The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) on Netflix
A young lawyer, Ransom Stoddard, is robbed and beaten on the road to Shinbone by the outlaw Liberty Valance. Years on, as a senator, he returns to bury Tom Doniphon.
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- IMDb8.1/1089,816 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes95%
Trailer
Plot summary
Senator Ransom Stoddard comes back to Shinbone with his wife, Hallie, for the funeral of Tom Doniphon, a rancher most of the town regards as unremarkable. A newspaperman asks why a senator would make the trip, and Stoddard tells of reaching the frontier years before as a young attorney with only his law books. The outlaw Liberty Valance stopped his stage, robbed him and beat him. Valance answers to the cattle barons who want no statehood, and the marshal, Link Appleyard, will not stand up to him. Hallie, employed at Peter Ericson's steakhouse, dressed the lawyer's wounds; Stoddard took work in that kitchen, began teaching the townspeople to read, and decided to settle Valance's account through the courts rather than a gun.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Cinematographer William H. Clothier said there was one reason and one reason only for the black-and-white photography: Paramount was cutting costs. Otherwise, he said, they would have been in Monument Valley or Brackettville with color stock, and Ford had to accept those terms or not make the film.
- Ford ridiculed Wayne for failing to enlist during World War II, during which Ford filmed combat documentaries for the Office of Strategic Services and was wounded at the Battle of Midway while Stewart commanded a bomber group. Wayne's avoidance of wartime service was a major source of guilt for him in his later years.
- Asked near the end of filming what he thought of Strode's costume, James Stewart replied that it looked "a bit Uncle Remussy"; Ford then called for the crew's attention and announced that he did not know whether Mr. Stewart had a prejudice against Black people, but wanted everyone to know about it.
- The Burt Bacharach and Hal David song "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance" became a top-10 hit for Gene Pitney but was not used in the film, and it seems unlikely it could have been, since its lyrics give the surprise ending away.
