| Photos (See all 35 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 4) |
| 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) | |
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| Appaloosa | Giant | Shane | The Departed | Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb top 250 movies | IMDb Drama section |
| IMDb USA section |
Some films are slow to give up their secrets first time round and need some time to elapse before they are revalued. An opportunity to see "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" after a gap of several years turned out to be an unexpectedly rewarding experience. It had never been one of my favourite Ford films; indeed I was always puzzled why many rate it so highly in the canon. Its rather plain black-and-white visuals smack of low production values and it has little of the grand operatic sweep of many of his other Westerns. I can now see that I was rather missing the point: "Liberty Valance" is that rare thing, a chamber Western, a quiet and elegiac reappraisal of the legends of the West made almost at the end of Ford's creative career with "Cheyenne Autumn" the only Western still to come. A U.S. senator played by James Stewart returns with his wife (Vera Miles at her most attractive) to the small Western town, where, as a young man, he tied to set up a law business, to attend the funeral of the man (John Wayne) who saved his life when he tried to rid the community of its villain, Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). Ford's Westerns had always been the stuff of legend. Now, towards the end of his career, he began to take the legend apart. The hero is not the one who goes on to become one of the town's most illustrious sons but the quiet man who fades into the background. It needs more than idealism to overcome evil, the film seems to be saying, Brute force has to be countered by brute force; moreover, true worth is not always rewarded or recognised by society. It is a bleak message that Ford is giving us. By homing in on character and plot to a far greater extent than usual, he gives us an experience that is often more akin to filmed theatre than cinema. There are unusually long sequences in studio built interiors, the diner, the bar and a theatre where an election adoption meeting is taking place. Outdoor sequences are few and far between. Instead of a large collective enemy such as marauding Indian tribes there is just the one baddy and his pair of sycophants. The pivotal action scene where Liberty Valance receives his just deserts takes place in a dark street and has none of the climactic sense of drama to be found in such shootouts as "My Darling Clementine" of Zinnemann's "High Noon". I can at last see that those very limitations that for so so long prevented me from appreciating "Liberty Valance" give it a sense of concentration and strength that the Western rarely achieves.