How to balance Valance

Last evening, CineVerse peeled back the layers on "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," which spurred a healthy discussion. Here are some of the talking points of that discussion.

WHAT ARE SOME THEMES THIS FILM ATTEMPTS TO EXPLORE?

• The conflict between popular myth and warts-and-all reality
• Action vs diplomacy; vigilante justice vs the rule of law
• The first shot of the film can give you a clue as to what this movie is about: It’s a train, which stands for progress, just as the railroad helped civilize and populate many a small town in the west
• The dying of the old west to make way for a new west where guns won’t be needed
• Change and progress may be for the better, but it’s important to remember how that progress was achieved: by the blood, sweat, toil and sacrifice of forgotten heroes and the common man

STODDARD, VALANCE, DONIPHON AND HALLIE EACH STAND FOR SOMETHING IN THIS FILM. WHAT DOES EACH CHARACTER REPRESENT IN THE OVERALL MESSAGE OF THIS MOVIE?

• Stoddard symbolizes the new west: one where the rule of law and the tenets of democracy will bring peace, justice and civility to a growing society; he’s an idealist who isn’t afraid to not be macho
• Doniphon represents the old west, where guns and violence were used to settle a problem and take care of the bad guys; he’s a realist, and he knows that it takes more than courage and idealism to defeat the villain; he’s the outlaw hero who, as in the Searchers, must sacrifice himself and remain outside a civilized society for that society to progress forward.
• This “outlaw hero” type has been depicted time and again in classic movies: he’s Rick in Casablanca and Doc Holliday in My Darling Clementine, who must collaborate with the “official” hero (such as Victor Laszlo and Wyatt Earp) to vanquish a shared foe
• Valance, of course, is evil and fascism personified
• Hallie serves as a surrogate for the audience, the one whom the old west and the new west are trying to woo; are we going to place our allegiance behind the values of the old west or the new west? Who deserves the credit and appreciation? Which is the right way to live?

HOW DOES THIS FILM DEVIATE FROM OTHER CLASSIC WESTERNS, ESPECIALLY THOSE MADE BY JOHN FORD, AND PERHAPS DIFFER FROM YOUR EXPECTATIONS?

• It was shot in black and white, kind of an anomaly for a 1962 western
• Many westerns of this period and prior were shot in glorious color, often in widescreen, showcasing the painted desert and epic scale of the old west
• Yet, black and white is appropriate to enhance the murkiness and shades of grey inherent in this story and its characters; it’s also fitting considering that most of the film is told in flashback, as if summoning up a bygone time, which black and white lends itself well to
• The movie is rather plain-looking, stagey, talky, and slowly paced, and is not an action/adventure type of western: it’s not a film where the land and nature are a character; there’s no majestic Monument Valley of Ford’s past films; it’s more of an introspective character study
• The picture is less optimistic in tone than many of Ford’s previous westerns: instead, it’s a bit elegiac, nostalgic, bittersweet and mournful
• It’s casts two top name, high quality actors, but who risk appearing too old for the younger parts they’re supposed to be playing
• It’s ironic that the cowboys in this western are the bad guys: they’ve hired Valance and his cronies to threaten the townsfolk
• Tonally, the film could be echoing the feeling of the times, which was when the Cold War and Vietnam War were ratcheting up: hence, the dark, cynical tone and cruel violence of the villain
• This is a film that both glorifies the past and heroes of the west, yet also criticizes its injustices, cruelties, harsh realities and even racism (think of how Pompey is shown as not allowed to vote or be served at the bar)

 OTHER FILMS BY JOHN FORD

• Stagecoach
• Young Mr. Lincoln
• Drums Along the Mohawk
• The Grapes of Wrath
• How Green Was My Valley
• My Darling Clementine
• Fort Apache
• She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
• Rio Grande
• The Quiet Man
• Mister Roberts
• The Searchers