The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance John Ford Film

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a John Ford directed and John Wayne starring Hollywood film made in 1962. The movie, a Western genre classic, was a screen adaptation of a short story written by Dorothy M. Johnson. In 2007, the film was chosen in the US National Film Registry for having the contents of cultural, aesthetic and historical relevance.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance has a flashback narrative. It tells about an unusual friendship between the attorney Stoddard( James Stewart) and the rancher Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). Then there is a girl called Hallie(Vera Miles) whom both want. Then comes the hooligan Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). He escapes the law since his crimes committed outside the range of the city. Valance is only scared of Tom. And he always derives pleasure in bullying Tom's people (including Stoddard, whom he even beat.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance then shows the rising terror of Valance and Stoddard's attempt to sort it out. He openly challenges Valance into a shootout. Stoddard, undoubtedly the underdog, kills Valance became the hero. He wins Halie's love. Enraged Tom lets out the truth that it was he who killed Valance and not Stoddard. Tom dies after leading a life of a recluse. Stoddard becomes a Congressman too.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance then shows Stoddard's desperation in getting the truth published. But the editor comes up with this proposition that when legend has turned into fact, publish the legend. The movie had a star-studded cast that included James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Andy Devine. The film was a roaring success. The movie got an Academy Award nomination for the Best Costume Design. It continued to garner popularity by being aired on the TV for a number of occasions. Along with 'Stagecoach' and 'The Searchers', this flick is also reckoned as a classic of John Ford.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance has repeated mention of 'Picket Wire' which is actually a slang word for the Purgatoire River of southeastern Colorado, while the presence of Sugaro cactus hints that the locale of the film could be Arizona, since Sugaro cactus is grown mostly in Arizona. Yet, the fact is that there is no specific mention of any place.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance titles have a musical score from an early John Ford's film, though there was a song carrying the title of movie by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The song was covered by James Taylor in his 1985 album 'That's Why I'm Here'. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance