The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

James Stewart, John Wayne and Lee Marvin in the same western? Add in Vera Miles, Edmund O'Brien, Andy Devine, Srother Martin, Lee Van Cleef, Woody Strode and Ken Murray and wow, this must tremendous, right? No, not really, but it's still pretty good. It just doesn't live up to that cast. After the opening stagecoach robbery scene, this got really slow for a half hour. But then it starts to pick up and gets better as it goes along, finishing strong. I liked the black-and-white photography. I haven't seen this on DVD but it must look good. Marvin is always effective no matter what role he plays, but especially as a villain. The usual calm Miles made herself unappealing by shouting the entire movie. Give it a rest, lady!! Stewart and Wayne are their normal selves which is good news. On the whole, the title song was more memorable than the film.

This was a film that my class had to watch in a High School Literature class, so it has been a little while since I watched it. Although it is classified as a western film, it does not really follow through with what most would consider a western; it takes place in the western states, and the characters are cowboys, but it is a civilised film following the different characters and their fate. I could not find anything to fault with this film whatsoever. It was engaging and entertaining and was shown to us in school as an example of good film-making. I cannot agree more with that comment. I think that everyone should watch this film and think about what this film teaches.

I imagine that many will say that this movie is dated. Since it is filmed in black and white, that will add to it being viewed as an old movie. However, I believe the characters and acting lead to a most powerful movie. While we often see heroes and heroines portrayed as perfect people, the heroes and heroines in this movie seem much more true to life. They are wonderful, but never perfect. As such the movie hits closer to home and is more heart warming than most movies. It did take a few minutes before I saw the greatness of this movie. At the start it almost seems a normal western. But as the characters unfold, coupled with excellent acting, the movie simply becomes much more. While John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart have been in many good movies, it is this movie that I likely will remember them the best.