I dont trust ambiguity. Wayne became surly and aggressive during the shoot and he started taking out his anger on everybody else on the set, except Ford. He and two sidekicks (played by Lee Van Cleef and Strother Martin) wreck the newspaper office and badly beat Peabody. Stoddard continues to defy Valance and earns the respect of the townsfolk, by first opening a law practice in town and then starting a school for teaching illiterate townspeople. 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. The story takes place in a fictitious town ofShinbonein an unnamed Western territory (probably Colorado). Farmers want statehood. Doniphan is ready to kill Valance over spoiling his steak by tripping Stoddard, but does nothing while Valance oppresses his neighbors, and torments innocent people. Cattlemen do not. They soon learn that their father gambled away the family ranch, leading to his own murder. Hallie, once Tom's girl, has fallen in love with Stoddard, and in sparing him, Doniphon loses her. In it, Ford gives us a capsule version of the world it took him 40 years to create, and then shows us how it died. [Valance looks and sees Pompey at the door holding a rifle] Floyd: I'll get it, Liberty! Ransom: Thats why I painted it. And as they swarm around the senator for details, Stoddard starts recalling the events leading up to that day and, the film cuts to a flashback. This makes Doniphon a very passive character with respect to Valance, which explains why a direct confrontation never takes place between them, though at many points in the film, they come close. The body of Tom Doniphon is at rest in a plain, wooden casket. They would make one more film together, the lighthearted comedyDonovans Reef (1963), and call it quits. He also got along well with John Ford; Marvin was in the Navy in WWII, like Ford and they bonded over that. With that one line of dialogue, John Ford pretty much dismantles the entire mythology of the American west that he had created over a course of 40 years. "At the heart of the Western", argues John Lenihan, was always Regardless, it was a great movie, but perhaps could have been greater. But right on his arrival, he encounters the brutal Valance, who steals all his belongings andalmost whips him to death. What about Tom Doniphan? 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. Usually, when John Wayne fans count the number of films in which Wayne had died, they always miss out Liberty Valance, because he dies off-screen; but that only makes the character more insignificant; as opposed tofilms he died on screen, likeRide the whirlwind, The AlamoorTheCowboys, where Wayne always got a heroic death: he dies saving somebody else, or he dies for a greater cause. Strother Martin Floyd He appears to be a roguish heroic type at first blush, but when you look deeper, you find a very self-centered character. The other could easily bring order, but doesnt because hes so busy taking care of number one and his crowning heroic moment is shooting down a distracted man in the city streets. Doniphon is not a person of any importance around town, just a sorry old man on the fringes, who passed away unnoticed. It's Doniphon, offscreen, who breaks our hearts, a man shrunken and made smooth by decades of slow erosion. Valance and his gang beat up a drunken Peabody nearly to death, and ransack his office. 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. of course, Ford was making a larger point; that the kind of men needed to master the wilderness are the kind of men that can only function in wilderness; they are men who civilization must expel; If society is tobenefit, then thereis no place for either Valance or Doniphon in the new world. The movie becomes about making a sacrifice for the greater good, and includes an element of chance or fate. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - Wikiquote The drunken marshal won't protect him. This will be very true for Liberty Valance; everyone except Wayne not only had the best scenes, but Ford made sure they all give the most flamboyant, over the top performances of their careers, to contrast with the sour and dour Wayne, who represented the truth and moral core of the film. 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. The film was a direct influence on Leones own end of the west westernOnce upon a time in the West. He arranges his characters within the frame to reflect power dynamics--or sometimes to suggest a balance is changing. Tom Doniphon and Ransom Stoddard are the two key characters in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, directed by John Ford and filmed in 1962. All three spend much of their time hanging out in the restaurant kitchen. