoddard is carried into the "Peter's Place" kitchen wounded, Nora (Jeanette Nolan) gives him a cup of coffee laced with what she describes as "Akvavit, Swedish brandy" - the bottle is, in fact, a quite recognizable Akvavit bottle. The drink is found in all of Scandinavia but is largely considered to stem from Denmark. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: One of the songs being played in the saloon was "Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight," but the song was written in 1886 by Theodore Metz, several years after the time the story is set in. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Ransom Stoddard: [descending from railway carriage and consulting pocket watch] Thanks, Jason. On time.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Munich (2005) more
Soundtrack:
Main Theme more

FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is this movie based on a novel?
Is this movie a musical?
more
9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful.
Who's The Better Man Here? Answer: Neither., 22 June 2007
10/10
Author: jvincent1 from United States

I just read the comments of someone from August 30, 2004, who had reached the conclusion that John Wayne's character had stepped aside "for the better man," played by Jimmy Stewart. From my view, nothing could be farther from the truth. For all Ransom Stoddard's disdain for frontier violence, in the end, he was left with no choice but to pick-up a gun to finally silence Liberty Valance, something Valance knew better than to do with Wayne's Tom Doniphon. Call Stoddard the idealist and Doniphon the realist, but don't call him the better man. In 1946, John Ford directed My Darling Clementine, perfectly blending Wayne and Henry Fonda with his usual cast of characters to create a masterwork. Sixteen years later, he put Wayne together with Stewart (plus all the ol' gang) and made another peerless film. There was a time I didn't really "get" John Ford and John Wayne. One day, I awoke and now, the greatness of these two giants of the cinema is undeniable.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (152 total)

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