lzcutter

BG, I don't think we are supposed to like Ranse. I think that was one of the things that drew Jimmy Stewart to the character. On the surface, Ranse is the hero who comes to Shinbone to help move the town and its citizens into the 20th Century. He comes with his fancy Eastern notions, a bit of a chip on his shoulder (would love to know why "no one fights my battles for me" is so important to him) and quickly realizes that his adventure west is not all that he has read about in fancy dime novels. He learns it will take time to move Shinbone into the 20th Century but he certainly feels through-out the film that he is the one to do. But he does not love Shinbone the way that Tom, Hallie and Linc do. Perhaps it is just a stop on the way for Stoddard initially but it becomes his chance to go back East (does he have something to prove to someone back there who thought he never had the gumption to be someone) and prove himself a man of worth. The townsfolk would have still respected Ranse as their town lawyer (and likely he would have become the local judge as well over time) if he had come clean about who did the killing. The killing did eat at him but once he knows the truth, he still follows Tom's order to go back into the convention hall and take the nomination. At that moment, he seals his fate. The idealistic Stoddard that he wanted everyone to believe was really him would have come clean. But the opportunistic Stoddard who sees this as a way to get out of a dusty, dirty little town that wasn't the Western paradise he thought it would be, keeps his mouth closed, gets the girl and all the glory that comes with it. Tom is the real hero of the piece. The man who sacrificed (whether he knew he was at the time of the shooting or not) everything to protect the town and the woman he loved. Tom had said "he could live with the killing" but in the end he really couldn't. He died, alone, a mere shadow likely of the man he once had been. Killing a man in cold blood, even one as deserving as Valance, didn't sit well with Tom. It wasn't just losing Hallie. As Linc reminds us, he hadn't worn his gun in many years. Stoddard was able to live with the prestige that came from being the man everyone thought killed Liberty much better than the man who did the killing. For a man whose motto is "Nobody fights my battles for me" he certainly enjoyed the credit that came with letting somebody else do the killing. But even for Stoddard there was a price. He lost Hallie along the way. I find it interesting that Ranse and Hallie never had children (especially given the whole family angle with Ford). Was Ranse too busy with his political career to ever entertain the notion of children?

BG, So glad you loved Liberty Valance as much as the rest of us. There's alot going on in the movie and I discover little nuances about it each time I watch it. Thanks for the link to the essay as well. Though Tom did use his gun when he was "teaching" Ranse to shoot. BTW, I love Ben J in Sugarland Express. It is one of my favorite movies from the 1970s and I even remember which theater I saw it in! Can't remember what I did yesterday, but I can remember that. Go figure!

The studio that owned the show, Desilu, was run by Lucille Ball and her husband, Ricky Ricardo.>> And all this time I thought Lucille Ball was married to Desi Arnaz and Ricky Ricardo was just a character that Desi happened to play on television. I love when writers forget to fact-check their stories.

Joseph, It's the yearly 31 Days of Oscar this month and TCM has been saluting the Oscar nominated and winning films from the last 80 years of Academy history. Men in Black, as a nominated film, is being shown. As for Ted Turner knowing, he does if he has been watching the channel from one of his ranches in Wyoming or Montana. When Ted Turner merged his companies with Time Warner in the late 1990s, TCM was part of that deal. Turner has not been in charge of TCM since then. The schedules for March (after the 2nd) and April should reassure you that TCM has not abandoned its classic film loving audience.

There's the TCM Media Room which has clips and promos you can watch. Is that what you are looking for? http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/index/

Victor, Here is a post and a link from Kyle regarding the ala carte idea of cable channels that definitely gives us all some food for thought: Some folks in this thread have advocated for "a la carte" cable pricing that would allow one to only subscribe to the channels they actually want to watch. In yesterday's NYTimes, a business columnist offered up a very interesting analysis of the outcome of such a change. And, as the author wrote, "be careful what you wish for." http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/24/business/media/24nocera.html?ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print

Are you forgetting you can hook up your computer to Big Screen TVs now>> No, but my computer and my average sized Sony Television are not in the same room or even nearby so I would have to run cable, etc. to do that. It's just a lot easier and a lot more comfortable for me to watch TCM on my television instead of on or via my computer.

