The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

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

Release Date:

28 May 1962 (UK)

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 | Law Book | Outlaw | Friend

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)
Frank Baker	...	Gambler (uncredited)
Leonard Baker	...	Man (uncredited)
Danny Borzage	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Rudy Bowman	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Robert Donner	...	(uncredited)
Larry Finley	...	Bar X Man (uncredited)
Shug Fisher	...	Kaintuck (uncredited)
Duke Fishman	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Ben Frommer	...	Cantina Bartender (uncredited)
Helen Gibson	...	(uncredited)
Herman Hack	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Statehood Audience Member (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Convention Committee Member (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	...	Henchman (uncredited)
Tom Hennesy	...	Buck Langhorn (uncredited)
William Henry	...	Gambler (uncredited)
Bryan 'Slim' Hightower	...	Shotgun (uncredited)
Earle Hodgins	...	Clute Dumphries (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes	...	(uncredited)
Jimmy Horan	...	Statehood Audience Member (uncredited)
Michael Jeffers	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Eddie Juaregui	...	Drummer (uncredited)
Jack Kenny	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Ethan Laidlaw	...	Party Member at Convention (uncredited)
Anna Lee	...	Mrs. Prescott - Widow in Stage Holdup (uncredited)
Jacqueline Malouf	...	Lietta Appleyard (uncredited)
Ted Mapes	...	Highpockets (uncredited)
Rod McGaughy	...	Statehood Council Member (uncredited)
Montie Montana	...	Politician on Horseback (uncredited)
Bob Morgan	...	Roughrider (uncredited)
Charles Morton	...	Drummer (uncredited)
Eva Novak	...	(uncredited)
Jack Pennick	...	Jack - Barman (uncredited)
Jack Perrin	...	Statehood Audience Member (uncredited)
Dorothy Phillips	...	(uncredited)
'Snub' Pollard	...	Statehood Audience Member (uncredited)
Stephanie Pond-Smith	...	(uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	...	Henchman (uncredited)
Robert Robinson	...	Statehood Audience Member (uncredited)
Buddy Roosevelt	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Phil Schumacher	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Charles Seel	...	Election Council President (uncredited)
Tom Smith	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Cap Somers	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Rudy Sooter	...	Statehood Audience Member (uncredited)
Slim Talbot	...	(uncredited)
Jack Tornek	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Ralph Volkie	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Max Wagner	...	Poker Game Dealer (uncredited)
Blackie Whiteford	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Jack Williams	...	Henchman (uncredited)

Directed by
John Ford

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

Produced by
Willis Goldbeck	....	producer
John Ford	....	producer (uncredited)

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

Cinematography by
William H. Clothier		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Otho Lovering		(edited by)

Art Direction by
Eddie Imazu
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Edith Head		(costumes)
Ron Talsky		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Nellie Manley	....	hair style 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
Robert Ayres	....	illustrator (uncredited)
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

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

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography
Sarah McGrail	....	image processing specialist (uncredited)

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 (The John Ford Production)
• John Ford Productions

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1962) (USA) (theatrical) (as A Paramount Release)
• Paramount (1962) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1967) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• CIC Victor (2002) (Japan) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Paramount Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Encore Avenue (2010) (Canada) (TV)
• CIC Video (????) (West Germany) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (????) (Australia) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.)

Also Known As:

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:

Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | South Korea:12 | UK:U | West Germany:12 (w) | Spain:T | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (Certificate No. 20128) | Netherlands:12 | Brazil:12 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

At the beginning of the movie, in the scene in which Vera Miles comes near John Wayne's burned house, the music from John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) is played.

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.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Along Came a Spider (2001)

Soundtrack:

Home on the Range

Allows us to understand the creation of myths

Anticipating Peckinpah and Eastwood, John Ford's Hamlet-like Western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance deconstructs the legends of the Old West as a place where good always triumphed over evil and civilization overcame barbarism, a myth that he helped to create. Ford's 1962 film, based on the story by Dorothy M. Johnson, looks at how myths are created and, in its complex vision of the passing of an era, both pines for the lawless open spaces and eagerly anticipates the railroads bringing paved roads, schools, and law enforcement. The film contains the classic phrase "When truth becomes legend, print the legend", cited by a journalist who refuses to print newly discovered facts about an incident surrounded in myth that took place years before.

While there are stereotypes and all-too familiar stock characters, Liberty Valance succeeds because of strong performances by John Wayne as the macho embodiment of the old school, and Jimmy Stewart as the man who brings literacy and respect for law to the small town, though unconvincing as a young man just out of law school. Shot in black and white on a studio sound stage, the film opens with gray-haired Senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) arriving at a small frontier town named Shinbone with his wife Hallie (Vera Miles). Met at the train station by a reporter eager for a story, Senator Stoddard tells him that he came to attend the funeral of an old friend, Tom Doniphon (John Wayne).

It is there that he reunites with Tom's dependable ranch hand Pompey (Woody Strode) and, since no one remembers Tom Doniphon, relates his story that takes us back to the time before the coming of the railroads. As Stoddard tells it, he was a young law graduate who arrived from the East in a stagecoach, following the advice "Go West, young man, and grow up with the country" first made in 1851 by John B. L. Soule, editor of the Terre Haute Express and incorrectly attributed to Horace Greeley. His welcome to Shinbone, however, is not what he had hoped. He is met by a sadistic bandit named Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) who robs the stagecoach and beats Stoddard after he tries to protect a female passenger.

Rancher Tom Doniphon finds him unconscious and brings him to Hallie, his girlfriend's house. When Stoddard recovers, he asks the Marshal Link Appleyard (Andy Devine) to make an arrest but Doniphon soon sets him straight about how justice is done in Shinbone - with the barrel of a gun. Without money, Stoddard works in the family restaurant as a dishwasher and also for the editor of the local newspaper, a man named Dutton Peabody (Edmond O'Brien) who is overly fond of the bottle.

Ransom develops an interest in Hallie and soon sets up classes to teach her and other locals how to read and write and also to convey the finer points of democracy and its institutions. Threatened by Valance and taunted by Doniphon, Stoddard goes against his ideals and learns how to shoot a gun with the help of Doniphon who "educates" him and shows him the error of his liberal ways.

After Stoddard and Peabody defeat Valance in an election to be representatives to the Sate Senate and an editorial appears contrasting the goals of statehood with the interests of Valance and the cattlemen, Dutton is severely beaten by Valance who then baits Stoddard into a gunfight. The showdown between Stoddard and Liberty is the centerpiece of the film and the shot heard round the West allows the victor to build an entire career based on the incident.

The legend of Shinbone will soon be joined by real-life icons Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill, and Kit Carson and the truth about the West with its corruption, misogyny, domination of the weak by the strong, and Native American genocide will be quietly buried. John Ford helped to romanticize the West and create the myth and, now in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, he allows us to understand its melancholy and its lie.