The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

1962 • 2h 3m •

Western

MOVIEVIBE Rating

★ 7.8/10

1,332 reviews

Your Rating

Questions arise when Senator Stoddard attends the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon in a small Western town. Flashing back, we learn Doniphon saved Stoddard, then a lawyer, when he was roughed up by a crew of outlaws terrorizing the town, led by Liberty Valance. As the territory's safety hung in the balance, Doniphon and Stoddard, two of the only people standing up to him, proved to be very important, but different, foes to Valance.

"Together for the first time"

Top Billed Cast

John Wayne

Tom Doniphon

James Stewart

Ransom Stoddard

Vera Miles

Hallie Stoddard

Lee Marvin

Liberty Valance

Edmond O'Brien

Dutton Peabody

Andy Devine

Link Appleyard

Ken Murray

Doc Willoughby

John Carradine

Cassius Starbuckle

Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews

B badelf Verified TMDB Critic

2026-05-03

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Directed by John Ford

Well, it is an old Western, so it's all about bullies, and how they invariably lose to a more powerful bully. Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) terrorizes the town with violence; he's replaced by lawyers, politicians, and the machinery of government. Same power dynamics, more sophisticated weapons. The famous line "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend" isn't inspiring, it's cynical. The film is about how America built its mythology on lies, how the people who write history aren't necessarily the heroes they claim to be.
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