SHANE

SHANE

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1953 Paramount 118 min.

SHANE is surely among the best Westerns ever made. Alan Ladd plays the title role, the mysterious stranger who helps a group of homesteaders (or "Sod Busters" as Ben Johnson calls them) in their struggle against the cattlemen. Things take off when the Black Knight himself, Jack Palance arrives.

The George Stevens production tells the age old story of good versus evil, and the effects of progress on the new frontier (cattlemen versus homesteaders). The straight forward narrative is told and seen through the eyes of little Joey, a young curious boy who idolizes the mysterious, gun-slinging hero from the wilderness.

Shane is a drifter without a past or future. When he first rides up to the Starrett place he is mistaken for one of Ryker's men. Ryker, played by Emile Meyer, is a villainous cattle baron who wants to drive the humble homesteaders out of the valley. Ryker tries to befriend Shane hoping that he will help drive off the "Sod Busters". When it is clear that Shane is going to take the side of the homesteaders, Ryker sends for his own gunslinger played by Jack Palance. Van Heflin and Jean Arthur play Joe and Marion Starrett, the parents of little Joey, who only want a little piece of land to till on the new frontier.

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Memorable lines

Shane: "A gun is a tool, Marion, no better or no worse than any other tool, an axe, a shovel or
anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that".

Anachronisms

One of the final shots of the countryside shows a bus moving along a
road.

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Ben Johnson

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Beautifully photographed by Loyal Griggs (the only Oscar winner, though SHANE was nominated for six), the film captures the boundless landscape of the legendary frontier. Shot at Jackson Hole Wyoming with the Grand Tetons as a backdrop, SHANE conjures up some of the best images of the old west. Speaking of Oscars, the film was nominated for Best Picture (losing to FROM HERE TO ETERNITY) and had 2 actors receive nominations for Best Supporting Actor, Brandon DeWilde (little Joey) and Jack Palance (Wilson, the gun-slinger). George Stevens was nominated for Best Director and A.B. Guthrie, Jr.'s screen play was nominated as well.

The Film stars two of the all-time great character actors. Elisha Cook Jr. (Torrey) starred in roles ranging from the young gunzel in THE MALTESE FALCON, to the jealous hot head in Stanley Kubrick's THE KILLING.

Ben Johnson (Chris) was a rodeo star, turned stuntman, turned actor who starred in many of the great westerns (RIO GRANDE, ONE-EYED JACKS, HANG 'EM HIGH, THE WILD BUNCH) and who won an Oscar for his part as Sam the Lion in Peter Bogdanovich's THE LAST PICTURE SHOW.

Alan Ladd learned a bitter lesson from SHANE. Then in the process of leaving Paramount for Warners, the former did no lobbying to earn him a Best Actor nomination. Yet the legacy of the character he left behind gave this lonely, taciturn man immortality among children who see this movie.

Although the film is often brutal, there is such a positive sense of morality displayed here that SHANE should be seen by the whole family.

For more on SHANE check out Tim Dirk's review at Filmsite.org