So the newspapermen are all surprised, as to why Ranse Stoddard: three-term governor, two-term senator, ambassador to the Court of St. James, would attend his funeral. John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles and Lee Marvin star in this compelling story of secrets, lies, fame, fortune and redemption.. This is why he can make a scene at the town meeting, mocking the participants and the rules (the Law says the bar is closed!) while turning down appointment to the delegation: if appointed, he might embarrass himself, perhaps showing himself to be ignorant of the rules or other social expectations. Ken Murray Doc Willoughby Thus buoyed, Stoddard rushes off to become the heroic figure that will dominate the politics of the territory, and then state, for decades to come. In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, the newspaper editor says, "This is the West. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Here, he is practically rendered motionless. The film was a direct influence on Leones own end of the west westernOnce upon a time in the West. in Liberty Valance, he just slowly fades away from screen. In fact, hes severely whipped by Valance after a stage holdup. There are here to attend the funeral of a man named Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). [Doniphon kicks Floyd in the face as he bends down to retrieve the tray] We watch events of long-ago happen before our eyes, and are content to take a temporary departure from the Twentieth Century. The film, also starring James Stewart, Lee Marvin and Vera Miles, is Fords 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. As a result, Stoddard gains an unearned reputation as the man who heroically shot Liberty Valance - a reputation that eventually propels him into the US Senate. Lee Marvin Liberty Valance Doniphon is not a person of any importance around town, just a sorry old man on the fringes, who passed away unnoticed. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend., Tom Doniphon: It aint mannerly out west to let a fella drink by himself., Tom Doniphon, about to leave town and knowing the newspaper is about to pick a fight with Liberty Valance: Take note of what goes on around here, because by the time I get back there aint gonna be no newspaper to read it in., Linc Appleyard, on the prospect of getting tough with Liberty Valance: The jails only got one cell, and the locks broke and I sleep in it., John Wayne as Tom Doniphon, the one man in Shinbone willing to stand up to Liberty Valance in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), James Stewart as Ransom Stoddard, victim of a stage holdup in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Vera Miles as Hallie trying to talk Ransom Stoddard out of a showdown in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Andy Devine as Lince Appleyard, the rather meek sheriff of Shinbone in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Ken Murray as Doc WIlloughby, realizing the day hes wished for has arrived in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Woody Stode as Pompey, welcoming Ransom and Hallie Stoddard back to Shinbone in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), ohn Qualen as Peter Ericson, father of Hallie and owner of a restaurant in Shinbone in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Jeanette Nolan as Nora Ericson, taking English lessons at Ransom Stoddards school in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), John Wayne as Tom Doniphon, sharing a secret about the night an outlaw died with Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), James Stewart as Ransom Stoddard and Vera Miles as Hallie Stoddard, reflecting on their visit to Shinbone in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Thom Donovan (born Thomas Joseph Donovan; July 24, 1974 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer.He has released five solo albums and was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Lapush.His international performance career has included concerts across the United States as well as cities around the world. From the time Ford first teamed up with Wayne inStagecoachin 1939, Waynes towering persona was Fords chief instrument in conceiving and propagating the myths about the old west. Thirty years ago the swaggering, tough-talking leader of the Gambino crime family was found guilty of murder and racketeering after eluding prosecutors at three previous high-profile trials. Shinbone is the only Western town I've seen in a movie with no prostitutes. Hes the toughest man in town, admired by all, the only one brave enough, strong enough, fast enough to stand up to Valance, except he wont do it. Wayne losing out to such a loser of a characterwould anger any john Wayne fan, most of all Wayne himself Wayne (and his audience) like to see Wayne triumphant, not as a tragic, moody alcoholic who dies off-screen. His films appeared very simple and, at times, very simplistic, but they dealt with huge themes: the expansion of American military might, the conflict between the European settlers and native American civilizations, the establishment of law & order in the wilderness, and the coming of religion, trade and commerce; all these themes are reflected in one way or the other in all his westerns. Fazing Tom is a nearly impossible task, partly because he knows he'll beat anyone in a fight, whether fought with . By putting John Wayne in a coffin right at the beginning of the film, Ford makes his intentions very clear. