Review of Shane (1953) by Devon B — 30 Dec 2009

Where do you start with "Shane", perhaps the greatest Western ever made? And a bigger problem - where do you stop once you get started?

The abundance of themes is what separates Shane from so many other similar movies. But the one that stands out, at least for me, is "you are what you are, and don't try to run from it." That goes for our protagonist Shane, played by Alan Ladd, who just happens to be one of the fastest draws in the West, and a good guy at that.

We pick up Shane's story as he stumbles across a range war between a band of struggling sodbusters, who handle a hoe better than a gun, and a local rancher and his cowboys. It's clear who has the upper hand here, but we immediately think things might swing the sod busters way, if Shane would only strap on his guns and join the fight on the side of his new friends. The problem is, Shane's trying to leave that all behind him.

As things come to a slow boil in the valley, we see Shane struggling with his dilemma. A man, even a sod buster, needs to fight his own fights, and this one isn't his to decide. But Shane has a growing affection for his host family, the Starretts. There are even hints of an unholy romance between Shane and Marian Starrett, played wonderfully by Jean Arthur. And he also realizes that he's the only one on the sod buster's side that has any chance against the ranchers and their newly hired gun, Jack Wilson.

In the Valley, if you want a nicely cooked pot roast, you might stop by the Starrett house on a Wednesday evening. If you want something sewed, you might ask for Mrs. Torrey. If you need a bad man in black shot down, you'll probably want to ask for Shane. Because you are what you are. There's no running from it.

Alan Ladd pulls off the character Shane perfectly. Rather than playing him as invincible, Ladd shows us a Shane that has some doubts about where this fight is heading. He's no headstrong warrior looking for a chance to blast away Wilson. No, Shane is a humble man who has a lump in his throat when he finally squares off with the antagonist. He doesn't want to be there, but he really has no choice. Regardless, there is something about this dude that we adore, and we'll be in his corner, just like Joey Starrett, until the end.

I already mentioned that it's difficult to stop once you start discussing the wonders of Shane. There's the cinematography, and the realism of the homesteads and the town. No flowery dresses and petticoats to be found here, just mud and dust and dirt. (Now, none of us were around back then, so how do we know it's realistic? It just is.) Jack Palance as Wilson still stands as one of the greatest "bad guy" performance in the history of cinema. Then there's Joey. It's from his perspective that we get to watch all of this. And last but not least there is the powerful ending.

This is a classic that must be seen, again, and again, and again.