The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - Characters & Cast

To bring the rule of law and education to the wilderness, believing that books are more powerful than guns.

Transitions from a battered, idealistic lawyer to a powerful, guilt-ridden Senator whose entire career is built on a secret foundation of violence.

Protecting Hallie and his community, even if it means destroying his own future and his moral code.

A man of action who realizes he is helping to build a world in which he has no place, ending his life in obscurity and poverty.

Maintaining the lawless status quo for the cattle barons who employ him and indulging his own sadistic impulses.

Remains a static force of pure malice and anarchy until his violent death.

Desire for self-improvement and a stable life, though she remains emotionally tied to the wilder West.

An illiterate kitchen hand who learns to read and becomes a lady of the state, but carries a lifelong melancholy for the man she left behind.