The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance [Paperback]

A new offering in the nascent Reel West film history series that focuses on that quintessentially American cinematic art form, the western.

Few lines of movie dialogue have had greater impact than the most famous line from John Ford’s 1962 masterpieceThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: “This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” Although critics of the day did not realize its magnitude, with timeThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valancehas become cemented in our popular culture. This film connects to nearly every Western before or after, from Ford’s ownStagecoach(1939) to Clint Eastwood’sUnforgiven(1992).

Coming six years afterThe Searchers, Ford’s other great late-career masterpiece,The Man Who Shot Liberty Valancemay be even more archetypal of a changing West. In this first-ever book on the subject, Chris Yogerst unpacks one of the signature films of the post-classic Western period and one of the greatest works of director John Ford and actors John Wayne, James Stewart, Lee Marvin, and Woody Strode.Chris Yogerstis a writer, professor, and film historian whose columns can be found inThe Hollywood Reporter,TheWashington Post, and theLos Angeles Review of Books. His most recent book,The Warner Brothers, was named one of the best film books of 2023 bySight and Soundmagazine."Yogerst has examined the film in highly original ways…. He provides a more-than-solid introduction to Ford's final Western masterwork.""Yogerst has written a thought-provoking, detailed book that explains the meaning of the film and how it relates to the inevitable civilizing of the American frontier." “WithThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Chris Yogerst delivers a groundbreaking, thoroughly researched book-length study of John Ford’s last masterpiece. It is an essential read for l³%