Shane (1953)

A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smoldering settler/rancher conflict forces him to act.

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

A.B. Guthrie Jr. (screenplay) (as A. B. Guthrie Jr.), Jack Sher (additional dialogue)

Stars:

Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Ladd	...	Shane
Jean Arthur	...	Marian Starrett
Van Heflin	...	Joe Starrett
Brandon De Wilde	...	Joey Starrett
Jack Palance	...	Jack Wilson (as Walter Jack Palance)
Ben Johnson	...	Chris Calloway
Edgar Buchanan	...	Fred Lewis
Emile Meyer	...	Rufus Ryker
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Stonewall Torrey
Douglas Spencer	...	Axel 'Swede' Shipstead
John Dierkes	...	Morgan Ryker
Ellen Corby	...	Mrs. Liz Torrey
Paul McVey	...	Sam Grafton
John Miller	...	Will Atkey - Bartender
Edith Evanson	...	Mrs. Shipstead

Storyline

Shane rides into a conflict between cattleman Ryker and a bunch of settlers, like Joe Starrett and his family, whose land Ryker wants. When Shane beats up Ryker's man Chris, Ryker tries to buy him. Then Shane and Joe take on the whole Ryker crew. Ryker sends to Cheyenne for truly evil gunslinger Wilson. Shane must clear out all the guns from the valley.

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Plot Keywords:

admired by a child | settler | gun | forename as title | pretending to shoot a gun | 

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Taglines:

The Greatest Story Of the West Ever Filmed [re-release]

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1953 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

George Stevens' Production of Shane

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,100,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$9,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min 90 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alan Ladd, who was under contract to Paramount, earned $145,000. Jack Palance earned $12,500 for 10 weeks work.

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Goofs

Prior to Shane and Joes fight, Shane flips the saddle bag up on his horse to tighten the saddle. The shot goes to a quick shot of Little Joey, then back to Shane. The saddle bag is back down and Shane is tightening the bridle on the front of the horse.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Joey: Somebody's comin', Pa!
Joe Starrett: Well, let him come.

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Connections

Referenced in Ban the Sadist Videos! (2005)

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Soundtracks

I Ride an Old Paint (I'm A-Leavin' Cheyenne)
(uncredited)
Words and Music by Frank Goodwin, ca. 1875
Played and sung by many at a meeting

User Reviews

Hell Bent For Leather

Considered by most a masterpiece and by a few 'a waste of film', 1953's SHANE is a mini-epic that tells of the arrival of the mysterious stranger who comes to 'town' and impresses the innocent and threatens the guilty. A good versus evil western was never been more defined. Alan Ladd plays the stranger in an outfit that has been criticized since day-one. He wears a buckskin shirt ala Davy Crockett and if I heard it once, I heard it a thousand times, "that shirt ain't right"! Well, 'pards, I ask you, "Have you ever heard of "Buckskin Frank Leslie?" Just happens to be one of the baddest-ass real life western gunslingers who ever strapped on a gun-rig. Why they haven't made westerns about Leslie I will never know. Doc Holliday, known for reckless bravery, knew enough to stay out of Frank's way. And P.S. he was known for his 'patented' Buckskin Shirt. But I digress...

Shane was directed by George Stevens who admittedly directs with a strictness that borders on fascism. And yet he pulls it off with aplomb. Ladd's character is criticized as well, because he is played by Ladd himself, an actor that is an easy target for certain critics. There's the old joke about Ladd standing in a hole (outside of camera view) to match the heights of his leading ladies, or by standing on a ramp or box so their heights in close-ups would be matched for love scenes. Is this the 'stuff' of western heroes? Not hardly. So here we have "little Alan" taking on one of the most vicious actors that ever played 'Satan Incarnate', the incomparable Jack Palance! Jack's 'Lucifer' is a messenger from hell hired by the bad'uns to save them all from Ladd's goodness. Jack wakes up shortly after arriving in town to assassinate another little man, Elisha Cook Jr., in a scene which was completely and shamelessly ripped off by Eastwood in 'Pale Rider'. The death is completely believable and establishes Palance's character as unstoppable.

The characters in Shane are cut from a woodcarving, they glisten with familiar yet surprising motivations. Ben Johnson, the Sainted actor of westerns plays a very small part that almost steals the film. The bad guys in this film are a textbook rendition of meaness.

But some say that the action is subdued in Shane. But I say the build-up is worth the wait as the final climatic shoot-out has been described by many western film scholars as the best that was ever put to film.

Shane a waste of film? I think not.