Shane

Shane; western, USA, 1953; D: George Stevens, S: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon De Wilde, Emile Meyer, Jack Palance, Ben Johnson

Joe, his wife Marian and their son Joey live in an isolated cottage somewhere in the American West in the 19th century. The mysterious Shane rides by their farm and decides to stay for a while when he spots that they are terrorized by the rich Ryker who wants their land for his cattle. Joe finds a place for Shane in his house while he helps them around the farm in return. But Ryker hires killer Wilson who kills one farmer. Joe decides to have a showdown with him, but Shane stops him and decides to take that burden for him. In a duel, Shane kills Ryker and Wilson and leaves the farm wounded.

Fairylike western "Shane", that depicts the ever sweet archetype of a hero who shows up out of nowhere and helps the weak in trouble, is a flawlessly crafted gem that transcends its genre and has universal appeal. The director George Stevens rightfully concludes that the bitter story about a brute cattle rancher and his gang who want to chase away a family from their land should be directed in an elevated-dignified, the "old school way", which is why the film is comprised almost entirely out of idealism—Shane is the embodiment of pure goodness, acting almost as an anomaly in the dark, cruel world, so much in fact that he is even seemingly saddened by himself for having to shoot the villains in the finale. No matter how dark things are, wherever Shane shows up, he heals everything. It's a subconscious hope in people to wish for a savior who will stop a bully. The opening act skillfully sets-up the story: bad guy Ryker shows up with five thugs at Joe's farm in order to tell him that the land belongs to him, while Joe replies with: "Do you need so many men to tell me that?" 

Stevens crafts sweet little details: for instance, Joey wakes up one morning and finds a deer on their farm, eating their lettuce and drinking water from their bucket. Later on, the bad guys tease and provoke Shane in a saloon by spilling a drink on his blue shirt, but he tactically does not react which is why many farmers criticize him and call him a coward, whereas only the little Joey says: "I don't believe Shane would allow something like that to himself!", while his mother tries to distract his attention ("I haven't read you the story to the end"). The next day, when Shane returns to the saloon and the same bad guy tells him to beat it, Shane orders two drinks—and spills one on the villain's shirt, and the other on his face. After a funeral, Joe's employees lament that "the law is a three-day ride from here", as they are constantly harassed by Ryker. The film is filled with such great, innocent and pure little details and lines throughout, whereas Jack Palance is excellent as Jack Wilson, but Alan Ladd is still the main star as the idealistic title hero. A shining film, presented almost as a dream, with several "provocative" theories according to which Shane was in love with Joe's wife Marian, whereas Joe even wanted to suicidally leave to town to kill Ryker only to allow Shane to take over his family, thinking he is better than him in every aspect, but Shane disagrees and still decides to sacrifice himself.

Grade:+++