The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

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:

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 enters the kitchen as Hallie is tending to Rance's wound and when he starts getting drunk his shirt is dark (probably Wayne's favorite blue, if the movie were in color). When he arrives at his ranch, the shirt is now much lighter (possibly red if in color.)

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in Munich (2005)

Soundtrack:

Main Theme

"A Lawyer ....and a teacher....the first west of the Rosey Buttes."

Senator James Stewart and his wife Vera Miles get a telegram from their old home in Shinbone about the death of a friend. They arrive in Shinbone and go to a sparsely attended service. When prodded a bit by the editor of the Shinbone Star, a paper he was once employed at, Stewart sits down and tells the story of just how his political career got its start.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is John Ford's final homage to the western film genre that made his reputation. It's maybe the most nostalgic of westerns he ever did. Beginning with the cast all of whom are way too old for their parts. But if you notice there's a kind of soft focus photography used on John Wayne, James Stewart, and Lee Marvin which masks their age. The skill of these players does the rest.

Stewart arrives in Shinbone, a newly minted attorney who has taken Horace Greeley's advice and the stagecoach he's riding on gets held up by the local outlaw Liberty Valance and henchmen. When Stewart protests Valance, played by Lee Marvin beats him with the butt end of a silver knob whip and leaves him on the road.

He's found by John Wayne who brings him to Shinbone to get medical attention. Stewart stays with restaurant owners John Qualen and Jenanette Nolan and their daughter Vera Miles who's Wayne's girl. Miles who can't even read or write takes quite a shine to the educated easterner.

But Stewart and newspaper editor Edmond O'Brien keep getting on Liberty Valance's bad side, especially when they come out publicly for statehood whereas the big cattle ranchers who hire Liberty Valance and henchmen want to keep this part of the USA a territory for as long as they can. This is all leading to an inevitable showdown.

Lee Marvin as Liberty Valance is one evil man. No subtle psychology here, no explanations of a mom who didn't love him or a girl that dumped him, he's just an evil guy who likes being evil. If Liberty has any redeeming qualities, despite repeated viewings of this film, I haven't found any. Marvin clearly enjoyed this part, but he never turned it into a burlesque of himself. That he waited for Cat Ballou to do.

John Wayne who by this time was playing more roughhewn types than he did when he was Ringo Kid in Stagecoach, gets back to that kind of a portrayal here. He's more Ringo than he is Ethan Edwards. But that's at the beginning. Over the course of the film he changes into something like Ethan Edwards, his character from The Searchers. What happens to make him that way in fact is the story of the film.

But actually the film really does belong to Stewart. He's on screen for most of it, he's the protagonist here and until almost the end, what's happening to him is what The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is all about.

Ford once again rounds out his cast with many of his favorite players in support. Andy Devine as the cowardly marshal, John Carradine as a pompous windbag politician, Woody Strode, Denver Pyle, Strother Martin, all who had appeared in Ford films before.

There are two to single out however. This was the last film Jack Pennick ever did with John Ford. You might not know his name, but he and that horse-face countenance appeared in just about every sound John Ford film there is. He has a bit role as a bartender. Pennick died after completing this film.

Edmond O'Brien made his one and only appearance in this film as Dutton Peabody, founder, editor, and owner of the Shinbone Star and as he said himself, he sweeps the place out occasionally. He's a regular character in Ford films, the wise friend of the hero who has a bit of a drinking problem. Kind of like Thomas Mitchell as Doc Boone in Stagecoach.

Like Stewart, O'Brien is an eastern immigrant who came west to be his own newspaper editor like his former boss Horace Greeley. Words are his weapons, like the law is Stewart's. It's no wonder that these two annoy Lee Marvin so. Even the fast draw hired gun can't kill public opinion.

When they're both chosen as Shinbone's Delegates to the territorial convention it is O'Brien who makes the nominating speech to draft Stewart for the job. It is one of his finest bits in his long and distinguished career. It encapsulates a lot of what Ford was trying to say about progress and progress in the American west. In the end it is the farmer, the merchant, the builder of cities will eventually triumph just about anywhere. Stewart and he are as much pioneers as Wayne and the others in Shinbone are, they're just the next logical step.

Progress always comes at a price. We see the price in the beginning and the end of the film, the scenes of Shinbone during the early Twentieth Century. The paved streets, the electric lights are there because of who came before and what they did. There wasn't room in the changing west for many like Wayne and Marvin, their time came and went, just as Stewart's time came and went too.

Actually I think the real winner in this film was always Vera Miles. She started out as an illiterate girl working in her parent's restaurant and wound up the wife of a United States Senator. That's progress too.