I happened upon this shot from John Ford's slightly uneven, but still worth watching, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962) quite by accident.
Because I generally focus on John Wayne in this particular scene, the two shot with Lee Marvin in the foreground caught my attention. In a nutshell, it captures Marvin's appeal as a movie tough guy.
It's the first on-screen encounter between Liberty Valance (Marvin) and Tom Doniphon (Wayne) in the movie. Ostensibly, they're fighting over who's going to pick up Doniphon's dropped steak off the floor. But, of course, it's about much more.
Valance has been a real prick up to this point, exhibiting violent anti-social behavior boarding on the insane. During the "steak incident" he backs down from Doniphon. Marvin's expression here suggests the mental calculations Valance is making as he sizes up the situation before pragmatically deciding to turn tail. Yet, somehow this doesn't diminish his onscreen danger. How many actors could pull that off?
Later, Valance sadistically torments milquetoast lawyer, Ransom Stoddard (Jimmy Stewart).
Valance is clearly the alpha-male in the match-up with Stoddard. However, Marvin's expression is not that much different from the earlier scene with Wayne. Except, maybe this time he's having more fun.
This is an early revisionist Western (somewhere between "Broken Arrow" and "Unforgiven" on the paradigm shift scale). So, instead of a traditional showdown between the hero and villian, it has Doniphon, hiding in an alley with a rifle, shooting Valance dead in cold blood.
Doniphon's motives aren't about justice, or eliminating a mad-man for the sake of the community, or even revenge. He's doing it strictly to ensure a happy future for the love of his life, Hallie (Vera Miles).
Like Liberty Valance, Tom Doniphon is pragmatic too.
No comments:
Post a Comment