I doubt it. If I am going to take the time to watch a movie I prefer to watch it on a decent size screen with a good sound system. We don't have a flat screen TV but we do have a good sound system which is better than the tiny computer speakers I have and the computer monitor isn't all that great for gauging color correctly so it likely wouldn't show black and white images as good as my television either. Another thing, I like to watch movies without distractions if possible. Watching a film on my computer I'd be checking my email and other stuff instead of devoting my time to watching the film. Lastly, my desk chair isn't comfortable enough to sit in for two hours without a break.

Cinemaven, I think Kyle firmly had his tongue in his cheek with his latest post. If there was to be a convention with panels I would hope they would be star-studded and informative. Perhaps a mix of stars and a few TCM-centric ones as well. A good moderator, such as Robert O, can likely keep the focus on the panel. Though I would love to hear what Sidney Pollack (and MissG) had to say about John Ford. B-)

Patful, Hope that rule helped. Am looking forward to your challenge. For everyone else, there two weeks and one day left before this Challenge officially ends and voting begins. It's not too late to join in the fun!

"Pappy Hokum" - demyth-ifying John Ford with 'lzcutter', 'MissGoddess' and Sidney Pollack.>> I don't think Sidney Pollack will be able to get a word in edgewise, especially if Bronxgirl, Frankie G and JackF are in the audience contributing to the conversation.

Long story short, it's a modern day western where two cowboys agree to transport cattle to a rodeo. Strother Martin and Wayne Rogers play the shifty owners of the cattle. It becomes the tale of a cattle drive across the American West of the early 1970s. It was directed by Stuart Rosenberg who directed Newman in Cool Hand Luke and Lee in Ship of Fools. I'm sure Netflicks has it and if so, rent it. You won't be disappointed.

I think it was written by his widow. There is a terrific documentary on Lee directed by his good friend, John Boorman, called Lee Marvin: A Personal Portrait. I saw it on TCM many years ago. Did I mention I even love him in Paint Your Wagon and enjoy him singing "Wanderin' Star"? Well, I do.

I still contend that Lorne Greene should have died twice in place of Lee Marvin's early passing. He is exceptional (well he usually is, I know) in Sam Fuller's Big Red One which is based on Fuller's experiences in WWII. Other Lee movies I love: Pocket Money with him and Paul Newman, Emperor of the North, Bad Day at Black Rock, Point Blank, Seven Men from Now, Hell in the Pacific, Cat Ballou, hell, I'll watch him in almost anything.

Some men should not wear Western hats.

Jack, I could listen to Lee recite the phone book all day long. I love that man's voice.

Lee Marvin in, oh, let's see, THE BIG HEAT and VIOLENT SATURDAY and SEVEN MEN FROM NOW and....>> in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

CM, I like the idea of TCM Awards for classic era stars! Perhaps some sort of TCM Lifetime Achievement (along the lines of the way the old AFI awards used to be before they gave in to the demands of demographics). Also, which is more important to those who would consider going? Lots of movies and a few panels or lots of panels and a few choice movies? Makes a difference in how we all would like to spend our time!

It's all part of the branding. TCMProgrammr has noted here a few times that many viewers get TCM and AMC mixed up, likely because the two channels have similar monikers, TCM and AMC. TCM is trying to make an effort to bring awareness about their website to their viewers as well. There is a plethora of material on this site that were it not for Kyle and a few others, many of us would have little awareness of. The Media Room and other additions to the website are great and the one of the ways to off-set the costs of the design and making that content available is to draw attention to the site. Also, last fall, TCMProgrammr noted here that the slightly bigger bug was an attempt to keep bootlegging (a prime concern of the studios who rent/lease their films to TCM) of movies to a minimum. The studios would like the bug up all the time but TCM is hoping that this compromise will keep the peace.

Always my #1 favorite: To Kill a Mockingbird

Jack, FYI, The Ford at Fox set can be bought in smaller, less expensive sets.

It's the 1957 remake starring David Niven and June Allyson,

BG, Sounds good. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Liberty Valance!

Frankie, Here's a thread from last year where many of us weighed in on Liberty Valance: http://forums.tcm.com/jive/tcm/thread.jspa?messageID=8034214 Thought you might like to see what ideas some of your favorite posters had. There's some good stuff in that thread!

According to IMDb, Orson Welles was the narrator. Case closed.>> Well, I didn't hear any narration by Welles in the version that aired last night. The Prelude played as music only and about 3/4" of the way through the Overture, a narrator began but that wasn't Orson Welles. It's a very familiar voice from the classic era and I tend to agree with Fred (don't faint) about the possibilities. For the record, like Wikipedia, the information in IMDB is not always correct.