The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Just how much thinking does John Ford want us to do with Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The?

Outlaw Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) terrorizes the western town of Shinbone. Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) is the only one brave enough, and with a good enough shot, to kill him. But he doesn't. Why?

Fresh out of school lawyer Ransom Stoppard arrives in Shinbone from the eastern United States. He wants the law to deal with Valance. But Marshal Link Appleyard (Andy Devine) is afraid of his own shadow and jumps whenever someone comes up to him unexpectedly. Doniphon suggests Stoppard needs to start packing a gun if he wants to put an end to Valance's reign of terror. What's Ford suggesting about the rule of law in the wild west? "Out here a man settles his own problems," Doniphon tells Stoppard.

Does Doniphon, who suggests might makes right, deep down the most progressive person in Shinbone? The girl he fancies, Hallie Stoddard (Vera Miles), runs a restaurant. She earns her own living. Doniphon tells her more than once she looks great when she's mad. Hmmm, does he have a soft spot for women who speak their mind? That would be a different mindset to have in the 19th century. And how about his friend Pompey (Woody Strode). Pompey's black, the only black person we see in Shinbone. Is Doniphon more accepting of equal rights for blacks? When a bartender refuses to serve Pompey, it's Doniphon who speaks up for that rule to be dropped.

The film opens with Stoppard returning to Shinbone for Doniphon's funeral. His old friend was so destitute the undertaker pinched his boots for some form of payment. Just what kind of life did Doniphon have after Stoppard went on to greater success?

Is Doniphon willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good? Some residents of Shinbone, such as Stoppard, see benefits in the territory becoming a state to help the little guy and thwart the plans of cattle barons. He sees Hallie, the woman he plans to marry and who he has added an extension to his home, falling for Stoppard. But he doesn't stop the relationship. Why?

Was Ford giving a sly wink to modern politics when a cowboy on a horse enters a political meeting and does a trick on stage. Is this an early example of a photo opportunity, a way to add some sizzle to a political hopeful?

How about Doniphon continually calling Stoppard "pilgrim." Is it a reference to Doniphon making the long trek to Shinbone? Is he suggesting Stoppard is on a quest of sorts - to see law and order in the west? Or, his goals will have to take him beyond Shinbone?

Wayne's character is fascinating to watch. He's a man's man, but he hurts when Hallie falls for Stoppard. Doniphon can lay claim to an amazing accomplishment, but he keeps quiet for years to his own detriment. Why?

Marvin makes a great villain. This guy is ruthless. He beats people with his whip. Valance will have nothing to do with Stoppard's talk of law. "I'll teach you law, western law," he thunders when the two men first meet.

Funny thing about Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The. In some ways, viewers can see where the story is going. But, boy, do a little digging and things get a little hazier.

RATING: 8/10

FUN FACTS: Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The received an Oscar nomination for costume design (Edith Head).

Vera Miles was also in another very fine film directed by John Ford, The Searchers. Wow. She was also in The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms.

Woody Strode squared off with Kirk Douglas in Spartacus. His film debut was in another John Ford film, Stagecoach.

Jeannette Nolan, who appears here with John Qualen as Nora and Peter Ericson, made her last film appearance in The Horse Whisperer.

The Searchers (1956)

John Wayne: The Searchers is one of the finest westerns ever made.

Credit one of John Wayne's best performances and stunning cinematography - in VistaVision - by Winton Hoch (The Quiet Man, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon) for making this a must-see film.

The film opens in Texas in 1868. Ethan Edwards (Wayne) arrives at his brother's home. Numerous questions surround his past. What has he been doing in the three years since the Civil War ended? Why does he have so much money? Is he suggesting he was involved in illegal activities?

Edwards barely has time to settle in when he joins a search for missing cattle. That theft of livestock proves a ruse so Comanche Indians can wipe out his brother's family. The two daughters, Debbie (played by sisters Lana and Natalie Wood) and Lucy (Pippa Scott), are taken captive. Edwards and his nephew, Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter), launch a years-long quest to find Chief Scar (Henry Brandon) and rescue Debbie. Lucy is found - dead.

Edwards loathes Indians, is happy to kill as many as he can - and their sources of food. He welcomes a chance to gum up their chances in the afterlife too. That hatred begins to seep over into his feelings towards Debbie. He appears willing to gun her down rather than take her back to live with her surviving family.

There's a nice romance with Laurie Jorgensen (Vera Miles) waiting, and waiting some more, for Martin to come home. Comic relief largely comes courtesy of Charlie McCorry (Ken Curtis). He's sweet on Laurie, but is about as bright as a burned out light bulb. Keep an ear open for his pronunciation of fiancee. It's the best laugh in this nearly two-hour film. Ward Bond is very fine as part-time reverend, part-time leader of the Texas Rangers, Rev. Samuel Johnston Clayton. Hunter stands up very well next to Wayne.

