John Ford directed the 1962 film 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.' The black-and-white Western stars John Wayne as rancher Tom Doniphon and James Stewart as lawyer Ransom Stoddard, whose conflicting versions of heroism shape the story.
The film was adapted from Dorothy M. Johnson's 1953 short story. It begins with the older Stoddard returning to the town of Shinbone for Doniphon's funeral, then revisits the events that made Stoddard famous for supposedly killing the violent outlaw Liberty Valance.
Ford was one of Hollywood's defining Western directors, known for films such as 'Stagecoach' and 'The Searchers.' A common mix-up is choosing Sergio Leone, another influential Western filmmaker; Leone admired Ford and cited him as a major influence, but he did not direct this film. The movie was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2007.