The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

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The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

1962

2h 2m

Western

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

57 Reviews

92%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Questions arise when Senator Stoddard (James Stewart) attends the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) 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 (Lee Marvin). 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.

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Critics Consensus

Featuring a trio of classic leading men and a rich story captured by a director at the peak of his craft, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is one of the finest Westerns ever filmed.

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Jake Cole

Slant Magazine

May 16, 2022

John Ford regularly made such clear-eyed, unsentimental assessments of the Old West and the lies that forged its mythology that one may wonder how the concept of a “revisionist western” ever took root when the original was already so bleak.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Apr 29, 2013

There's much to say about it; the simplest is that it's both the most romantic of Westerns and the greatest American political movie.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Dec 30, 2011

4/4

There is a purity to the John Ford style. His composition is classical. He arranges his characters within the frame to reflect power dynamics -- or sometimes to suggest a balance is changing.

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Daniel Barnes

Dare Daniel

Jul 7, 2026

5/5

Ford’s ultimate statement on the West, mythmaking and masculinity, an unusually soulful western about the creation of legends and the destruction of truth.

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Michael J. Casey

Michael J. Cinema

Nov 3, 2025

4.5

"Liberty Valance" illuminates how unrest in the 20th century reached back to the 19th century to uncover the lies America has been telling itself ever since.

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Ian Kane

Epoch Times

Jul 2, 2023

4.5/5

Many believe “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” to be John Ford’s greatest film. It’s somewhat of a farewell letter to a way of life that has faded into history...

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bruce F

@bruce999 Aug 15, 2026

a classic western. not to be missed. filled with emotion

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Joshua M

@Flameon Aug 3, 2026

A well crafted movie about frontier values. It is painfully dated, but that is okay.

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Max M

@Househuntermax Jul 20, 2026

Must see classic western! Print this legend!

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Chris B

@Papa13070 Apr 20, 2026

This western is yet another stellar Ford/Wayne movie. John Wayne is great, because in this movie, he is the unknown hero. Not only does he lose recognition for killing Liberty Valance to Jimmy Stewart, but he also loses his girl to the same man. Stewart also gives a brilliant performance as a man who gets everything, but doesn't truly deserve any of it. The supporting cast deserves a lot of recognition for making this film better. Fantastic writing of James Bellah who also wrote Fort Apache. This is a must watch.

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Allen S.

@HonestAl Dec 21, 2025

Tied with the Searchers at the top of my list of greatest westerns ever made.

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Douglas G

@Moviefandrg May 13, 2025

It is not a perfect movie, but it is close.

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John Ford

Director

James Stewart

Ransom Stoddard

John Wayne

Tom Doniphon

Vera Miles

Hallie Stoddard

Lee Marvin

Liberty Valance

Edmond O'Brien

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Synopsis

Questions arise when Senator Stoddard (James Stewart) attends the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) 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 (Lee Marvin). 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.

Director: John Ford
Producer: Willis Goldbeck, John Ford
Screenwriter: James Warner Bellah, Willis Goldbeck, Dorothy M. Johnson
Distributor: CIC-Taft Home Video, Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, John Ford Productions
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 22, 1962, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2011
Runtime: 2h 2m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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