The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a film that is highly revered today by critics and audiences alike, although when it was released in 1962 it wasn’t met with the same enthusiasm. Rated the #7 best film of 1962, and #253 in the greatest all-time movies (according to RYM users). Ranse is determined that law and justice can prevail over Valance; however, Ranse begins practicing with a gun. As Stoddard returns to Washington, D.C. with Hallie, and contemplates retiring to Shinbone, he thanks the train conductor for the railroad's many courtesies. Then, toward the end of filming, Ford asked Stewart what he thought of Strode's costume for the film's beginning and end, when the actors were playing their parts 25 years older. Ford resented the studio's intrusion and retaliated by taunting Wayne relentlessly throughout the filming. The film was released April 18, 1962, and the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending April 28, 1962, peaking at number four in June. 4, while reaching No. Now, I don't know if Mr. Stewart has a prejudice against Negroes, but I just wanted you all to know about it." Nate is using Letterboxd to share film reviews and lists with friends. "[10][13], Ford's behavior "...really pissed Wayne off," Strode said, "but he would never take it out on Ford," the man largely responsible for his rise to stardom. A great scene from John Ford's western. For a close analysis, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmWgRiGyd_4&feature=youtu.be As presented through another flashback within the flashback that frames the story, Tom tells Ranse it was he, Tom, who fired the fatal shot killing Valance, not Ranse. Three Classic Westerns in Box Set. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. In contrast to prior John Ford Westerns, such as The Searchers (1956) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Liberty Valance was shot in black-and-white on Paramount's soundstages. The studio also specified that Wayne's name appear before Stewart's on theatre marquees, reportedly at Ford's request. Upon entering the territory as a young attorney, Ranse is beaten and robbed by Liberty Valance and his gang. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Posted on December 31, 2015 by jaycluitt In the town of Shinbone, Senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) and his wife Hallie (Vera Miles) have returned for the funeral of Tom Doniphon, a man who evidently meant a great deal to them. The film is considered one of Ford's best,[31] and in one poll, ranked with The Searchers and The Shootist as one of Wayne's best Westerns. The film, also starring James Stewart, Lee Marvin and Vera Miles, is Ford’s most political film that subverts a lot of myths about the American West as well as the John Wayne persona that Ford himself created “This is the West, sir. Ranse's wounds are treated by Tom's girlfriend, Hallie, and others, who explain to him that Valance terrorizes the residents, and the town's Marshal Appleyard is powerless to stop him. Ranse and Dutton Peabody, the local newspaper editor, are elected, despite Valance and his gang's attempt to bully the residents into nominating him in order to represent the cattle barons. Starring: John Wayne, James Stewart, Lee Marvin, Vera Miles. Multiple stories and speculations exist to explain this decision. Stewart said he "wanted to crawl into a mouse hole", but Wayne told him, "Well, welcome to the club. Stoddard blows out the match for his unlit pipe, and stares downward. The ambiguity of the film lies in the title itself. Short Interpretation of the film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the top 100 Western songs of all time. Ransom Stoddard (played by James Stewart) and his wife, Hallie (Vera Miles), to their small hometown of Shinbone in the American West. "It was the only film," he said, "where [Ford] learned about something called pessimism. The Blues Brothers. It seems as though the film is moralizing on … "[16], Parts of the film were shot in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California.[17][18]. Author/co-author of numerous books about the cinema and is regarded as one of the foremost James Bond scholars. "[35] The New Yorker's Richard Brody described it as "the greatest American political movie", because of its depictions of a free press, town meetings, statehood debates, and the "civilizing influence" of education in frontier America.[33]. "[28] Harrison's Reports gave the film a grade of "Very Good",[29] but Brendan Gill of The New Yorker was negative and called it "a parody of Mr. Ford's best work. [8] According to cinematographer William H. Clothier, however, "There was one reason and one reason only ... Paramount was cutting costs. re: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Posted by Kafka on 12/12/20 at 8:29 pm to L1C4 Marvin steals it Jimmy Stewart is to old for his role (even he agreed). At the statehood convention, Ranse decides to withdraw his name for territorial delegate for statehood, concluding he is not worthy after killing Valance. "You might say I'm old fashioned, but black and white is real photography. Directed by John Ford. [23], Contemporary reviews were generally positive, although a number of critics thought the final act was a letdown. Original title: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Valance and his gang vandalize Peabody's newspaper office and beat him nearly to death after Peabody ran a story about Valance's prior murder of some farmers. Wayne's avoidance of wartime service was a major source of guilt for him in his later years. For the majority of the film, we are led to believe that the man who shot Liberty Valance is Ransom Stoddard, attorney at law. Ford claimed to prefer that medium over color: "In black and white, you've got to be very careful. In a tale told in flashback, he relates how he arrived in