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. Ransom Stoddard, a young Eastern lawyer traveling West on Horace Greeley's advice, is in the stagecoach held up just outside of Shinbone by Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), "the toughest man south of the Picket Wire." Ransom: Thats why I painted it. Now that's out of the way, a brief introduction. In the film, except for two notable acts that change Stoddard's life forever, Doniphon isn't quite so proactive with an eye to Stoddard's future. But Stoddard is a powerless man; powerless before Valance; and powerless before Doniphon; and Doniphon lets Stoddard have his woman, his town, and his West. I just had to wander around in that son of a bitch and try and make a part for myself. From my perspective, its not even close here as to who the hero is. This would make him a tragic figure, even if he lived the rest of his days honorably under the 'law and order' creed. The territory is granted statehood and, being the man who shot Liberty Valance, Stoddard became its first governor. Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. All his assets that he had accrued in his lifetime has been wiped out; on top of that, he too developed severe health problems (which was later diagnosed as lung cancer), which drove him into deep depression. He quickly makes an enemy out of local bully and killer Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin, The Dirty Dozen), who tries to force him to leave town. Edmond OBrien Dutton Peabody This leads to Stoddard being elected as a delegate (along with Dutton Peabody (Edmond OBrien), publisher of the local newspaper) for a statehood convention at the territorial capital. In all other respects, hes the same character John Wayne played in countless films throughout his career, the competent hero, cool under fire, respected by all. In its tone, structure and visual style, the film is very different from other John Ford Westerns. And so Stoddard tells them the story, one they decide not to print because, in this case, legend has become fact. Ford started the film full of enthusiasm and fire, but he lost interest in the film almost as soon as shooting began. The characters in Liberty Valance are the archetypal figures of all Ford westerns brought together for a last reunion, in order that they might be destroyed. Stoddard is saved by Doniphon, a local farmer and horse trader, who observes: Liberty Valances the toughest man south of the Picketwirenext to me. Stoddard is nursed back to health by Hallie (Vera Miles). The screenplay by James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck contains one of the best-known lines of dialogue in any Ford movie, spoken to Stoddard years later by the town's new newspaper editor: "This is the West, sir. They were playing dual archetypes of the myth: the grizzled veteran cowboy and the idealistic, young, city-slicker lawyer. Perhaps, the existence of Valance gave Doniphan a status of importance and made him an indispensable man in a lawless community. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance from 1962 was one of their final projects together, though John Wayne was cast by the studio against Ford's wishes. He strides around as the quickest gun on the side of right, calling Stoddard pilgrim, standing up to Valance when the need arises. Your comment may take some time to appear. UPDATE: Whoa, looks like I am two days ahead of an official discussion of this film, my apologies. The character of Tom Doniphon was supposed to be a younger man, and the filmmaker relentlessly mocked and teased Wayne during filming. Stoddard decides that he cannot be entrusted with public service after killing a man in a gunfight and he decides to withdraw. Stoddard was the only man in town who would stand up to Valance and if Valance wasnt stopped, hed continued to destroy and hurt people. So Ford had to go back to his favorite son to get this picture made, and he didnt like it at all and neither did Wayne. John Wayne Tom Doniphon The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is Ford's deeply personal farewell to a period in American history he loved, a folklore he helped create. They're just too good to be stopped. And confessed that it was he who, out of love for Hallie, fired from the shadows that.. To inflict and how did tom doniphon die violence t feature Tom or Jerry committing suicide film. Wayne was furious for allowing himself to get roped in to play such a passive character, which he found very difficult to play, and Fords behavior didnt help. