The West, the romantic myth of America. The idea that one man and his lonesome could tame a wild land of savages and beasts. One actor has continued to exemplify this myth even into the new millennium, but one of his movies introduced a villain that maybe has slipped too far under our radars and perhaps needs to be discussed again.
Liberty Valance — The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The movie opens with the return of Sen. Ransom Stoddard to the now-bustling town of Shinbone in the former Western territories (heavily hinted to be Arizona) returning to the town he made his name in. When local newsmen find out, they pester the senator for the true reason for his visit to find that he has returned for the burial of a local unknown named Tom Doniphan.
Through flashback, the movie tells the tale of Stoddard’s arrival in the then-lawless Shinbone. Introduced through vicious robbery and assault of our main character, Stoddard is brought into town by rough heroic figure Doniphan. Initially mocked for his meek Eastern demeanor and preference of books over firearms, Stoddard builds a reputation with his intelligence only to face the man who nearly killed him.
In short and effective scenes Valance is portrayed as a dangerous and brutal figure. His actions in the town and the lack of an effective law officer coupled with the preference that the cattlemen owning land to the north want to keep the territory from becoming a state allow Valance unchecked right to terrorize the region. The only man who had ever stood up to Valance before had been Doniphan and his skills with a gun. Stoddard, to everyone’s amazement, stands up to Valance with words.
Of course Valance will not take such affronts in a calm manner. As Stoddard tries to educate the townsfolk in reading and civics, news comes from Doniphan that the cattlemen are using Valance to rally gunmen to drive off or murder the local homesteaders. Realizing that he is outclassed, Stoddard tries to teach himself to shoot. Doniphan quickly humiliates the idea out of Stoddard, but Stoddard again shows that he will not be so easily cowed. Eventually a delegation is formed for the people to the south of the territory with Stoddard pointing out that statehood allows for better infrastructure and schools for the people, only for Valance to brutally attack the second delegate after the election.
Enraged and finally having had enough, Stoddard grabs his pitiful revolver and goes to confront a drunken Valance. Mocking the meek lawyer, Valance shoots Stoddard in the arm and claims the next will go, “Right between the eyes.” Instead, Stoddard fires and Valance drops dead. Everyone is shocked, but the death of Valance is the impetus the people of Shinbone need to follow through on sending their delegation to the capital in favor of statehood. Despite theatrics and “heartfelt speeches” by the pro-cattle delegation, statehood eventually wins out. By this point Stoddard is developing a wider reputation, but Doniphan has fallen to drinking. In a heart-rending revelation Doniphan reveals that he shot Valance, sparing Stoddard from death but also losing the woman he loved. Destitute and saddled with the truth that he knows cannot tell, Doniphan reminds Stoddard that killing Valance has made everyone in Shinbone see a new life and that he must carry on.
As the flashbacks end Stoddard tells of how he went from delegate to governor to senator to ambassador to England. Shinbone became a point on the rail lines, and all seemed to end well. In one of the most enduring lines in cinema, the newspaper editor interviewing Stoddard states;
- “This is the West sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
As the movie ends, Stoddard decides to tell his wife that he will retire from politics to practice law in Shinbone. Telling the conductor that he’ll write a letter to the railroad thanking them for their extra services, the conductor responds;
- “Nothing’s too good for the man who shot Liberty Valance!”
Marvin’s performance as Valance is probably one of the finer pieces of antagonism in movies. Liberty isn’t a dashing rogue or clever schemer. He’s at the core a brutal man who at best knows how to shoot a gun and beat down those who can’t fight back. A bully with fancy clothes who is used by those with more power and influence than him as a cudgel to get their way against those who would oppose them. The end result of the dark side of the lawless West; when might makes right, the mightiest decide what is right. He doesn’t care who fears him, and is probably the reason Liberty Valance became a classic film for both John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. Slimy, despicable, and without any redeeming qualities, Valance will forever go down as the perfect Western gunman.
Reality: As mentioned, though the focal antagonist of the movie Valance is at best a hired hand. The cattlemen to the North use him as their leverage to drive away the homesteaders and small farmers, seeking to gain greater land and profit by avoiding the government that would tax them and divide their holdings for the homesteaders. Like in previous posts, I don’t need to go too deeply into how this relates to our present situation, but the point is that to get to the cause of the problem you need to resist that which they send against you. Luckily for us we still possess the ability to vote and pressure our representatives as best we can. To take down our modern northern cattleman though, we need to finally stop the Valances he has sent to terrorize us in our own homesteads.