Is the pen really mightier than the sword?
John Ford’s 1962 classic, The Man Who
Shot Liberty Valance explores this question.
In the film, we are taken to
the town of Shinbone, where the local residents are being terrorized by Liberty
Valance (Lee Marvin), a hired gun working for Big Cattle. Amidst defenseless
homesteaders, there are only two men strong enough to stand up to Liberty
Valance, men whose strength shows in different ways. Tom Doniphon (John Wayne),
the only gunslinger tougher than Liberty Valance, has been the town hero for
quite some time. Rance Stoddard (Jimmy Stewart), the newly-arrived lawyer from
the East, is gaining favor by bringing some law and order to dusty, old
Shinbone. Between these two men, Liberty will fall, but which one of them will
take him down?
This film succeeds because it is well-shot and
well-written. The storytelling is not only clear where it needs to be, but is
also highly symbolic, metaphorical, and ironic. For instance, much was made of
Paramount’s decision to shoot this film in black and white in 1962; one
interpretation is that the stark aesthetics of black and white (and grey) help
to mirror the morality tale that the film is trying to tell. Another
interpretation is that Paramount was trying to cut costs.
Either way, the impact of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is still felt today. The most
classic line from the movie, “This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes
fact, print the legend,” still resonates over fifty years later, as the
concepts of “truthiness”, “fake news”, and “alternative facts” have become
prevalent in our zeitgeist. Like the recent events in our current news cycle, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
explores the notions, as well as the value of truth, and how “truth”, whatever
that is, shapes important events in our communities.
In exploring how the Wild West was tamed, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is,
amongst other things, a text on history itself -- on how the victorious often
dictate the stories we hear.
The Man
Who Shot Liberty Valance, might make another triumph;
the film has generated enough interest for Paramount to consider a remake, possibly set in 1980’s Western
Pennsylvania. Not much news has been made on the remake has been made in the
last two years, which could mean a couple of different things: the remake has
fallen into development hell, or perhaps the studio is taking its time to make
something really good. Either way, we’ll still have this old classic to watch.
Score
-Blake Pynnonen