“Valence was one mean dude.” — Indeed! Marvin did a superb job in that role! Especially played against the greenhorn lawyer Ranse Stoddard (Jimmie Stewart) and the rough hombre Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). I LOVE the part where Stoddard is teaching a civics lesson to the illiterate townspeople and school kids — every time I see that scene, it brings home how much we’ve lost as a country.
The film is one that I can watch over and over again. Let me add that I once came across Strother Martin, who played “Floyd,” Liberty’s vicious little henchmen (”Tee hee, tee hee”) and also “The Captain” in “Cool Hand Luke” (”What we have is failure to communicate.”) I was a springboard diver at Springfield College, MA from ‘72 - ‘76 and in December of ‘73, the swim team went to the College Swim Forum in Ft. Lauderdale, FL for Christmas Break. We were watching the swim events and my diving coach pointed and asked: “Joe, do you know who that is?” I recognized the gentleman but couldn’t place a name. Coach said: “It’s the actor, Strother Martin.” It seems that Martin was a springboard diver of renown in his early days winning, I believe, some NCAA and AAU recognition. Great actor as well.