Just watched “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” for the umpteenth time. I know every bit of it. I know the story line, I know big chunks of dialogue. It is famous for John Wayne’s use of “Pilgrim” that became ubiquitous for everyone imitating John Wayne from that day forward.
Even knowing everything, it still was just as good as it was. Not the surprise, because it was no surprise. But the story was still good. I still got emotional at the end. Because it was that darned good.
I connected to the story in so many ways and I will be darned if I know why. As so often happens, John Ford grabbed you. It did not hurt that he had two of the best actors in the business, along with some of the best supporting actors that ever came down the pike.
Warning: I am going off-tangent below and I hate others using an unassociated issue to make a political point. That I am doing it is somewhat irresponsible, but the web-site owner (ME) is allowing it this ONE time.
America, you have to love it. You know what? Because of the current climate in this darned country, it is hard to remember what it was like. I mean, think about it. Take John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. Politically, we are at odds. Heck, they were at odds with their director, John Ford. In today’s climate, the movie may not have been able to be made. It sure would have been affected by their politics. That is so darned sad. As a side note: as conservative as John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart were, I have to believe that they would have seen through Little Boots and walked away. I mean John Wayne was not a racist like Little Boots; look at his wives.
