Review of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) by Spencer P — 06 Oct 2018

I really wish Ford had shot this movie in color. There's a lot of very scenic moments that would look pretty in color. I love these old quaint little Western towns. Is there an old Western movie that John Wayne isn't in? Jeez, news editors even back then were annoying and intrusive as fuck. Fuck em all.

Great acting and chemistry between everyone. That always seems to be the case in these old Western movies. Everyone just seems to get along with there co stars. This marshall is such a useless fat bodied yellow belly. That diner scene with Liberty Valance really shows how malicious of a person he is and how much I'd like to see him get his ass beat.

It's interesting seeing the difference between how Ransom the attorney lives and carries himself as oppose to how Tom and the town carry themselves. Liberty Valance is so extra! He's like that one jock bully in school who's dad never loved him lmao! Sometimes you just got to settle things on your own terms and say fuck what the law says. I'm glad Ransom did what he did.

That Langhorne, what a gimmick having the horse come on stage and the lasso. Ugh. That was a good unexpected turn. Wow, Ransom basically owes it all to Tom for all his success. It's crazy how the guy who gets credit for doing the amazing act is the one who gets the success and everything when in fact it wasn't him the whole time, while the man who in fact did the amazing act ended up doing nothing. Ransom had to live with this lie which ended up in him finding success within the government. But now that Tom is dead, feels uncomfortable and guilty with taking credit for Liberty's death. This is some very good social commentary on how politicians might find there way up the ladder and into power. Sometimes, the best of them have to lie or do things they might regret later on.

Another fantastic Western from John Ford with a great message that goes deeper than one expects.