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My take on the iconic line from “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” is different from pretty much everyone else’s.

Last night, Turner Classic Movies ran “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” a classic 1962 movie directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and James Stewart.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies, and a must-see for movie fans. I’m about to discuss the meaning of its most famous line, a line which occurs late in the movie, and so there are spoilers ahead. If you have not seen the movie, I encourage you to leave now and come back here after you’ve seen it. Nevertheless, I will provide a brief synopsis.

The movie is told in flashback. Ransom Stoddard (Stewart), a U.S. Senator, former governor and former ambassador, returns with his wife, Hallie (Vera Miles), to the tiny town of Shinbone, where he once practiced law, to pay their final respects to a friend, Tom Doniphon (Wayne), who has passed away. A reporter and the editor from the local newspaper don’t know who Doniphon was or what Stoddard’s connection was to him. They keep pushing Stoddard for details, and he finally relents and tells them the story — cue flashback.

When Stoddard arrives in Shinbone, as an idealistic lawyer, the town is terrorized by an outlaw, Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin)…