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) - IMDb The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) - Plot - IMDb It's clear they loved him. Is The man Who Shot Liberty Valance based on a true story? I said you, Valance; you pick it up. When he recovers, the college-education lawyer goes to work as a dishwasher in the hotel that took him in. While many people have imagined Stoddard as naively unaware that the law wouldnt be sufficient to deal with Liberty Valance, Stoddard was no fool. Liberty Valance is a film about death, about a sad but inevitable transition from an old social order to modern society as we know it today. But his luck finally ran out on April 3, 1992 when a jury found Gotti guilty of arranging the assassination . Tom is highly respected by his peers, because of the laid-back cut of his jib, and because he may be the only man willing to stand up to the violent outlaw Liberty Valance. Viewers share their two cents: Writers Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar gave viewers a chance to say their final piece to Grissom using Hodges, who told Gil, "As your friend and colleague, I . Rarely do we find the influence of other directors in Fords movies. But he hasnt. Entering the then-unincorporated territory as a young lawyer, Ranse is beaten and robbed by infamous outlaw Liberty Valance and his gang. Hallie attends to Stoddards wounds and it appears to Doniphonthat she has fallen in love with Stoddard. 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). how did tom doniphon die - vyrosier.org By killing Liberty Valance, facilitating Stoddard's rise to political prominence and the progressive modernization of the West, Doniphon destroys himself. Doniphon - calling Stoddard 'Pilgrim', an epithet . He led the police on a short chase because he knew if he got pulled over it would violate his parole for a prior robbery. This is fascism against democracy: the tyranny of the strongman over the ordinary people. But he is a sort of reluctant hero, who minds his own business, and is roused into action only if his path crosses with the outlaws. James Stewart is Ransom Stoddard, an idealistic young lawyer who heads West and quickly runs afoul of an outlaw named Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). It takes place in the town of Shinbone, in an unnamed territory that is moving toward a vote on statehood. The newspaper editor prints the truth about Valance, and for his pains has his office trashed and is whipped nearly dead. After this film, his career would see a meteoric rise and, by the mid 1960s, he would become one of the top stars in the industry. The year is 1910. Wayne is seen by many as the hero because he realized the only way you could deal with someone like Liberty Valance was through force and he did the deed that had to be done. 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. Ford bitterly laments the intrusion of reality on his legend. 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. Stoddard goes into the street to face Valance. They're just too good to be stopped. An old black cowboy named Pompey (Woody Strode) takes Hallie on a buckboard ride into the countryside where they regard the burned-out remains of Doniphon's cottage. Keeping to one side, Tom Doniphon observes everything but is slow to act; his strength is silently coiled. Doniphan, while still doing dishwashing work, hangs up his shingle at a local newspaper, and begins teach people to read, and about their country. Four sons reunite in their Texas hometown to attend their mother's funeral. Liberty Valance, his masterpiece, is one of the greatest films of all time. The reputation of the film continues to grow over the years, and it was a big influence on Sergio Leone, who called this his most favorite Ford film. 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. Here, Doniphon is a horse trader while the bad guy Valance is a stagecoach robber; within the framework of the film, both are from the same world and are pretty much allies; both are trapped in obsolescent careers, neither seems willing to adapt; they represent the best and worst of that old-world. Post-Liberty Valance, John Wayne would continued to be the most dependable American movie star of his times. Woody Strode Pompey As is the question of who really killed Liberty Valance. Go to the bottom of each blog and youll find a ratings widget. Ford would repeatedly use Marvin (and Stewart, who also served in WWII) as a stick to beat John Wayne, who hadnt served in WWII, something that always offended Ford. He even takes on the duty of helping out with waiting tables. Just finished watching The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Valance toys with Stoddard, shooting his arm and laughing at him. You helped to make it," we cannot help feeling a deep regret that it had to happen that way. 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). In glorious, retro black & white! Everyone in Shinbone hates Liberty Valance, but they're powerless against him and his two sidekicks, one of them a giggling fool. 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). The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - Magzter He is Tom's farmhand and seems to be his only confidant, a protective presence; he always has Tom's back. But the films of John Ford make no attempt to take us into the past; they are about the past. In a series of videos entitled, I had planned to leave this topic alone for awhile, but I. The story focuses on Ransome Stoddard (Jimmy Stewart), an American senator arriving at the town of Shinbone with his wife, Hailey (Vera Miles), to attend the funeral of Tom Doniphon (Wayne). 