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Yes, but there's more to it than that, and in John Ford's mind, gun ownership is very much an open question. Liberty Valance cannot abide anyone standing up to him, and the shingle is an affront. Everyone similarly assumes he and Hallie will get married, but he never asks her. He pays off room and board to her Swedish parents by working in their cafe. Ford isn't making an anachronistic statement on racism, but he's being sure we notice it. But his is the old form of Western prowess; its Stewart who represents the territorys future. Four Earn 2023 Harvard Medals for Distinguished Service to the University, As Gay Ascends to Presidency, 61 Percent of Surveyed Faculty Say Theyre Satisfied With Her Election, Harvard School of Public Health Launches Mindfulness Center Through $25M Gift, Ex-Harvard Chemist Charles Lieber Spared Additional Prison Time, Will Serve 6 Months House Arrest, Hundreds of Harvard Affiliates Sign Open Letter for Increased Access to Mental Well-Being Support at HKS. The main conflict in the film, then, is not that between the gunslinger Tom Doniphon and the outlaw Liberty Valance; the real conflict is that between "the Old West" (Doniphon and Valance) and the forces of "progress" (Stoddard). Change). Ford bitterly laments the intrusion of reality on his legend. They soon learn that their father gambled away the family ranch, leading to his own murder. When he died in 1961, Corriere della Sera wrote: "Perhaps with him there has ended a certain America: that of the frontier and of innocence" Photograph: SNAP/Rex Features John Wayne His first. And more importantly, why does he do it in secret? I was praying that it wouldn't be revealed later that Tom (John Wayne) assisted him. Related: True Grit: How The 2010 Movie Compares To The Book & John Wayne Version. What Doniphon craves most is domesticity, but by finally shooting Valance, he loses that opportunity; thismakes Doniphon the most tragic character that John Wayne has ever. When Hallie says to Stoddard at the end, "This country used to be a wilderness. James Stewart is Ransom Stoddard, an idealistic young lawyer who heads West and quickly runs afoul of an outlaw named Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). However, he was nowhere near good enough as Doniphan proved in ahumiliating display. The way Ford employs the African-American Pompey is observant. So the resulting fame for Stoddard was hugely unfair, right? We also meet Link Appleyard (Andy Devine), the drunken town marshal; Doc Willoughby (Ken Murray), the drunken town doctor, and Dutton Peabody (Edmond O'Brien), the editor of the paper. Hallie attends to Stoddards wounds and it appears to Doniphonthat she has fallen in love with Stoddard. Collin Brendemuehl: Fake history is worthy of exploration if to correct bad history. Woody Strode Pompey Valance and his two henchmenterrorize Shinbone, while the bumbling Marshal Link Appleyard (Andy Devine ) lacks the courage and gun fighting skills to challenge him. The newspaper editor prints the truth about Valance, and for his pains has his office trashed and is whipped nearly dead. Setting aside the question of why Stoddard thinks its morally acceptable to base his career on a lie, but not on the real killing (hed rather have people think he killed Valance than actually do it), rewatching the film this most recent time its Doniphon that fascinates me. Stoddard believes so firmly in the law that he is willing to lose his life for his principles. When Peabody and Stoddard are elected as the delegates, Valance promises vengeance. When the fact becomes legend, print the legend," Ford's films show the legend. Hes mocked by Valance who trips him, causing him to spill Doniphans meal. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Years ago Shinbone was held in a grip of terror by the sadistic Liberty Valance (played by Lee Marvin in a performance evoking savage cruelty). Beginning with "Stagecoach" (1939), continuing from 1948 through 1950 with the Cavalry Trilogy ("Fort Apache," "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" and "Rio Grande"), and finally to 1962 and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," together in 10 features they largely formed the templates of the Hollywood Western. After hearing all this, the newsmen decide not to print the story, as the mythology that propelled Stoddard has to be protected at any cost. He goes to the convention and sees Stoddard break down and try to flee rather than stand for election. The film opens as Senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) and his wife Hallie (Vera Miles) arrive at Shinbone to bury a friend, Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). Stoddard picked up with his least favored hand. By the end of Liberty Valance, it was more than obvious that Ford and Wayne had come to the end of their long association, which started when Ford cast Wayne as an Odysseus like courageous hero in his western odysseyStagecoach. And so, when Doniphon sees that Stoddard killed Valance, and thus won the heart of the girl Doniphon was too afraid to propose too, he shatters in self-disgust. John Wayne as Tom Doniphon, the man who finds Stoddard wounded on the road to Shinbone in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), James Stewart as Ransom Stoddard, fresh off a beating at the hands of Liberty Valance in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). In town, he's nursed back to health by Nora and Peter Ericson, two recent Swedish immigrants who run the local chowhouse. And Miles is also effective as the young woman eager to learn under Stewarts tutelage and hoping that his vision of a West where law and order prevail comes to be. Doniphon finally does kill does kill Valance. This was a breakout role for Marvin, who has been struggling in supporting parts and TV roles. So why then does he shoot Liberty Valance? Regardless, it was a great movie, but perhaps could have been greater. