In the article “The West- Hardboiled: Adaptations of Film Noir Elements, Existentialism and Ethics in John Wayne’s Westerns,” Sue Matheson describes the three main characters of John Ford’s Academy Award winning film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Matheson makes many strong points about the traits exemplified by Liberty Valence, Tom Doniphon and Ransom Stoddard however she is often too specific and narrow-minded with her guidelines on how a Western film should be.
Matheson, talking about Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) describes him as a “disabled psychopath” who is “manipulative, callous, remorseless, parasitic, and a pathological liar with poor behavioral controls.” (Matheson, 892) This description of this reckless outlaw fits perfectly which is shown while beating Ransom Stoddard he yells “I’ll teach you law – Western Law.” (Matheson 895) However, later in the article, Matheson is overly critical of Valence’s outfit calling his black hat and embroidered vest “unrealistically static.” (Matheson 895) Here, I believe Matheson is reading too much into the outfit that Valence is wearing rather than the level of his acting in the film.
Rance Stoddard, who believes in the law above all else, is thrown into a situation that he never wanted to happen. When Valence challenges him to a duel he knows he must abide by the laws of the West as opposed to the actual law. Stoddard unlike Doniphon “cannot live with the fact that he cold-bloodedly murdered another human being.” (Matheson 896) Matheson’s description of Stoddard is a perfect portrayal of the law abiding citizen. While Stoddard and Matheson believe that “there is really very little difference between Doniphon and Liberty Valence,” I disagree. Just because the men are both rugged alpha male cowboys does not make them the same character. I believe that Doniphon deep down is a good man, as shown by the fact that he would save Rance’s life so that Hallie could be with Ransom.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
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