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). Its much more explicit in Sergeant Rutledge, which transposes the incident involving rape and murder in medieval Japan to the American frontier west. Tom Doniphon came to the rescue and saved Ransom's life. His composition is classical. 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. Marvin enjoyed playing the larger-than-life Liberty Valance, which he did to the hilt, opposite iconic costars like Wayne and Stewart. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance movie review (1962) - Roger Ebert He pays off room and board to her Swedish parents by working in their cafe. Valance and his two sidekicks hold up a stagecoach on the way to town, and when one of the passengers, Ransom, stands up to him Liberty nearly whips him to death. Stoddard's first instinct is to demand the arrest of Liberty Valance; Doniphon tells him that law books mean nothing out West, that if Stoddard wants to take Valance, he'd better start carrying a hand-gun. In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, the newspaper editor says, "This is the West. Earlier, we have seen Doniphon training Stoddard in the use of guns, but findingStoddard not up to the task, Doniphon had humiliated him. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - Wikipedia in Liberty Valance, he just slowly fades away from screen. 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. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he'd like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site. Because he did so in violation of the Western Code, he becomes an alcoholic, burning down his house and losing the woman he loves. The entire film has been Stoddard struggling to remain devoted to law and order, while Tom berates and humiliates him for it. Of course, the pick of the lot was Lee Marvin who portrayed the anger, maliciousness, and sadism of a man who symbolized all the lawlessness of the old west, and who refused to step gently aside to encroaching civilization. He asks if she wants to move back to the town when they retire, which makes her delighted as she states her heart belongs there. 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. The next bullet, he says, will be right between the eyes; but Stoddard fires first, and to everyones surprise, Valance falls dead. What happened Tom Doniphon? But the very final scene of the film had John Wayne extolling the virtues of the American soldier, and in the background, the Cavalry is seen riding out take on the Indians. And after the flopping of Sergeant Rutledge, Ford found himself out of work. In fact, they find themselves up for election as territorial delegates to work toward that goal. Marvin stole almostevery scene in which he is featured. Sure, he talks a big game, and he certainly has a certain degree of martial prowess, but he refuses to put it to use, perhaps for fear of failure. When the shooting ends, Valance is dead; Stoddard is hailed a hero as the man who shot Liberty Valance.. UPDATE: Whoa, looks like I am two days ahead of an official discussion of this film, my apologies. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | News | The Harvard Crimson Good history is necessary because bad history exists. Realizing that he will be nominated on the grounds that he shot Liberty Valance. He receives a brutal beating from Valance and is left to die. You aint exactly the type., Liberty Valance: You lookin for trouble, Doniphon? Has anyone else felt this way upon viewing The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance? Even his house is far outside the town (whereas Stoddard lives in its heart: at the restaurant and newspaper office). Ford would make one more Western (without Wayne),Cheyenne Autumn (1964),the penultimate movie of his career which told the story of the Old-west from the perspective of the Native Americans. In this movie Ransom Stoddard is a well educated attorney from the East who comes to the West to find new opportunity . When Hallie says to Stoddard at the end, "This country used to be a wilderness. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Who Fired The Shot & Final Twist Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Even the impact of this noble deed is lessened by Doniphan indulging himself in bitterness and self-pity. Did Hallie love Tom Doniphon? He forbids Stoddards to teach Hallie to read. I will not go into details because the suspense should not be spoiled. Of these "Liberty Valance" was the most pensive and thoughtful. Ford isn't making an anachronistic statement on racism, but he's being sure we notice it. And so Stoddard tells them the story, one they decide not to print because, in this case, legend has become fact. Doniphan takes it for granted that Hallie will be his wife and resents it when she stars having feelings for Stoddard. After being one of Hollywoods pre-eminent directors for more than three decades, Fords career was coming to an end. Flashing back, we learn Doniphon saved. Tom Doniphon: Pilgrim, hold it. He wouldnt run, he wouldnt hide. Once in the town of Shinbone, he finds allies in the form of tough Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) and his fiance, Hallie (Vera Miles). Tom Doniphon was rough-edged, but gentlemanly to all but Liberty Valance and his henchmen. