A man, a senator, a purported killer walks into an old western town. His hair is grayed, a woman is by his side, and a few people recognize him in the town. Rather than waiting around or making small talk, the man (James Stewart) walks to the mortuary to see the coffin of a dead friend. He is in this rustic, small town to see a coffin, and see it buried. He explains to a few men around him, press, what the man meant to him. The question the film poses is: why is this man, an esteemed senator, here to see an old gunslinger buried? The answer is so far from what is expected, that it doesn't even matter as director John Ford exemplifies different aspects of character and motivation. In flashback, Ford tells of how the young senator, then a lawyer, rode into town, was beaten by Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), and thought he could lawyer the man into jail. John Wayne plays Tom, the man in the coffin at the beginning of the film, who looks over the lawyer. THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE is expertly crafted, reminiscent of CITIZEN KANE in where it ends up, but entrenched in the good gunfights, colorful characters, and playful humor of the classic western.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: ★★★★
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