“Nothing’s too good for the man who shot Liberty Valance.”
Ransom Stoddard has heard that refrain for most of his adult life. As the man who outgunned the titular outlaw, he’s reaped the benefits of the fame bestowed upon him. That esteem has seen him become a governor, an ambassador, and (currently) a member of the United States Senate.
So, what, you might ask, has brought this distinguished fellow back, decades later, to his old stomping grounds in the frontier town of Shinbone?
A funeral.
Tom Doniphon, a local rancher, has died. Ransom and his wife, Hallie—a Shinbone native herself—have traveled from Washington, D.C., to mourn him. But the townsfolk just can’t figure why an important politician like Ransom would come all this way to pay his respects for an old cowpoke.
Some are curious enough to ask him. And, after a little hemming and hawing, Ransom obliges. You see, the town of Shinbone wasn’t always the pleasant and peaceful place it is today. Back in the day, it was as wild and lawless as the rest of the frontier. Back when it was terrorized by Liberty Valance.
The West is full of legends. Ransom is central to one of those tales, lionized for getting the better of a gunslinging outlaw. But the truth is a different story. And the legend of the man who shot Liberty Valance just might be a bit different than we’ve been led to believe…
Ransom believes in the law and doing what’s right. Even after he is beaten and left to die by Liberty Valance, Ransom would rather see the outlaw behind bars than on the business end of a gun barrel. Ransom is also a kind and eager teacher. When he learns that Hallie, a young woman in town, does not know how to read, he happily offers to instruct her. Soon, he’s teaching an entire class of Shinbone residents—children and adults alike—about reading, writing, and the importance of their voice and vote (the latter of which becomes quite important later in the film).
Ransom is brave and quick to intervene to protect others. And his commitment to nonviolence is admirable. He’s appalled by the lawless and violent nature of the Wild West and (initially) refuses to feed into that nature by arming himself, even for self-defense.
But Ransom isn’t the only stand-up fella’ in town. Despite the rough-and-rowdy ways of many Shinbone residents, there’s a lot of good to be found here.
Despite his hardened exterior, for example, Tom Doniphon has a strong moral compass and saves Ransom’s life more than once—even as the two vie for Hallie’s affections. Speaking of Hallie, she’s fiery but kind, nursing Ransom back to health after the latter’s initial encounter with Liberty Valance. Mr. Peabody, the town’s newspaper editor, is passionate about giving his readers the truth and galvanizing them behind a good cause, whether he’s sober or not (more on this later). Pompey, the town’s only black resident, is courageous and steadfast as well; he risks his life to save a friend.
Ransom and Tom the townsfolk grow more courageous in the face of Liberty Valance. In one important scene, they rally together, voting their conscience, despite the outlaw’s very real threats against their health and safety.
[Spoiler Warning] Ultimately, Tom makes the film’s greatest sacrifice. He secretly intervenes to save Ransom from Liberty Valance during their final confrontation, even though he knows it means he will lose Hallie, the woman he loves, to Ransom.
Hallie makes a reference to “the Good Book.” An orator declares that someone bears the “mark of Cain” for killing a man. Peabody compares his role as the town newspaperman to being a “father confessor” among other things.
A woman waiting outside an unnamed establishment allows herself to be led inside by a man while smiling suggestively, implying that she’s a prostitute.
Someone considers proposing marriage to his sweetheart. Another character asks if he hears “wedding bells.”
In contrast to Ransom, Tom believes that on the frontier, a man “solves his own problems” through violence or the threat of force. And the Wild West, as rendered here, is plenty violent (even though much of it takes place offscreen).
A stagecoach and its passengers are robbed at gunpoint. Tom kicks a man in the face and beats another senseless. A band of outlaws shoot up a town street. Two men talk about hanging someone. In retaliation for a mean-spirited prank, Ransom punches Tom, knocking him to the ground. Pompey cocks a rifle with the intent to use it. Glass and dishes shatter during an altercation. A barfly is literally kicked out of a saloon.
Liberty Valance terrorizes the residents of Shinbone. He whips Ransom and leaves him to die in the desert. Later, the outlaw and his men ransack an office and beat another man nearly to death (and we see the victim’s bloodied face). Liberty shoots a jar next to someone’s head, toying with that person. Liberty is also said to have killed some farmers, but we don’t see him perpetrate that deed.
Eventually, Ransom takes up a gun and starts practicing with it due to the outlaw’s constant threat. At Hallie’s request, Tom teaches Ransom how to shoot.
In a fit of drunken rage, a man sets his house on fire. As the house burns, he remains inside; it’s unclear whether he intends to kill himself or had simply passed out in his stupor. Two men meet in the street for a shootout.
Someone gets shot in the arm; blood leaks through his fingers and down the wounded appendage. (That said, the appearance of blood is in this scene feels more muted in this black-and-white movie.) Another man is shot and falls into the street, dead.
