Who shot Liberty Valance?

Examining Vigilantism. Episode 1.

Shoot first. Ask questions later.

This trope even pre-dates Clint Eastwood. It used to be expressed in fiction-from the dime novels of the 1880s to myths projected on Hollywood’s silver screens. Vigilantes, in the westerns, could be hotheaded townsfolk preparing to administer street justice on some transgressor. Or the vigilante might be a gunslinger aiming to right some wrong that the law had failed to address.

The western narrative expressed significant themes in American political development. Despite a professed universal reverence for The Constitution and The Founding Fathers, we can see an underlying cultural ambivalence in this country concerning the rule of law. This ambivalence is revealed in a number of classic westerns, such as Shane or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. The latter was one of my Dad’s favorite movies and I’ve seen it a million times. Let’s use “Liberty Valance” as an exemplar.

Justice was served when Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) shot Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), an outlaw who had been terrorizing the frontier town of Shinbone. But Ranse Stoddard, the tenderfoot lawyer from back East, was credited with Valance’s demise. Doniphon had been in the shadows when Liberty pulled on Rance, so onlookers thought that it was Ranse’s shot that took him down. Stoddard’s reputation grew as a result of the shoot-out—providing him with a springboard into national politics. This was the irony: Ranse Stoddard, devoted to the law, got ahead based on violence and a lie. Tom Doniphon, indifferent to the law, saved Ranse’s life and restored order in Shinbone with his revolver. Stoddard married Doniphon’s sweetheart and went to Washington. Doniphon drank himself to death.

At the film’s conclusion, an aging Senator Stoddard returns to Shinbone for Tom Doniphon’s funeral. A local reporter corners him, asking what brings the Senator back to Shinbone? For the first time, Ranse tells the truth about who shot Liberty Valance. At the end of the interview, the reporter tears up his notes. Ranse asks him why he doesn’t want to publish the story? The reply:

This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.

What’s the moral of the story? Some possibilities:

The law is not dependable.

Guns are more valuable than law books.

Legends are more persuasive than facts.

These propositions resonate today. They express the tension between two orders: the legal order and the social order. Self-government (democracy) is a bargain: citizens cede the right to engage in violence (for the redress of grievances) to the state which guarantees collective safety. The state creates an authoritative legal structure consisting of laws and mechanisms for enforcement. Vigilantism violates the legal structure and therefore, the authority of the state. However, as shown in the film, when the authorities fail to maintain civil peace, the social order is threatened. The man who shot Liberty Valance was a hero because he removed the source of disorder that was threatening the town. Under this type of circumstance, vigilantism may be accepted—even lauded—by society. But both developments—outlaws who disturb the peace and corrupt authorities who fail to maintain order—undermine commitment to democratic self-governance.

You can see where this is going.

Notes:

There are three versions of the Liberty Valance tale. They are all worth your time.

The original short story by Dorothy M. Johnson, “THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE.” Hearst’s International Combined with Cosmopolitan 127.1 (1949): 56–. Print. You’d have to get this from your local library or through Interlibrary Loan. Johnson’s Ranse character is much less sympathetic than the Jimmy Stewart/John Ford version.

The 1962 Film directed by John Ford (summarized in my post above). Amazon Prime Streaming.* DVD.*

Theatrical adaptation by Jethro Compton, produced at the Park Theatre, London, in 2014. Purchase a copy of the script here.*

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