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) - Once Upon a Time in a Western He had married Hallie in the interim, and now, they have come to pay their final respects to The real Man who shot Liberty Valance. El funeral de Tom Doniphon - YouTube Design a site like this with WordPress.com, Follow MANK'S MOVIE MUSINGS on WordPress.com. 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. Tom Doniphon is played by John Wayne, while Ransom Stoddard is played by Jimmie Stewart. Or perhaps, Doniphan didnt care about everyone else, but for whatever reason, Doniphan avoided the conflict. John Ford died in 1973, and even though they didnt make any more films together, John Wayne would remain close to his mentor till his death. 25 Years ago, Shinbone was held in a grip of terror by the sadistic Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), who committed many murders and enjoyed torturing his victims using a leather bullwhip. However, when Valance savagely beats the elderly newspaper editor, Stoddard walks down to confront Valance, still wearing the apron from his dishwashing job, a servants garment. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - Rotten Tomatoes Now with his conscious clear, Stoddard returns to the convention, accepts the nomination, and is elected to the Washington delegation. 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. 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. As the film opens, U. S. Senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) arrives in Shinbone by the new railroad with his wife Hallie (Vera Miles) to attend the funeral of a man named Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). Doniphon finally does kill does kill Valance. Fromthere to Liberty Valance, the character has now changed into a tragic hero, in the mold of Oedipus, who loses everything dear to him and wander off into the wilderness . Stewart turns in another winning performance. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In the end,The Man Who Shot Liberty Valanceis about two men: One man is humble and comes to serve the people of a frightened community and to bring law and peace, and is willing to put his life on the line for it. This is also the last western he would make with his most favorite actor John Wayne, with whom he did close to 14 films. It turns out he hadn't worn a handgun in years. Denver Pyle Amos Carruthers Hes even elected as a delegate to the territorial convention but refuses to serve. Fortunately James Stewart, one of Waynes closest friends, was the other star of the picture, and he afforded Wayne some moments of light relief. In fact, hes severely whipped by Valance after a stage holdup. He dies a drunkard, having lost everything in his life, unacknowledged and unknown. Stoddard believes that hes a real man, a tough and violent character who can handle himself, and that Stoddard is a tenderfoot who is pretty much useless in the real world. Though we still see Stoddard shoot in the direction of Valance simultaneously, almost making the true killer ambiguous. Andy Devine .. Linc Appleyard Here, he is practically rendered motionless. 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. Liberty Valance: Three against one, Doniphon. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The film, then, chronicles the death of the old West and of its heroes, men sacrificed to the needs of a growing society. When Stoddard found the town marshal was a coward, he began to take an old gun out and practice. When Stoddard arrived in town by stagecoach, he was a fresh young lawyer with some romantic notions about bringing law & order to the west. Harvard College Accepts 3.41% of Applicants to Class of 2027. He had no hope of success. A Thought on the Ending of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 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. 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. 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. He is everything Doniphon wishes he could be. TakeFort Apache (1948) for instance, which is a strong polemic on American military intervention against the Native Americans. Stoddard was inept but courageous. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Film Analysis | ipl.org 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. His westerns were all optimistic in nature and concentrated on building a myth, rather than showing the gritty reality. His sympathy for the townspeople is real, but not enough to motivate him to take action on their behalf. Wayne had every right to be pissed at the character he was assigned; Tom Doniphon is the most Anti-Johnwayne character that Wayne has ever played. This twist does little to impress the editor, who refuses to run the story revealing the truth, proclaiming When the legend becomes fact, print the legend. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ends with Stoddard and Hallie - who also knows the truth about Doniphon - on a train ride home.
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