The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance – John Ford (1962)

“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (/ˈvæləns/) is a 1962 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and James Stewart. The screenplay by James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck was adapted from a 1953 short story written by Dorothy M. Johnson. The supporting cast features Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Edmond O’Brien, Andy Devine, John Carradine, Woody Strode, Strother Martin and Lee Van Cleef. In 2007, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant’. Near the turn of the 20th century, U.S. Senator Ransom ‘Ranse’ Stoddard and his wife Hallie arrive in Shinbone, a frontier town in an unnamed Western state, to attend the funeral of Tom Doniphon. When asked by the local newspaper reporter why a senator would attend the funeral of a poor rancher, Stoddard answers with a story that flashes back 25 years. Entering the then-unincorporated territory as a young lawyer, Ranse is beaten and robbed by infamous outlaw Liberty Valance and his gang. Tom Doniphon and his handyman, Pompey, find Ranse and take him to Shinbone, where Tom’s girlfriend, Hallie, treats his wounds. Ranse learns Valance frequently terrorizes Shinbone and the surrounding country since the local marshal, Link Appleyard, is too cowardly to stop him. Tom says Valance only understands force, but Ranse is determined to bring Valance to justice through the law. … Many stories and speculations exist to explain this decision. Ford preferred that medium over color: ‘In black and white, you’ve got to be very careful. You’ve got to know your job, lay your shadows in properly, get your perspective right, but in color, there it is,’ he said. ‘You might say I’m old fashioned, but black and white is real photography.’ Ford also reportedly argued that the climactic shoot-out between Valance and Stoddard would not have worked in color. Others have interpreted the absence of the magnificent outdoor vistas so prevalent in earlier Ford Westerns as ‘a fundamental reimagining [by Ford] of his mythic West’ – a grittier, less romantic, more realistic portrayal of frontier life. Wayne and Stewart, two of Hollywood’s biggest stars working together for the first time, were considerably older (54 and 53, respectively) than the characters they were playing. Filming in black and white helped ease the suspension of disbelief necessary to accept that disparity. …”
Wikipedia
Philosophy Now: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Senses of Cinema – A Legend that Dare Not Imprint its Name: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
YouTube: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance • Gene Pitney, Burt Bacharach & Hal David, ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’ | Critics’ Picks | The New York Times (A. O. Scott)