Shinbone hoping to establish a law office but found the town terrorized by Valance and his gang. "[27] John L. Scott of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Director Ford is guilty of a few lengthy, slow periods in his story-telling, but for the most part the old, reliable Ford touches are there. The budget for the black and white film was severely limited, so director Ford didn't have the luxury of on-location filming to showcase the vistas in his favorite locale, Monument Valley. "[24], The Monthly Film Bulletin agreed, lamenting that the "final anticlimactic 20 minutes ... all but destroy the value of the disarming simplicity and natural warmth which are Ford's everlasting stock-in-trade." The film's music score was composed by Cyril J. Mockridge, but in scenes involving Hallie's relationships with Doniphon and Stoddard, Ford reprised Alfred Newman's "Ann Rutledge Theme", from Young Mr. Lincoln. Tom also makes sure Ranse understands Hallie is Tom's girl by showing renovations to his ranch house are intended for his marriage to her. Variety called the film "entertaining and emotionally involving," but thought if the film had ended 20 minutes earlier, "it would have been a taut, cumulative study of the irony of heroic destiny," instead of concluding with "condescending, melodramatic, anticlimactic strokes. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Man-Who-Shot-Liberty-Valance-film-1962, Turner Classic Movies - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, AllMovie - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Add to Calendar 04/09/2021 07:30 PM 04/10/2021 09:30 PM America/Los_Angeles Paramount Film Series: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Otherwise we would have been in Monument Valley or Brackettville and we would have had color stock. Interesting? Amazon.com "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." Tom sees how much the two care for each other, and he retreats to his farm in a drunken rage where he burns down his house. Omissions? Add a review? You've got to know your job, lay your shadows in properly, get your perspective right, but in color, there it is," he said. Despite his confession, Stoddard finds the press uninterested in publishing the revelation, preferring instead to let his myth remain unaffected. The Man who shot Liberty Valance(1962) was the last western that John Ford made with John Wayne. Senator Ranse Stoddard and his wife Hallie arrive in Shinbone, a frontier town in an unnamed western state, to attend the funeral of Tom Doniphon. Despite this, the review maintained that the film "has more than enough gusto to see it through," and that Ford had "lost none of his talent for catching the real heart, humor and violent flavor of the Old West in spite of the notable rustiness of his technique. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962 ★★★★★ Dec 06, 2020. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," the New Yorker's Richard Brody writes, "is the greatest American political movie." [6], Others have interpreted the absence of the magnificent outdoor vistas so prevalent in earlier Ford Westerns as "a fundamental reimagining [by Ford] of his mythic West" – a grittier, less romantic, more realistic portrayal of frontier life. "You might say I'm old fashioned, but black and white i… The screenplay by James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck was adapted from a 1953 short story written by Dorothy M. Johnson. [19] The film scholar Kathryn Kalinak notes that Ann Rutledge's theme "encodes longing" and "fleshes out the failed love affair between Hallie and Tom Doniphon, the growing love between Hallie and Ranse Stoddard, and the traumatic loss experienced by Hallie over her choice of one over the other, none of which is clearly articulated by dialogue. In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, the newspaper editor says, "This is the West. He was a sadistic and violent Old West outlaw, a holy terror to the town of Shinbone, and the ruthless leader of an outlaw gang. I'm glad you made it. This conflict drives Stoddard to seek to confront Liberty, which Doniphon knows is a fool's quest for the shaky Easterner. in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance--but unlike Pilate, Ford waits for an answer. Liberty began to torment newcomer and lawyer Ransom Stoddard (portrayed by the late James Stewart). When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." [21] Jimmie Rodgers also recorded the song, in the Gene Pitney style. The Burt Bacharach-Hal David song "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance" became a top-10 hit for Gene Pitney. Ranse returns to Hallie to treat his arm. Multiple stories and speculations exist to explain this decision. There is no review for this diary entry. The film begins in 1910 when a successful aging U.S. senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) and his wife of twenty-five years Hallie (Vera Miles) return to the small western town Shinbone, where they met, to attend the funeral of Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) a man known in the town as a good man … Liberty Valance is going to get shot. By a man. The story opens with the return of elderly U.S. Sen. Stoddard thus became a local legend, and he was subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate. 2 on Canada's CHUM Hit Parade, and No. His book, (From left) James Stewart, John Ford, and John Wayne on the set of the motion picture, Writers: James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck. "[25] A. H. Weiler of The New York Times wrote that "Mr. Ford, who has struck more gold in the West than any other film-maker, also has mined a rich vein here," but opined that the film "bogs down" once Stoddard becomes famous, en route to "an obvious, overlong, and garrulous anticlimax. 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