SHANE (1953)

Country: U.S.A.

Genre(s): Action / Western

Director: George Stevens

Cast: Alan Ladd / Brandon De Wilde / Van Heflin

Plot

A drifter is taken in by a family of farmers and finds he must protect them from a gang headed by the neighboring rancher.

What I Liked

The first half of “Shane” feels like a term paper on the idealized American West as portrayed in films in the first half of the twentieth century.  From the immaculately clean-clothed, clean shaven, golden-haired gun-slinger to the humble but rugged farmer and his happily domesticated blonde wife, the film perfects the myths created by its predecessors.

These conventions are somewhat challenged by the film’s second half, which questions the nature of heroism in a way rarely explored in westerns of the period.  Where the traditional western film had easily discernible meanings and differences for right and wrong, strong and weak, hero and villain, “Shane” ever so subtly blurs those meanings and differences.  These changes are most easily perceptible in the coming-of-age sub-plot surrounding little Joey Starrett, the cherub-faced boy who idolizes the title character but soon finds his child’s views of morality challenged by the actions of his hero.

Even ignoring these more progressive themes to the film, there’s plenty to enjoy.  The cinematography takes in the vast and gorgeous landscapes which need no mythologizing or effects to convey the perfect majesty of the mountains, the jaw-dropping open ranges, or the glowing purple night sky.  Also unforgettable is a young Jack Palance as the ever-menacing mercenary Jack Wilson.  Towering, dark, and with a soulless voice, Palance makes Wilson a Grim Reaper for the West.  All the man has to do is walk into a room and dogs slink away for safety with their tails between their legs.  With few lines but plenty of scariness, he’s really one of the baddest bad-asses in the history of Western cinema.

What I Didn’t Like

It may have been slightly unconventional in its day, but for the most part “Shane” still relies a great deal on an ideal that is neither historically accurate nor particularly creative.  Overall, it definitely feels antiquated thanks to the changes it helped to precipitate.  Everything from Alan Ladd’s hair to Jean Arthur’s freshly cooked apple pie to the father’s unwavering morals are all so immaculate they are downright preposterous.

Most Memorable Scene

*spoiler alert!*

What else? The film’s iconic closing promises to tug at the heart strings of even non-Western fans.  Shane cannot ignore his true nature, the farmer is denied his chance at glory, and little Joey’s innocence is forever lost.  Thus, as Joey calls out desperately for Shane to “Come back!” he is not calling only to the lonely gunfighter heading up into the mountains but to the simplicity of a childhood lost.  It is perhaps the most famous ending to a Western ever and doubtless one of the most moving.

My Rating: 4 out of 5