“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” is the story of a U. S. Senator attending the funeral of an old friend in a western town when questions arise concerning events from previous years. Certain facts come out that surprise the town folk. Director John Ford (“Stagecoach” 1939) put together a masterpiece of a western movie that is also a morality play. The marvelous screenplay by James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck was based on the 1953 short story of the same name by Dorothy M. Johnson.
The cast includes some legendary actors and character actors that deliver dandy performances, including John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Edmond O’Brien, Andy Devine, Ken Murray, John Carradine, Jeanette Nolan, Woody Strode, Denver Pyle, Strother Martin, Lee Van Cleef, O. Z. Whitehead, John Qualen, Willis Bouchey, Robert F. Simon, Carlton Young, Joseph Hoover, Shug Fisher, and Paul Birch as Mayor Winder.
Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote a title song of the same name, but it was never used in the motion picture. However, it was a big hit for singer Gene Pitney. “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” was a popular success for John Ford Productions and Paramount Pictures. The one Academy Award nomination for the film was Best Costume Design for Edith Head.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
cinema
My Review
“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” is the story of a U. S. Senator attending the funeral of an old friend in a western town when questions arise concerning events from previous years. Certain facts come out that surprise the town folk. Director John Ford (“Stagecoach” 1939) put together a masterpiece of a western movie that is also a morality play. The marvelous screenplay by James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck was based on the 1953 short story of the same name by Dorothy M. Johnson.
The cast includes some legendary actors and character actors that deliver dandy performances, including John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Edmond O’Brien, Andy Devine, Ken Murray, John Carradine, Jeanette Nolan, Woody Strode, Denver Pyle, Strother Martin, Lee Van Cleef, O. Z. Whitehead, John Qualen, Willis Bouchey, Robert F. Simon, Carlton Young, Joseph Hoover, Shug Fisher, and Paul Birch as Mayor Winder.
Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote a title song of the same name, but it was never used in the motion picture. However, it was a big hit for singer Gene Pitney. “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” was a popular success for John Ford Productions and Paramount Pictures. The one Academy Award nomination for the film was Best Costume Design for Edith Head.