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Valance can be countered only by Doniphon, but Doniphon is a man too busy with his own affairs to want power or to impose his own beliefs on anybody else. Stoddard, on the other hand, is of another breed; the movement West, triggered by Greeley, came after the settlers in the wagon trains, and brought with it well-established Eastern customs. That and the fact that few present day people in Shinbone seem to remember Tom Doniphon suggests that after the Valance shooting, Tom Doniphon went into a seculsion, probably just stayed at his little ranch and lived like a hermit. He had no hope of success. There's a lot in the film if we care to notice. Strother Martin Floyd Valance gives him a choice: Leave town, or face him in a shootout on Main Street. Both Ford and Wayne were extremely depressed by this, seeing the American values that they held so dear, and which they propagated so passionately through their movies, slipping away. He is left without the girl he loves at the dawn of a new era that has no need for his kind of individuality. He would suddenly come across as a selfish coward because he was late to the scene, certainly a shocking resolution for any John Wayne character. Valance and his gang beat up a drunken Peabody nearly to death, and ransack his office. Whatever the reasons, the end result is that the studios refused to finance Liberty Valance, if Wayne was not in the cast. He's super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. They would make one more film together, the lighthearted comedyDonovans Reef (1963), and call it quits. Without ever seeming to hurry, he doesn't include a single gratuitous shot. And the scene where Stoddard (James Stewart) confronts Valance was incredible. John Ford is regarded as one of the great American filmmakers and has many classics to his name, including Stagecoach, The Quiet Man and The Searchers. His world is diffused by time, by memory and nostalgia, by folklore and myth. Meanwhile, throughout the film, Tom has not 'done the right thing' and stood up to Liberty Valance except in circumstances where he felt he had to. After being one of Hollywoods pre-eminent directors for more than three decades, Fords career was coming to an end. As played by Jimmy Stewart, Stoddard spends much of the film wearing an apron and washing dishes in the restaurant, sending a hardly ambiguous message about a man who doesn't wear a gun. Tom Doniphon is the archetypal Ford hero, the John Wayne of all Ford's westerns. He built a home which he assumed Hally (Vera Miles) would share with him as his wife, but he lost her to the hero of the moment, Stoddard. He was the one man who would face Liberty Valance come what may. Doniphon takes Stoddard aside, and in a flashback within a flashback, confides that he, Doniphon, actually killed Valance from an alley across the street, firing at the same time as Stoddard. Though the audience tends to identify with Doniphon's individualism and to feel instinctively a desire to preserve the simplicity of the old West, the social change brought about by the railroad and the need for staehood slowly make the Doniphons and Valances obsolete. Liberty Valance : Three against one, Doniphon. /a > Oar. But when Valance goes for a momento from a widows late husband. [Valance looks and sees Pompey at the door holding a rifle] Floyd: I'll get it, Liberty! When a meeting is held to vote on statehood, Pompey sits outside on the porch. Go to the bottom of each blog and youll find a ratings widget. Trying to defend a woman passenger, Stoddard is beaten by Valance, left for dead, and brought to town by Tom Doniphon. His illiterate students include Hallie. But it's hard to avoid the feeling that, in retrospect, she loves Doniphon, too. The film, then, chronicles the death of the old West and of its heroes, men sacrificed to the needs of a growing society. He makes a positive first impression when he brings Stoddard in. Hallie nurses Stoddard back to health; he pays her back by teaching her how to read. Stoddard thus fascinates and shames Doniphon. But the plans of statehood for the territory upset the cattle barons, who recruit Liberty Valance to sabotage the delegation. The film flashes forward to the present, where Stoddard sums up the rest of his story. Another turn off was the fact that James Stewarts Ransom Stoddard is the fulcrum of the plot and, for 99 percent of the picture, is also the man who shot Liberty Valance. Fortunately