The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance paired James Stewart and John Wayne but here’s who killed the title villain, and the final twist explained.
Out of either James Stewart or John Wayne, who was The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and how does this alter the ending? John Ford is regarded as one of the great American filmmakers and has many classics to his name, including Stagecoach, The Quiet Man and The Searchers. It should be clear from that line-up that he often worked alongside John Wayne too, who credited the filmmaker with making him a star.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance from 1962 was one of their final projects together, though John Wayne was cast by the studio against Ford’s wishes. The character of Tom Doniphon was supposed to be a younger man, and the filmmaker relentlessly mocked and teased Wayne during filming. The story sees James Stewart’s idealistic younger lawyer Stoddard arriving in a remote town with the intention of introducing law, order and education to the townspeople. He quickly makes an enemy out of local bully and killer Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin, The Dirty Dozen), who tries to force him to leave town.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance focuses on the love triangle between Stoddard, Doniphon and his girlfriend Hallie (Vera Miles, Psycho). After a brutal assault by Valance, Stoddard is saved by Doniphon and nursed back to health by Hallie, who form a romantic connection. The rough and tough Doniphon later tries to teach Stoddard to defend himself and shoot a gun, all to little success. One night Valance demands a showdown and toys with the lawyer, shooting him in the arm and taunting him before Stoddard finally gets off a shot and Valance drops dead.
