Too much of everything

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

In John Ford's worst Western, artificially filmed almost entirely on sound stages, John Wayne plays Tom Doniphon. Doniphon has a ranch outside of Shinbone, a town terrorized by Liberty Valance. As befitting a character played by John Wayne, Doniphon talks tough: "Liberty Valance's the toughest man south of the Picketwire ... next to me," he boasts. But on the two occasions when Doniphon has verbal confrontations with Liberty Valance, Doniphon is backed up by his "boy" Pompey, an imposing black man aiming his rifle right at Liberty. I hate to say this about John Wayne, but Tom Doniphon is a coward. For all his tough talk, he doesn't face Liberty Valance in a fair fight. Instead, he hides in the shadows and bushwhacks him. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance more accurately Ambushed him. Then he Executed him. The one thing he didn't do was Face him. Or Outdraw him. Or Outgun him. Or Outfight him. In fact, in one embarrassing scene, the mighty Tom Doniphon couldn't even muster enough breath to blow out a match. In another scene equally embarrassing, a pacifist lawyer who Doniphon provoked punches Doniphon in his mouth and knocks him on his ass. So much for being the toughest man south of the Picketwire. Then there's John Wayne's performance. He was always more of a movie star than an actor, but in this film he was reduced to a caricature: John Wayne sounding like he's impersonating Rich Little impersonating John Wayne. Add to that the casting of the annoying Andy Devine as comic relief where none was needed, and O. Z. Whitehead, age 51, incredibly playing an elementary school boy who sucks lollipops, and in one scene, is seen skipping, and James Stewart and John Wayne both 20 years older than the characters they were playing. Honestly, if this had been John Ford's only Western, no one today would remember his name.

This is a fine story of the west wild as it was and true to life in its start-up. You will see how gunfights settle scores and was the only law people understood. Marshalls could only do so much and were always being killed so the rules of the west prevailed for some time until there was law and order depicted well in this movie. You got really good "good" guys and really bad "bad" guys making the point of good versus evil throughout the flick. You get butterflies when bad takes a turn and you feel good when good appears. This is raw, well-presented entertainment and what many Westerns relied on to capture not only your interest but to tell the tale as well. Add some shoot em ups, a love interest, horses of course, and plenty drinking at the bar in the local saloon. One thing that always captures my interest in any movie is food scenes as I like to see what people eat, how they eat and what the food looks like. In this movie, I was thrilled. Why? Nice large cuts of fresh steak cooked to order with a side of spuds and beans with bread and deep dish apple pie with hot coffee to wash it all down with. Man, not a bad way to dine! Enjoy Andy Devine, James Stewart, John Wayne and Lee Marvin and many well known others as they act out this little gem that will produce a tear or two. Good movie to eat dinner with, dessert and a tasty drink of choice

Ronson Stoddard, a lawyer, head out west in search of a new life. He settles in a small town but soon comes into conflict with the local crime lord, Liberty Valance. Stoddard's only ally is rancher Tom Doniphon. With Stoddard's knowledge of the law and Doniphon's gun, they are determined to bring Valance down.Another great western from John Ford. Great plot, with a good twist at the end. More than a conventional western-action-drama, the movie covers issues like press freedom, vigilantism, law and order, and even has a romantic angle.John Wayne and James Stewart play their parts to perfection. Lee Marvin is evil personified as Liberty Valance.A timeless classic.

Director John Ford was a master of subtle symbolism. Example: as Ransom leaves the newspaper office to confront Liberty, he has a gun in one hand as he pulls down the "Attorney at Law" shingle with the other hand. Equally symbolic is Ransom, after learning Liberty Valance is coming to town, erases "Education is the basis for law and order" from the blackboard. The most powerful, and yet subtle, scene was Woody Strode's character Pompey stumbling over the words "all men are created equal." Pompey says to Ransom "I knew that, but I plumb forgot it;" Ransom responds "a lot of people forget that part."