Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

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

Photos (see all 28 | slideshow) 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:
8.0/10   20,246 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 1% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
John Ford
Writers:
Dorothy M. Johnson (short story)
James Warner Bellah (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 April 1962 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Romance | Western more
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:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(13 articles)
DVD: Review: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
 (From The AV Club. 2 June 2009, 10:00 PM, PDT)

Triple Feature: Gunfight at the Ok Corral
 (From Cinematical. 30 May 2009, 7:02 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
John Ford's Meditation On The Passing Of The Wild West more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

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

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) refers to Valance as "... the toughest man south of the Picketwire," then adds, "next to me!" The Picketwire is not a wire fence dividing line; it was slang for the Purgatoire River, which flows into the Arkansas. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Tom arrives drunk at the dream house and staggers in, his shirt is light gray. Once he's inside and lights the lantern, his shirt is black. Then in the scene where Pompey rescues Tom from the burning house, when he first lays Tom on the buckboard, Tom's shirt is light gray again. When Tom tells Pompey to get the horses, it's clearly light gray. Then after Pompey frees the horses and the camera cuts back to Tom in the back of the buckboard, his shirt is clean and black once again. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Ransom Stoddard: [descending from railway carriage and consulting pocket watch] Thanks, Jason. On time.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Monty Python's Flying Circus: Salad Days (#3.7)" (1972) more

FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is this movie based on a novel?
Is this movie a musical?
more
4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful:-
John Ford's Meditation On The Passing Of The Wild West, 11 June 2007
8/10
Author: gftbiloxi (gftbiloxi@yahoo.com) from Biloxi, Mississippi

Based on a short story by Dorothy M. Johnson, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE tells the story of Ransom Stoddard, an eastern attorney who has the misfortune to be victimized by notorious outlaw Liberty Valance during a stagecoach robbery. Left for dead, Stoddard is rescued by rancher Tom Doniphon and brought to the small town of Shinbone. Disgusted by the lawlessness of the area, he determines to use not a gun but the law itself to end Valance's reign of terror.

Released in 1962, VALANCE was among the last films directed by John Ford, who was more closely associated with the Western than any other Hollywood director--and in one sense it certainly has the classic "good guy vs. bad guy" plot one expects from from a western classic. But Ford was not a superficial artist, and VALANCE is a remarkably multi-layered film that plays much deeper than you might expect.

Tom Doniphon is all that is right about the west; Liberty Valance is all that is wrong. But both are part and parcel of the same code, a society in which law and order are merely words on the lips of a cowardly marshal, a world where a man either dominates through fear or is dominated by it. It is a world that is coming to an end--and Rance Stoddard is in the vanguard of the new civilization. Both Doniphon and Liberty must fall before Stoddard if the worst of the west is to be tamed.

The cast is superior. James Stewart (Stoddard) and John Wayne (Doniphon) have unexpected chemistry on screen, and Lee Marvin (Valance) is easily one of the most unpleasant black-hats you could ever want to see in a western, vicious to the point of being psychotic. Supporting players Vera Miles, Andy Devine, Edmund O'Brien, and Woody Strode are equally fine. Although the script is occasionally a shade overwrought, it is laced with a very fine irony and sense of loss, and John Ford brings all the various pieces together without beating the viewer to death in the process.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
James Stewart and Vera Miles - Great Cast! And Hitchcock's Vertigo? Vertigomovie
didn't Pompey have it right? hslaw2222
Did anyone notice something about Pompey? santol321
Hallie questions bostonlatin
Was it murder? (spoiler!) heyouactor
Gene Pitney's Tune pinoak
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
The Phantom Rider How the West Was Won Giant Ghost of Zorro The James Brothers of Missouri
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Drama section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.