Doniphan takes it for granted that Hallie will be his wife and resents it when she stars having feelings for Stoddard. But his is the old form of Western prowess; its Stewart who represents the territorys future. After being one of Hollywoods pre-eminent directors for more than three decades, Fords career was coming to an end. Post-Liberty Valance, John Wayne would continued to be the most dependable American movie star of his times. He finds out real soon while traveling to the town of Shinbone that the West doesn't really care about law or . But hes conflicted: he finds himself drawn back to the community time and again, ostensibly by his love for Hattie, but also from an honest desire to help the townspeople avoid being killed by Valance and other instruments of the Northern cattle interests that are attempting to block statehood, and thus the establishment of law and order in the territory (statehood means the end of the so-called open range the literal and symbolic manifestation of the raw capitalist power of the cattle barons: the land belongs to them because they have the power to take it). Stoddard was wounded in the shooting. Tom Doniphon came to the rescue and saved Ransom's life. All three spend much of their time hanging out in the restaurant kitchen. [Valance looks and sees Pompey at the door holding a rifle] Floyd : I'll get it, Liberty! Standing Up for Liberty Valance - True West Magazine It's Doniphon, offscreen, who breaks our hearts, a man shrunken and made smooth by decades of slow erosion. 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). 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. Even his house is far outside the town (whereas Stoddard lives in its heart: at the restaurant and newspaper office). He goes to the convention and sees Stoddard break down and try to flee rather than stand for election. Everyone similarly assumes he and Hallie will get married, but he never asks her. 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. That Stoddard, thus relieved of the sin of murder has no problem committing the sin of dishonesty says as much about the nature of politicians as it does his own character. Was Hollywood, at that time, incapable of leaving us a more complicated, conflicted ending? It is made clear in "Liberty Valance" that segregation was the practice in the territory. But still he admires Stoddard immensely. He and two sidekicks (played by Lee Van Cleef and Strother Martin) wreck the newspaper office and badly beat Peabody. Rarely do we find the influence of other directors in Fords movies. But things are not that easy. 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. 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. His tragedy is his unwillingness to act. Ransom: Thats why I painted it. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. So, when Stoddard and Valance face off, Doniphan fires the shot that kills Liberty Valance from across the street, thus losing the girl he loves to give her what she wants. Answer, Bart Allison (Randolph Scott) to rancher Morley Chase in 1957's. In glorious, retro black & white! 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. Hallie, once Tom's girl, has fallen in love with Stoddard, and in sparing him, Doniphon loses her. Ford was very angry about it, having to secure a favor from his protge and he doubled down on his venom on Wayne during the shooting. Why does Doniphon hesitate? Miraculously, Stoddard kills Valance, wins Hallie (Tom's former girl), and goes to the political convention. But the most important of all, the film begins with the death of his lead character, Tom Doniphon, played by none other than John Wayne. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.. In another film I might even think this ambiguous element was more important. As a young lawyer, he comes to practice law in a lawless Western town and on the way into town, hes on a stagecoach thats robbed by Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). The police tried to pull him over in Lake View Terrace in San Fernando Valley after he was speeding at 110 mph. 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. Fazing Tom is a nearly impossible task, partly because he knows he'll beat anyone in a fight, whether fought with . 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. Tom Doniphon tells him that without a gun in his hand and the experience to use it, he will sooner or later certainly be killed by Valance. Throughout the movie there is a clear message; wilderness V. civilization. The final line of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance sees the conductor ensuring the couple of a smooth journey and stating nothing is too for the man who killed Valance. On the other end of the scale, Ford portrays Liberty Valance as the archetypal villain.