The film's ending is powerful, recreating the opening scene in reverse with no words spoken.

Watch John Wayne: The Searchers.

RATING: 10/10

FUN FACTS: Jeffrey Hunter also appeared in The Longest Day, with John Wayne.

John Qualen, who appears as Lars Jorgensen, was Berger in Casablanca.

Olive Carey, who plays Mrs. Jorgensen, made her last film appearance in Billy the Kid vs. Dracula.

Hank Worden, appearing as Mose Harper, earned his last credits with David Lynch's Twin Peaks.

Beaulah Archuletta, who ends up as Martin Powley's wife at one point, made her debut in Key Largo.

The Searchers marked Pippa Scott's first movie role.

A Patch of Blue (1965)

Guy Green has created a small miracle with A Patch of Blue.



The British-born director (Great Expectations, Oliver Twist) took Elizabeth Kata's novel, Be Ready With Bells and Drums, and made a powerful film about friendship and acceptance. This 1965 release is not as well known as other movies that came out the same year such as The Sound of Music, Cat Ballou and Doctor Zhivago, but it packs a punch and still deserves to be seen nearly 50 years later.





Selina D'Arcey (Elizabeth Hartman) is a young, blind woman who continues to live with her dysfunctional family. Her mother, Rose-ann (Shelley Winters in an Academy Award winning performance), beats and neglects her. They share a tiny one-room apartment with Rose-ann's drunk father, Ole Pa (Wallace Ford, in his last screen performance). It's because of Rose-ann that Selina lost her sight when she was five and, about a decade later, raped. Ole Pa is more in love with the bottle than doing what is right to help his grand-daughter.



Selina has little, if any, schooling ("I ain't been taught nothing," she notes early on), can't read braille and doesn't have the living skills to get by outside her home. She strings beads for Mr. Faber (John Qualen) to earn money.





It's when she's working with the beads in the city park that she meets Gordon Ralfe (Sidney Poitier). He helps her right from the start of their relationship when she gets upset when a caterpillar lands on her. Again, Selina has no idea what's on her skin. Her time in the outside world is limited.



A friendship develops. Ralfe gradually learns about Selina's troubled background and wants to help. He starts to teach her how to get around by herself by recognizing the sun's location and using crosswalks.



"It's wonderful to have a friend," she tells Gordon. Her feelings intensify. She's falling in love with the kind man who does so much to help. He's interested, but is more concerned about offering her a new start to her life.



It's during a conversation between the two that Gordon learns Rose-ann, years earlier, cut off contact between her daughter and a black girl who also tried to help her out. Selina doesn't know about the colour of his skin.



A race against the clock starts when Gordon tries to get help for Selina while Rose-ann schemes to take her daughter, desert her father and open what sure sounds like a brothel with her friend Sadie (Elisabeth Fraser).



A Patch of Blue reminds me of 2009's Precious which featured an even more horrifying relationship between mother and daughter (Mo'Nique and Gabourey Sidibe). Selina is also living through hell, but still sees beauty in the world and appreciates the kindness of others.



"It's great eating and talking," she tells Gordon during lunch at the spacious apartment he shares with his brother Mark (Ivan Dixon). There's nothing but a cheap transistor radio to listen to at her apartment. The brothers Ralfe have a record player and a selection of classical records. Selina becomes enchanted with a musical box owned by Gordon's grandmother. She too saw an important relationship affected because of racism. Composer Jerry Goldsmith (Seconds) deserves a nod for composing a great score.



Poitier is solid as a decent man who makes the effort to help Selina. Many others walk by her when she's in distress. He didn't.



A typical Hollywood approach to such a story would be to focus on a romantic relationship between the leads. That's not the big focus here. A Patch of Blue, just like later films like Educating Rita and Green Card, may not give some viewers the tidy wrap-up they want. Good for Guy Green.



A Patch of Blue is about stepping up to help someone else. It's about appreciating people for who they are, not damning them for what they look like. A Patch of Blue is a great film.



RATING: 10/10



FUN, AND NOT SO FUN, FACTS: Ivan Dixon is best known as James 'Kinch' Kinchloe in Hogan's Heroes. He also appeared with Poitier in A Raisin in the Sun and Porgy and Bess.



Elizabeth Hartman earned an Academy Award nomination for her film debut in A Patch of Blue. But life didn't end well for her. She committed suicide in 1987. She was 43.



What a resume. John Qualen also appeared in Casablanca, The Searchers and The Grapes of Wrath.