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Shane (1953) is a western film. It tells the story of a gunfighter who comes to a recently settled farm area near a quiet town and fights for the rights of homesteaders against the long-entrenched hard-bitten open-range cattlemen who control the majority of the land. The film is based on a 1949 novel of the same name by Jack Schaefer. Although it is fiction, elements of the setting are derived from Wyoming's Johnson County War. The physical setting is the high plains near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and many shots feature the Grand Teton massif looming in the near distance.
Plot summary A mysterious gunslinger named Shane (Alan Ladd) drifts into a quiet western town, and quickly finds himself drawn into a conflict between simple homesteader Joe Starrett (Van Heflin) and powerful cattle baron Rufus Ryker, who wants to force him off his land. Shane accepts a job as a farmhand, but finds Starrett's young son Joey (Brandon DeWilde) drawn to him for his strength and skill with a gun. Shane himself is uncomfortably drawn to Starrett's wholesomely charming wife, Marian (52-year-old Jean Arthur). As tensions mount between the factions, Ryker hires Jack Wilson (Jack Palance), a cold-blooded and skilled gunslinger. In the end, Shane must make several tough moral decisions that will affect everyone involved. Circumstances finally force Shane to take on Wilson in a climactic showdown, killing him and Ryker, but being wounded in the shootout. After urging young Joey to refrain from a life of guns and violence, Shane leaves for parts unknown. Due to the ambiguous nature of the final shot, there is some question as to whether or not Shane actually survives his wounds. Technical details Shane was the first flat widescreen (soft matted 1.66:1) color western film to be produced. (It was actually shot for 1.37:1 Academy ratio, but the studio dictated that it be cropped in the movie projector to compete with the to-be-released CinemaScope format.) The music was stereophonic. Shane was one of the first films to attempt to recreate the overwhelming sound of gunfire. Warren Beatty cited this aspect of Shane as inspiration during the filming Bonnie and Clyde (from the documentary "George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey"). Awards It won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color. It was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Brandon De Wilde), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jack Palance), Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay. The original film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Shane in popular culture Welsh Language Version Shane was one of few films to be dubbed into the Welsh language, and was broadcast on Television in Wales. Since the audience of the Welsh Language version were fluent English speakers and familiar with the original version, many of the translations of lines from the film caused considerable amusment, such as "Siwmae Shane" for "Howdy Shane", and "Ti'n cachwr Shane". The latter phrase would be considered as vulgar, and most would not consider it an accurate literal translation of the original, where there is no evidence of vulgar language. Since Shane was dubbed, S4C has in fact used little if any dubbed material. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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