During production of the 1962 Western *The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance*, tensions between John Wayne and director John Ford reportedly nearly led to a physical confrontation with co-star Woody Strode. The episode matters because it illustrates the strain behind a film now regarded as a major Western, and the difficult working relationship between Ford and one of his best-known stars.

According to Strode, Ford repeatedly taunted Wayne about his unsuccessful football ambitions and wartime record while Paramount pressed the director to complete the film quickly. During an exterior sequence involving a horse-drawn cart, Wayne lost control of the horses; when Strode tried to assist, Wayne pushed him away and appeared ready to fight before Ford intervened. Strode later said Ford was chiefly responsible for the atmosphere on set, calling it “a miserable film to make”, while Wayne and Strode eventually agreed to behave professionally.