Shane
by George Stevens
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alan Ladd, Brandon De Wilde, Jack Palance, Jean Arthur, Van HeflinDirector: George Stevens
Brand: LADD,ALAN
Cinematographer: Loyal Griggs
Producer: George Stevens
Editor: Tom McAdoo
Producer: Ivan Moffat
Writer: A.B. Guthrie Jr.
Writer: Jack Schaefer
Writer: Jack Sher
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 118 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-08-15
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Paramount
Movie Reviews of Shane
Movie Review: So-so movie, read the book . . .
Summary: 3 Stars
Given the post-war publication of Jack Schaefer's novel "Shane" and the early 1950's Hollywood adaptation by George Stevens, it's a bit easier to understand the immense popularity of the film at the time. Shane, the gunfighter, appears out of nowhere, befriends and eventually defends a frontier family, and then disappears again. In a way, he represents every returning soldier from the killing fields of WWII and Korea who needed to be reintegrated into the communities they came from. The difficulty of this process is reflected in Shane's hyper-vigilant behavior and unwillingness to talk about his past, in both the book and the film, which suggest a man more than a little afflicted with PTSD. So the coming together of the western-movie gunslinger and the peaceable nuclear family in this story was surely a way for audiences to understand in fictional form the real drama going on in so many of their personal lives. That the gunslinger disappears, the family is saved, and the next generation is now free to grow "strong and straight" must have been greatly reassuring.
The original Shane in Schaefer's book is far more dangerous-looking and acting than Alan Ladd's warm and friendly portrayal of the man, dressed in buckskin and tan hat instead of the much darker outfit and black hat that the boy Bob, who narrates the book, describes. The original Shane also more deliberately refuses to wear his gun, a sign that he has a violent past to hide, while at the same time preventing another man from drawing on him. (Code of the West: never shoot an unarmed man.) As some have said already, Jack Palance would have been a better choice for the role - able to convey the more sinister aspect of the character conceived by Schaefer. But on the big screen, this would have given movie audiences a more troubling image, especially as the attraction builds between Shane and Marian. The erotic appeal of a dangerous man would have converted this family-friendly entertainment into something a bit different.
Schaefer's original story (though not a long one) is aggressively telescoped to fit into 90 minutes of movie time, and it's also constricted by the conventions of the movie western. While the cattleman Ryker (aka Fletcher in the novel) doesn't make an appearance until half way through the novel, he and his cowboys come riding up in the opening scene of the film to begin making their threats to the Starrett family to get off their land. Shane's gun and gunbelt are on full display, where Joey can exhibit his open fascination with them, and Shane uses the gun to give a lesson to Joey in drawing and firing it. Schaeffer gives much less emphasis to firearms. When near the end there is a conflict between Joe Starrett and Shane about who will go to town to confront Ryker/Fletcher, Shane simply pistol-whips Joe, but true to the genre, there has to be a protracted fistfight between the two men in the film.
Sacrificed are the many nuances Schaefer records in his rendering of the shifting relationships among his central characters - the male-bonding of the two men, the emotional attachment of Marian to Shane, and the hero worship in the boy Bob, who is torn in his admiration for his father and this friendly stranger. Lost, too, is the character of Chris, a young cowboy (played well but by a somewhat older Ben Johnson in the film), whom Shane reluctantly subdues in a fight and who appears at the Starretts after the shoot-out in the saloon, offering to work as Joe's hired hand. It's a touching moment which shows the maturation of a character who has been awed by the integrity and honesty of Joe and Shane. The film, of course, ends before this, with the iconic scene of Joey calling out as his hero rides off, "Shane, come back!"
Schaefer also set his story in the Powder River region of Wyoming, south of Sheridan, within sight of the Big Horns. This is Johnson County, site of the well-known "wars" between cattlemen and rustlers in 1892. Stevens, wanting a more picturesque location, went to the area around Jackson, within sight of the much grander Tetons, in western Wyoming. A small matter, maybe, but it demonstrates how historical accuracy in movie westerns is typically neglected for the sake of cinematic effect.
Wrapping up here, I have to give the film only 3 stars. While working well as a kind of time-capsule of the early 1950s, it seems dated fifty years later. The novel has stood up much better with time. I encourage readers to give it a try.
Summary of Shane
A drifter and retired gunfighter helps a homestead family fight against an aging cattleman and his hired gunman.Genre: Westerns
Rating: NR
Release Date: 2-MAY-2006
Media Type: DVD
Consciously crafted by director George Stevens as a piece of American mythmaking, Shane is on nearly everyone's shortlist of great movie Westerns. A buckskin knight, Shane (Alan Ladd) rides into the middle of a range war between farmers and cattlemen, quickly siding with the "sod-busters." While helping a kindly farmer (Van Heflin), Shane falls platonically in love with the man's wife (Jean Arthur, in the last screen performance of a marvelous career). Though the showdowns are exciting, and the story simple but involving, what most people will remember about this movie is the friendship between the stoical Shane and the young son of the farmers. The kid is played by Brandon De Wilde, who gives one of the most amazing child performances in the movies; his parting scene with Shane is guaranteed to draw tears from even the most stonyhearted moviegoer. And speaking of stony hearts, Jack Palance made a sensational impression as the evil gunslinger sent to clean house--he has fewer lines of dialogue than he has lines in his magnificently craggy face, but he makes them count. The photography, highlighting the landscape near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, won an Oscar. --Robert Horton
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