One use of “d–n.” A character uses the term “blasted,” while another person calls someone a “persistent cuss.” During a speech, Native Americans are called “savage redskins.”
You’d be forgiven for thinking many of Shinbone’s citizens need liquor like air in their lungs: Drinking (and drinking to excess) abounds in this frontier town.
Mr. Peabody is jokingly referred to as the “town drunk,” and he lives up to the moniker. He hides a secret stash of liquor in his desk. So desperate he is for a libation in one scene that when told no drinking can take place during a special voting session, he declares, “A beer’s not drinking!” Once that voting session ends, however, men mob the bar for drinks of their own. Later, someone gets drunk to celebrate the results of an election.
On one occasion, Tom tells someone to fetch the town doctor “if he’s sober.” Cowboys drink and smoke in a saloon. Men drunkenly stumble in and out of the establishment. A man swigs from a moonshine jar and puffs a cigar before staggering into a carriage. Someone tries to sneak moonshine into a town meeting.
Hallie and her family, who run a respectable restaurant, hurry to feed their patrons before the “drunks” come to eat. An outlaw pours himself a drink and takes a swig. Later, he takes a shot and pours another. Someone gets inebriated and angry, stumbling out of the saloon and eventually setting his house on fire.
After Ransom is beaten and brought to Hallie and her family, they give him coffee mixed with brandy (presumably to numb the pain from his injuries). When Ransom learns what’s in the coffee, he initially refuses.
One of Liberty’s lackeys takes perverse pleasure in hurting others. A man makes a joke about hanging an aspiring politician as a horse thief.
Ransom fiddles with a pipe as he speaks. Tom frequently lights up cigarettes. Others smoke. A man lights his pipe in a classroom and is politely rebuked.
The people of Shinbone disrespect the town Marshal (though, to be fair, the marshal is a coward and a glutton). Speaking of the marshal, he lets Liberty Valance do what he wants to avoid a confrontation, failing to protect the townsfolk in his charge.
A man is said to be able to “talk the ears off a wooden Indian.”
Pompey is not allowed into the saloon nor to vote due to his race. A bartender starts to say he won’t serve Pompey (heavily implied it’s because of his skin color) but is cut off.
[Spoiler Warning] Those who ultimately know the truth of Ransom’s story choose to continue to propagate the lie that he was the one who shot Liberty Valance—so that the legend, which they see as beneficial, may live on.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is, in many ways, the definition of a classic Western. It stars Old Hollywood stalwarts such as John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart and was helmed by legendary director (and eyepatch enthusiast) John Ford. The film wrestles with the themes of the wild frontier and encroaching modernity, embodied by Tom Doniphon (Wayne) and Ransom Stoddard (Stewart), respectively. There are tough-as-nails cowboys and a black-hearted (and black-hatted) villain. And while it doesn’t take place at high noon, two men still find themselves on a dusty street for a climactic shootout.
But it’s how the movie expanded upon those timeless Western tropes that impressed me. Ransom is the catalyst for change in Shinbone, sure. But he wouldn’t have been able to make much of a difference without the help of others. Likewise, Hallie and her family care deeply for Ransom and support him as he tries to improve the welfare of the townsfolk. Mr. Peabody helps Ransom spur the community to positive action. And Tom, far from being Ransom’s biggest fan, does quite a lot to ensure his frenemy’s continued well-being in the face of Liberty Valance.
Despite the fact that this film is shot in black and white, its characters are as colorful as you could want. Heroes sacrifice for the betterment of others. People espouse the ideals of education, civic responsibility, and equality. It’s full of action, humor, and heart.
But the film is also a little more melancholic than you might expect. When Ransom and Hallie return to Shinbone for Tom’s funeral, they marvel at how much the town has changed since they’ve been gone. “It was once a wilderness, now it’s a garden,” Hallie says. Civilization has bestowed a lot of positive benefits: safety, education, law and order. But we also get the sense that something else might have been lost along the way—a wildness, yes, but also a rare heroism that could come from it. Tom’s passing isn’t the only thing that’s being mourned.
As for the film’s content issues, this classic—restrained is it likely seems in comparison to contemporary fare—might still be a bit much for younger viewers. Characters drink like their lives depend on it. Some smoke. And there is a fair amount of violence—beatings, whippings, and shootings—some of which we see and some that takes place just offscreen.
Still, there is plenty of virtue to be found here as well: compassion, selflessness and heroism. It may only be a legend, but The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is worthy of consideration by families looking for alternatives to today’s more gratuitous storytelling.
Bret loves a good story—be it a movie, show, or video game—and enjoys geeking out about things like plot and story structure. He has a blast reading and writing fiction and has penned several short stories and screenplays. He and his wife love to kayak the many beautiful Colorado lakes with their dog.
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