James Stewart, one of Waynes closest friends, was the other star of the picture, and he afforded Wayne some moments of light relief. Only Pompey and a few others saw him. Tom Doniphon: Pilgrim, hold it. In fact, they find themselves up for election as territorial delegates to work toward that goal. But Wayne continued to bristle about the bad experience on making the picture, years later he recollected on his experience: It was a tough assignment for me because dammit, Ford had Jimmy for the shit-kicking humor, OBrien playing the sophisticated humor, and he had the heavy, Marvin. In this movie Ransom Stoddard is a well educated attorney from the East who comes to the West to find new opportunity . The film takes place at that turning point in the West when the rule of force gave way to the rule of law, and when literacy began to gain a foothold. Out of either James Stewart or John Wayne, who was The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and how does this alter the ending? One of John Fords most effective later films, told flashback fashion as the senator and his wife arrive unannounced in Shinbone to pay tribute to an old friend who has passed. Tom Doniphon : My boy, Pompey; kitchen door. He is everything Doniphon wishes he could be. A dejected Doniphon, who was hoping to marry Hallie and move into his new house, gets drunk andburns down his house. In a film with Lee Marvin's snarl, Andy Devine's squeaky voice and the accent of the Swedes, John Wayne as usual provides the calm center, never trying for an effect. As Tom Doniphon, Wayne just as ideally symbolizes dogged individualism, playing the simple, old-fashioned kind of Westerner who can pat his gun and say "Out here a man settles his own problems," and who replaces community spirit with personal loyalities and friendships. Without Ransom Stoddards courage and convictions, there is no movie. Then there was also the fact that with the advent of 60s, the social climate in Hollywood (and in America)was changing drastically. The character of Tom Doniphon was supposed to be a younger man, and the filmmaker relentlessly mocked and teased Wayne during filming. Once in the town of Shinbone, he finds allies in the form of tough Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) and his fiance, Hallie (Vera Miles). This is important as an election for two delegate to the territorial convention are to be held. These westerns are memory films, filled with the traditions of the past, created from the anecdotes, fables, and songs that sprang from American history. John (John Wayne) is the gunfighter, Tom (Dean Martin) is the gambler, Matt (Earl Holliman) is the quiet one, and Bud (Michael Anderson Jr.) is the youngest. At the time of the films release, it was dismissed as a minor work from a master filmmaker, but watching it now , it shows his extraordinary growth as a filmmaker, which is not just restricted to its thematic resonance, but also extends to its visual and narrative stylistics. The year is 1910. When Stoddard nominate Doniphan for delegate, he refuses the post which would bring him into conflict with Valance. Waynedid not use any scenes shot by Ford in the film (much to the chagrin of Ford) while Wayne was angry with the general impression that was created that it was Ford, and not him, who directed The Alamo; others believed Ford was jealous of Dukes increasing success compared to his own sudden decline. He faced Valance, who immediately shot him in his gun hand. John Gotti's ability to avoid the long arm of the law earned him the nickname the Teflon Don. Waynes idea of himself always involved action and movement. Vera Miles Hallie Stoddard But Liberty Valance and his guns work for the cattle barons who want to keep the territory for themselves. In this movie Ransom Stoddard is a well educated attorney from the East who comes to the West to find new opportunity and a place to practice law. As is the question of who really killed Liberty Valance. The story takes place in a fictitious town ofShinbonein an unnamed Western territory (probably Colorado). His films begins on an optimistic note and ends on an optimistic note; even if the they would detour into darker, pessimistic territory in between, his films always end on a note of hope and glory. Earlier, we have seen Doniphon training Stoddard in the use of guns, but findingStoddard not up to the task, Doniphon had humiliated him. All three spend much of their time hanging out in the restaurant kitchen. It should be clear from that line-up that he often worked alongside John Wayne too, who credited the filmmaker with making him a star. Stoddard's first confrontation with Doniphon reveals absolutely no understanding between them; they eye each other as if the other were a strange animal. Ford's greatest films are his westerns, a uniquely American art form he helped create, and a genre of which he is undisputed master. Liberty Valance: Three against one, Doniphon. Wayne was always against doing End of the west westerns, because End of the west means end of the western which translates as end of John Wayne.

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