Director: John Ford
Screenplay: James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck, from a short story by Dorothy M. Johnson
Starring: James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien
Running Time: 123 minutes
Genre: Western
In the Old West, idealistic lawyer Ransom Stoddart (Stewart) arrives in the remote frontier town of Shinbone. On the way his stagecoach is held up and Stoddart is brutally beaten by vicious local bandit Liberty Valance (Marvin). Ransom is determined to bring Valance to justice. However, the local marshal (Andy Devine) lacks the courage and the skill to tackle Valance and his gang. The only one willing to stand up to the bandit is tough local cowboy Tom Doniphon (Wayne). In Doniphon's view, the only way to stop Valance is with a bullet, but Stoddart, who doesn't even carry a gun, is determined to bring Valance in alive and by the book.
Filmed in crisp black-and-white, this late John Ford directed Western is one of his best, and a classic of the genre. James Stewart is in good form as the idealistic lawyer who tries to civilise the tough frontier town by opening a school, and trying to teach the townspeople about politics and Government. John Wayne is well used as the gruff cowboy. Wayne was not a particularly good actor, but he had a lot of presence, and Ford always managed to get the best out of him. Vera Miles is very good as Hallie, the cook and waitress who attracts the attention of both Stoddart and Donophin. She gives the role some real depth and emotion. Also worthy of note is Lee Marvin as the snarling, savage Liberty Valance. The film is bookended by sequences set twenty five years later which are effective but unnecessary. This is a surprisingly dark film, and quite ambiguous towards the end. It does have slow patches, but it has some real tension, and a lot of humour. Considering it is a John Wayne Western it is surprisingly progressive, and has a real elegiac feel about the beginning of the end of an era and the beginnings of the modern United States.
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