John Wayne made 14 movies with John Ford, and one of the most revered is their 1962 Western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Despite not having the stunning panoramic shots of previous Ford and Wayne collaborations like Stagecoach and The Searchers, this classic from the tailend of the Hollywood Golden Age has just about everything else you could want from a Western starring the Duke. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance has gunslinging outlaws, romance, and surely one of the best casts Wayne ever appeared alongside, led by James Stewart, Vera Miles and Lee Marvin.
On the other hand, making the movie was, by all accounts, a terrible experience, as director Ford was having cold feet about the project throughout its production. Michael Munn’s 2005 biography John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth describes how Ford took his dissatisfaction with working on The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance out on its cast, which included James Stewart acting in his first movie alongside Wayne. The Duke was no stranger to being given a difficult time on John Ford’s film sets, though, as their filmmaking partnership was always characterized by a love-hate dynamic during shoots.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Is One Of John Wayne & John Ford’s Best Movies Together
It’s Among The Greatest Western Films Ever Made
Watching The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, it’s impossible to tell that it was such a nightmare to make. The movie is one of the greatest achievements of John Wayne and John Ford’s longstanding collaboration. Lee Marvin as Liberty Valance is among the Western genre’s greatest villains, Ford drew a superb performance out of Vera Miles, in particular, and the Duke gets to have one of his trademark shootouts, but from a whole new perspective. As out-of-place as James Stewart initially appears, his put-upon persona ends up being the perfect foil for Wayne’s titular no-nonsense rancher.
Meanwhile, the film’s legendary “steak” scene, in which Liberty Valance first makes an enemy of Wayne’s Tom Doniphon, balances brilliantly between elements of comedy and suspense, serving as the perfect prologue for the decisive shot referenced in the title. It’s also John Ford’s most adventurous movie in terms of narrative experiments, with its non-linear approach to storytelling and repetition of the same scene from multiple perspectives breaking new ground for cinema at the time. The work has only grown in stature since its release, with glowing retrospective assessment in the context of Ford and Wayne’s entire careers.
John Wayne & John Ford Didn’t Get Along While Making The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Ford Took Out His Dissatisfaction With The Movie On Wayne, While The Duke Was Unhappy With His Part
While we can celebrate The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance in retrospect, it’s worth sparing a thought for those who had to make the movie with an especially unhappy John Ford. The director was angry that production cuts meant he couldn’t film on location with wild Western landscapes serving as his backdrop, and took out much of his ire on the stars he believed were taking up too much of the movie’s budget. Wayne was Ford’s main target, with a constant barrage of insults hurled in his direction in between takes.
Fellow actor Woody Strode, who plays Pompey in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, was quoted by Michael Munn recounting how “p***ed off” Ford’s slew of verbal abuse made the Duke during the production. At one point, Wayne almost came to blows with Strode, under the pressure of Ford’s constant criticism.
T he Duke had his own bone to pick with the director, too, as he felt he was being deliberately underused in the film. In Munn’s 2005 biography of his life and career, Wayne is quoted as saying that he felt Ford was using him as “a background prop”, and had “nothing to go on” while playing Tom Doniphon. Of course, the character is now one of his most celebrated roles, with The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance now regarded among the definitive movies of John Wayne’s career. But the Duke certainly wouldn’t credit Ford for this retrospective recognition.
At least John Ford’s constant criticisms and attacks brought his actors together on the movie set.
As well as taking some of his frustration at the director’s behavior out on Woody Strode, Wayne was allegedly frustrated that Hollywood icon James Stewart seemed to be getting special treatment on the set of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Stewart didn’t appear to be facing any of the abuse being directed at Wayne and other cast members, and the Duke demanded to know why.
When, at last, Ford attacked Stewart, accusing him of racism because of his comment about one of the movie’s costumes, Wayne couldn’t hide his relief. “Welcome to the club,” he told his fellow actor. “I’m glad you made it.” At least Ford’s constant criticisms and attacks brought his actors together on the movie set.
John Wayne & John Ford Had A Turbulent Friendship, Despite Making So Many Movies Together
On Set The Pair Were The Best Of Enemies, But They Still Had Enormous Respect For Each Other
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was far from the first instance of John Wayne clashing with John Ford on set. Ford was a notoriously tough taskmaster, and seemed to reserve the harshest treatment for his favorite actor. Wayne’s first run-ins with Ford came on the set of their very first movie together, the seminal 1939 Western Stagecoach.
Ford is said to have physically manhandled Wayne, grabbing his chin to stop him moving his mouth so much when he talked. Funnily enough, Wayne developed an acting style later in his career of which his lack of mouth movement was a defining characteristic.
In the 1971 Peter Bogdanovich documentary Directed by John Ford, Wayne also recalled an incident during the production of Stagecoach in which he repeatedly lambasted him for this way he was washing his face in the background of a shot. The actor later recognized that Ford’s treatment of him while directing the scene appeared to have been a deliberate attempt to keep Wayne on his toes, while getting Stagecoach’s more experienced cast members to sympathize with and support the budding star. Wayne told Bogdanovich:
“I know he planned it that way. He has a way of picking on actors when they’re not an important part of a scene, in order to get them on their toes so they’ll come in ready when they really have something to do, and then he handles you like a baby.”
As much as they might have had their problems on set, then, John Wayne was the first to admit that John Ford got the best out of him as an actor. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance may have been a bad experience for many of those involved in making it, yet it features several career-high performances, including from Wayne.