1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

#402- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Starring: James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles
Directed by: John Ford


Plot Summary: After an attack from the ruthless Liberty Valance and his gang, Ransom Stoddard is rescued and nursed back to health with the help of Tom Doniphon and Hallie Ericson. Valance terrorizes the town of Shinbone with Marshal Link Appleyard and the rest of the citizens unwilling to enforce the law on Valance. The only person courageous enough to stand up to Valance are Stoddard and Doniphon, but under different circumstances. As a lawyer, Stoddard believes that enforcing the law is enough, and as a gunslinger, Doniphon believes the only way to bring peace would be to kill Valance. After being embarrassed by Valance, and not wanting Doniphon to fight his battles for him, Stoddard acquires a gun and begins to train himself for something he may not want to do, but knows it might be the only way to enforce the law in Shinbone, as he plans to get his revenge and shoot Liberty Valance.


When it came time to handle a John Wayne film for Western month, I had a pretty tough time selecting one. I was originally going to do The Searchers, often considered John Wayne's best film, but decided to save some of the more iconic Westerns for a later date. That being said, I was very much intrigued by The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Why? Well, not only is it a Western that stars John Wayne, one of the greatest cowboy actors of all time, but also stars James Stewart, one of my favorite actors of all time and definitely my favorite actor of the earlier days of cinema.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is centered on Ransom "Ranse" Stoddard, played by James Stewart. Stoddard is a lawyer who feels out of his element within the Western setting and actually questions a lot of the ethics and logistics of why things are the way they are. There's an entertainingly self-aware attitude towards that that I can't help but find humorous and actually agreeing with Stoddard. Like many of his films, this is just another film in which Stewart gets to shine as one of the greatest actors of all time. He's a likeable main character, but not one you would imagine rooting for in the Old West because he is not a traditional cowboy, but is more of an underdog than anything else.

Stoddard is helped, reluctantly, by Tom Doniphon, played by John Wayne. Despite being one of the most celebrated Western actors of all time, The Duke takes a back seat to Stewart in terms of screen time and primary focus within the plot. For majority of the film, Tom feels like a supporting character that is given weight due to John Wayne's star power. Tom's importance to the story becomes more prevalent in the film's final moments, but it Wayne's natural charisma that fuels the character's popularity. From his classical good looks, to the way he carries himself, to the way he says "Pilgrim," there are many facets to him that make John Wayne one of the most iconic actors of all time. 

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance has a great cast of side characters. Among them are Hallie, played by Vera Miles, the love interest of both Ranse and Tom. She's a good enough character who is more of a plot point to stir up conflict between the two leads. Tom's right hand man Pompey, played by Woody Strode, serves as that "slave" type of sidekick for Tom and that's all I'll say about that (not opening that can of worms). There's the dim-witted Marshal Link Appleyard, played Andy Devine, who is rather annoying in how incompetent he is despite the fact that he is the Marshal of the town.

There are side characters, however, that really stick out among the great performances in the film. One of them is the film's antagonist Liberty Valance, played by Lee Marvin. He is having so much fun at playing this pompous and smarmy outlaw, that it is almost really hard to not "love to hate" him. The other is Mr. Peabody, the town drunk and owner of the newspaper played by Edmund O'Brien. Maybe it's my involvement with working for my school's newspaper, but I took a real liking to Peabody as a character, finding him very charming and humorous, as well as sympathetic when it is appropriate.

In terms of the film's legacy, it is the combination of the two veteran actors working together in a Western setting (there seems to be a pattern there, I'm sounding like a broken record). It's a bit slower paced than other films I've watched where the Old West is packed with action. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance takes its time in investing in the town and characters, rather than focus on violence. It's a refreshing change of pace that takes its time to establish exposition before moving forward with the rest of the film. While there are some problems with the film that haven't aged well, it is still enjoyable thanks to a wonderful combination of great characters and storytelling.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I'm not sure if it was because of John Wayne's lack of screen time as opposed to James Stewart's, but something seemed "off" about The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. I'd recommend this film as a weekend rental in order to see some likable supporting characters, a loathsome villain, and great leading performances from James Stewart and John Wayne.

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The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and movie images are copyrighted by Paramount Pictures