John Ford’s 1962 masterpiece, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of the Western genre, even as Hollywood began to shift in the late 1950s. This iconic film, starring James Stewart and John Wayne, was adapted from a short story by Dorothy M. Johnson, a celebrated author known for her evocative tales of the American West. Johnson, who grew up in Montana and later established herself as a prolific writer in New York, returned to her roots, editing a local paper and teaching at the university. Her significant body of work, including the story that inspired Liberty Valance, cemented her reputation as a prominent voice in Western fiction.
The production of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance faced its share of hurdles, reflecting the changing landscape of the film industry at the time. As the traditional studio system waned, directors like Ford found it increasingly challenging to secure funding for their projects. Ford, who had a reputation for his strong personal productions, encountered difficulties in getting his vision approved. The industry’s tastes were evolving, and Ford’s characteristically sentimental and old-fashioned style, while still appreciated, was becoming less common. Despite the Western genre’s continued popularity, especially on television, its viability as a theatrical genre was diminishing. Ford’s previous films, Sergeant Rutledge (1960) and Two Rode Together (1961), had not achieved significant commercial success, adding to the pressure. He had also been involved in directing an episode of the television series Wagon Train and providing uncredited work on John Wayne’s The Alamo (1960). Therefore, discovering Johnson’s story, which resonated with his personal themes and offered a compelling role for Wayne, was a significant development.
To bring the story to the screen, Ford reunited with Willis Goldbeck and James Warner Bellah, the screenwriters behind Sergeant Rutledge. Goldbeck also took on a co-producer role. James Stewart was cast as the young Eastern lawyer who becomes an unlikely hero and politician. This marked Stewart’s second collaboration with Ford, having previously worked together on Two Rode Together. Stewart, who admired Ford, was enthusiastic about the project, particularly as his character in the earlier film had been less than satisfying. In Liberty Valance, he would portray an upstanding idealist. Lee Marvin was selected to play the villain, Liberty Valance, a suggestion from John Wayne, who had co-starred with Marvin in The Comancheros (1961).
John Wayne, a major star with a lucrative ten-picture deal at Paramount, was instrumental in getting The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance made at that studio. Despite Ford’s established reputation, his commitment to fund half of the $3.2 million budget, and the involvement of two major stars, Paramount hesitated for nearly six months before greenlighting the project. The studio expressed concerns, including the film’s somber tone, the fact that Wayne’s character dies early in the narrative, and the casting of Stewart, who was nearing his mid-50s, to play a character fresh out of law school in the flashback sequences and an older man in the present-day framing story. The studio’s recent financial losses on Marlon Brando’s One-Eyed Jacks (1961) made them wary of another potentially risky Western production. Ultimately, it was Wayne’s influence and his strong contract with Paramount that secured the project’s approval. This dependency on Wayne may have been a point of contention for Ford, given Wayne’s rise to stardom under Ford’s direction.
While still filming The Comancheros in the summer of 1961, Wayne began receiving production memos from Ford, who was eager to commence shooting Liberty Valance by the end of the season. Ford expressed confidence in the script, noting in a July 7th memo that “For a change, no locations… All to be shot on the lot. … Seriously we have a great script in my humble opinion.” The screenplay closely followed Johnson’s original story and perspective, with one notable deviation. In the book, Tom Doniphon (Wayne’s character) acts more as a direct mentor to Ranse Stoddard (Stewart), guiding his journey from frontier lawyer to senator. However, in the film, apart from two pivotal actions that dramatically alter Stoddard’s life, Doniphon’s role in actively shaping Stoddard’s future is less pronounced. In 1967, Ford claimed that The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was based on historical events, though he never specified these events, and no evidence has emerged to support his assertion.
