The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

As one of the greatest film directors of the 20th century John Ford is best rembered for his westerns IMHO this is his finest. We can argue about The Searchers, His Calvary trilogy or Stagecoach, but this is my favorite. Simply put, what can be bad about a film staring John Wayne and James Stewart!

ESSENTIAL MOVIE!!! One of the greatest westerns ever filmed stars James Stewart & John Wayne & was directed by the incomparable John Ford. The character of the film's title isn't made clear until near the end of the movie. The film is shot in black & white which fits its moody atmosphere, it's like western/film noir.The movie opens with Ranson Stoddard (James Stewart), known as Rance to his friends, & his wife, Hallie (Vera Miles), returning to the town where they had met 25 years before. They've returned to the sleepy hamlet to attend the funeral of a nobody. Stoddard is now a Senator of the unnamed state & it's big news to the local newspaper as to why he's there. When asked, Stoddard begins a story that becomes a film-long flashback.Stoddard arrives in a wild west town as a green & mild mannered lawyer who has no idea of the ways in the unruly West. He runs afoul, almost immediately, of the outlaw Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). Their encounter leads eventually to the inevitable showdown. More than once, Tom Doniphon (John Wayne), steps in to thwart Valance's desire to harm the hapless Stoddard, who can't even handle a gun.It's understood that Hallie is Doniphon's girl though nothing has been formally announced. Doniphon has even begun adding a room, with the help of his black ranch hand Pompey (Woody Strode), to his ranch home in preparation of the day they marry. But Stoddard, inept as he is, is appealing to Hallie because he's educated & she isn't. Stoddard, unable to have a thriving law business at the outset, washes dishes at the busy cafe that's owned by Hallie's parents & also begins teaching in a school he's started. None of this is viewed very highly because these were jobs almost exclusively handled by women at that time; Stoddard isn't a man's man. The conflict in the cafe sets the tone for the movie; Doniphon orders a steak & it's brought to him by Stoddard, another job not viewed as being masculine. He's tripped by Valance, who doesn't know the steak is Doniphon's. After Stoddard is tripped the steak ends up on the floor, an argument ensues between Valance & Doniphon over the steak. In order to stop the potential violent eruption, Stoddard picks up the steak. In this classic scene the entire stage is set for what is to follow.Finally, there comes the showdown between Stoddard & Valance. Valance wounds Stoddard in the shoulder, like a cat toying with a mouse. Though Valance is drunk, he's still deadly accurate with a handgun. He taunts Stoddard into picking up the gun with his other hand, then he slowly takes aim to issue the coup de grace "right between the eyes." What follows is an incredible piece of luck when Stoddard fires the gun & kills Valance. The whole town now treats him as the conquering hero. At this time Doniphon kind of fades away, he gets to drinking, becomes bitter, finally burning down his ranch house, knowing he has lost Hallie.The territory this all occurs in is seeking statehood, they turn to "the man who shot Liberty Valance" & send him as one of their represenatives to the territorial meeting that intends to seek statehood. In this regard Stoddard is well suited, able to handle the requirements of the job to represent the good folks of Shinbone. This leads to a political career in which Stoddard shines on the national stage, he's been Senator, Governor & an Ambassador.But the truth is Rance Stoddard is NOT "the man who shot Liberty Valance", it was really Tom Doniphon, who had been standing in an nearby alley, witness to the gunfight. At the critical moment Doniphon shoots Valance himself with a rifle, managing to fire at the exact same moment as Stoddard, & killing Liberty Valance.The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance has a cast that is way beyond superb. In a major supporting role is Edmond O'Brien portraying the drunken editor of the Shinbone newspaper. John Carradine has a small role near the end as a voice the cattlemen speaking against statehood. There's also Denver Pyle in a small role. Strother Martin & Lee Van Cleef portray the two cronies of Valance. There's also Andy Devine playing the town sheriff who's scared of his own shadow. It all adds up to being one of Hollywood's greatest westerns. The role of Tom Doniphon was an excellent one for Wayne as he stepped outside his normal personna, giving one of his best acting portrayals of his entire career.

John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Vera Miles, and Lee Marvin were spectacular together. Simple story about right and wrong, and what it really takes to enforce justice.

Great condition, Great Quality! John FINGIN WAYNE & James/Jimmy Stewart!! One of the best movies ever. Full of Stars 👍

Great western movie by two of HW biggest & best starts

DVD was in excellent, brand new condition.

I am old enough to have seen the movie "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" when it was released in 1962, but I never did. I have always loved the Gene Pitney song which is not used in the film. One thing led to another, and I finally saw "Liberty Valance" thanks to Amazon Instant Video. Things have their proper time. This western was a product of its time in 1962, and it was the proper time for me to see it today.John Ford directed this black-and-white film of the old West, set in a fictitious frontier town called Shinbone just after the Civil War. The movie tells of the gradual change of the Western frontier from a place of lawless violence and ignorance to a society under the rule of law which promotes education, opportunity, the work ethic, and patriotism. The Old West is represented in the film by Tom Doniphon (John Wayne), a tough gun-toting and seemingly cynical rancher while the changing West is represented by a newcomer, a young naïve lawyer from the East, Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart). In his brusque way, Tom has been courting a young woman, Hallie (Vera Miles) but a contest develops for Hallie's affections with Ransom.Shinbone has been terrorized by the brutal and ruthless outlaw for whom the film is named (Lee Marvin). Liberty Valance has been hired by cattle interests to oppose the territory's petition for Statehood. Ransom had been whipped to near death by Valance when he arrived law books in hand with Shinbone. He tries to set up a law practice and in the process teaches Hallie to read and write and establishes a small school to teach about civics. The movie turns on a showdown between Valance and Ranse and on the less violent fight between Ranse and Tom for Hallie.The film is told as a lengthy flash-back after Ranse and his wife Hallie return at the outset of the film to Shinbone after 25 years away to attend Tom's funeral.In 2007, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry fas being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically" significant.This story celebrates both the Old and the changed West as it tells of American courage and persistence and of American faith in democracy, law, and education -- values which resonated strongly in the United States in 1962. Our country went through many difficult years, resulting in a tendency to question America's stated commitment to these values and to deflate films such as "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance". Now, it 2015, I was able to see the film for the first time and respond to it. Perhaps I together with many other Americans have been chastened to a degree in the many years following 1962 and may learn again from the values portrayed in the film.Robin Friedman

worth seeing in the blu ray format

John ford,john wayne y james stewartEsta película es considerada una despedidaAl cine wester vaya forma de brindar homenajeObra maestra

Top Qualität und wundervoller Film!!!

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Très bon FordLes questions se posent toujours de la même façon