cainweb To me this is a movie with a wonderful star-studded cast of favorites that I want to love, but just can't stand.Is it just me, or is this the worst cast movie of all time?Of course, it is a John Ford production with his standard crew, but their application in these roles completely destroys the entire movie.Another seemingly minor thing is the makeup. A number of scenes have the players in makeup so they look elderly (like that was needed). But, somehow it just makes the production look like a crappy high school play.I saw this film years ago and remember that I hated it. I saw that it was on the other day and figured I'd give it another try; I love a good western, and was probably too critical the first time around.No, I was right, this movie is appalling.It centers on a young idealist, fresh out of law school, who heads west to practice. That would be someone around 25 years old given the circumstances.The atrocious casting assigns the role to a 54 year-old James Stewart. His nemesis and rival for the hand of the lovely maiden in the story is a local no-nonsense tough-guy rancher. In real life this would probably be a 25 to 30 year-old experienced western man.The god-awful casting gives this role to a rapidly aging 55 year-old John Wayne.So, now we have two men supposedly infatuated with a young woman who would be the age of their grandchildren in real life.Another part is assigned to a ranch hand, also a supposed youth, who in one scene is kicked out of the room because he is "too young to vote."That part is played by 51 year-old O. Z. Whitehead.Again, we have the young and illiterate waitress who is ready to marry - a 16 to 18 year-old in those days.That part is given to 33 year-old Vera Miles. At least she is only one generation older than the part she is playing.So, in the end, this movie had everything going for it: An exciting western adventure full of interesting characters and some good plot twists.Unfortunately it is a great story completely ruined by a cast of geriatric actors.

Richard Dominguez The Other Day I Watched And Posted A John Ford Classic "Stagecoach" ... Here Is Another Classic Of John Ford's ... One Of The Great Westerns Of All Time ... Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, John Carradine, Vera Mills, Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien, Andy Devine, Woody Strode And Lee Van Cliff To Name A Few .... The Story Of A Legend That Wasn't A Legend And A Man Who Wasn't A Legend That Should Have Been A Legend ... The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Is A Lesson In Sacrifice And Humility ... Sacrifice And Humility Virtues As Old As Time And As Young As The Present And As New As Eternity ... A Magnificent Story Simply Written And Portrayed On The Screen With The Respect That Such Story Telling Deserves ... It Does Not At All Surprise Me That No One Has Attempted To Remake This Movie ... The Skill And Dedication To Craft This Kind Of Movie No Longer Exist And Any Attempted To Do So Would Result In What Would Surely Be A Very Poor Imitation At Best ... I Am Glad This Movie Was Made When It Was Made By Whom It Was Made And By Whom The Characters Were Portrayed ... At Another Place And At Another Time I Shudder To Think What Would Have Been The Result ...

clvlkenpo I saw this film in the movie theater when it was released as a boy. I was surprised it was black and white. I must say i didn't really get it at age 10! This movie is one of the greatest of all time. The story with all its subtle messages and twists, the screenplay, memorable quotes that have become part of our language, Pilgrim, and wonderful acting from so many really talented actors. Edmund O'brien is wonderful in so many scenes, as are many of the supporting actors. Wayne and Stewart are great together, as is Vera Miles. The exposure of the legends myths as well as the politics that seem so common today, are very insightful. I still get chills and emotional at the end of the film, very moving. The characters all ring so true, and on different levels. It is a fun, moving, action, drama with a heart. If you haven't seen it, please do. And the haunting score from Ford's Young Mr Lincoln was a perfect theme. Even if you are not normally a Wayne fan, you will be. Great date night film too!

estebangonzalez10 "This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a film that is highly revered today by critics and audiences alike, although when it was released in 1962 it wasn't met with the same enthusiasm. Ironically today it is one of John Ford's most popular films along with The Searchers and Stagecoach. Many even consider this to be Ford's masterpiece and the purest example of the Western genre and the transition it was heading for. The film's greatest appeal was that it starred James Stewart and John Wayne for the first time together. Wayne always did his best work under Ford's direction, but Stewart was the real star and had been at the height of his career for a while. I'm assuming watching the two together must have intrigued audiences at the time because I was definitely interested in catching up with this classic for that very reason. The film was shot in black and white, which I believe had a lot to do with the fact that both Wayne and Stewart were playing characters 30 years younger than their actual age, although it also gave the film a nostalgic quality to it. A nostalgia that works for this film in particular because through this character study we see a shift of power and dynamics from the traditional macho cowboy character living by the way of the gun to the literate and educated character who believes in justice and law. It also has a strong political undercurrent but it is basically a western where the power balance is shifting from one ideal to another. The black and white composition also allowed Ford to focus more on the characters and their relationship, delivering a carefully constructed character study as well. The film opens with Senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) arriving at the train station of a small local town with his wife Hallie (Vera Miles). This is the town where Hallie grew up in and where she met Ransom some 25 years earlier. When a local reporter asks the Senator what thy are doing in town he mentions they are in town for the funeral of a dear old friend named Tom. No one seems to recall who Tom was, except of course his personal ranch assistant Pompey (Woody Strode) who is mourning his friend's death next to the casket. Wanting to know why this mysterious man's death is so important to them, the reporter asks for an explanation. And so the flashback begins as Ransom narrates the story of how they met. He was a recently graduated lawyer at the time who was arriving from the East in search of better opportunities. Upon his arrival, his stagecoach was robbed by a bandit named Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) and he was brutally beat. Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) came across his unconscious body and brought him to a local family restaurant where Hallie worked at. Once he recovers, Ransom wants to press charges against Liberty but he soon discovers that isn't the way things are handled in the West. Not being able to make much use of his profession in this town, he offers his help at the restaurant and also begins educating Hallie and some local ranchers in the area. Meanwhile, Valance is still in town causing havoc everywhere he goes, and Ransom sees no other way to stop him but to face him despite his lack of expertise with guns.I'm a huge fan of the Western genre and had high expectations for this classic, but I was underwhelmed by it. I found the pacing a bit slow and the fact that the film was shot on sound stages at the studio took away what I appreciate the most about the genre: the beautiful and vast location. The film is shot mostly in enclosed spaces focusing more on the characters, and although John Wayne and James Stewart were both great, I never felt their characters were developed naturally. The transitions they go through were merely there to serve the purpose of the story which was to expose the shift of our ideals of the western world. The facts are much more boring than the legends and that is exactly how I felt about this film. The villain in this film wasn't menacing at all and he simply behaved like a grown-up bully so the tension there was missing as well. The twists in the story were rather predictable as well so the final revelation never did anything for me either. The fact that Wayne and Stewart are supposed to be playing such young characters was also a distraction. Overall I understand why this film is regarded as a classic, but I just wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I had anticipated. http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/