The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Movie, 1962, The '60s, Set in Shinbone
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is #9 of 34 in release order and #9 of 34 in chronological order in the Westerns.
The story
Questions arise when Senator Stoddard attends the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon in a small Western town. Flashing back, we learn Doniphon saved Stoddard, then a lawyer, when he was roughed up by a crew of outlaws terrorizing the town, led by Liberty Valance. As the territory's safety hung in the balance, Doniphon and Stoddard, two of the only people standing up to him, proved to be very important, but different, foes to Valance.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance recap
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) follows Senator Ransom Stoddard, who returns to Shinbone for a poor rancher's funeral and explains why. John Ford directs. Questioned by the local newspaper, Stoddard (James Stewart) tells the story in flashback. Years earlier, as a young lawyer heading west, he was robbed and whipped by the outlaw Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). Nursed in Shinbone by the waitress Hallie (Vera Miles), he washes dishes, teaches reading and argues for law while the rancher Tom Doniphon (John Wayne), who means to marry Hallie, tells him only a gun works against Valance. Tom's ranch hand Pompey (Woody Strode) is always at his side. Cattle barons who hire Valance oppose statehood, and when the town elects Stoddard and the editor Dutton Peabody (Edmond O'Brien) as delegates, Valance beats Peabody nearly to death. Stoddard, who can barely shoot, goes out to face him, and Valance falls dead. The film stands alone, adapted from Dorothy M. Johnson's short story.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ending explained
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ends with the truth that Tom shot Valance from an alley, and the editor choosing not to print it. Tom tells Stoddard so when Stoddard balks at a nomination built on a killing; Tom, having lost Hallie, burns the room he was building for her. Stoddard rides the fame to the Senate. Back in the present, the editor tears up his notes: when the legend becomes fact, print the legend. On the train home, a conductor tells Stoddard nothing is too good for the man who shot Liberty Valance.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is streaming on MGM Plus, YouTube (free), and Fawesome in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 8.1/10, Rotten Tomatoes 95%
Where it fits
- Release order: after The Magnificent Seven, before A Fistful of Dollars.
- Chronological order: after The Magnificent Seven, before Once Upon a Time in the West.
Cast
- John Wayne as Tom Doniphon
- James Stewart as Ransom Stoddard
- Vera Miles as Hallie Stoddard
- Lee Marvin as Liberty Valance
- Edmond O'Brien as Dutton Peabody
- Andy Devine as Link Appleyard
- Ken Murray as Doc Willoughby
- John Carradine as Cassius Starbuckle
- Jeanette Nolan as Nora Ericson
- John Qualen as Peter Ericson
- Willis Bouchey as Jason Tully
- Carleton Young as Maxwell Scott
Directed by John Ford.