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George Stevens (A Place in the Sun, Gunga Din) directs this Western morality tale based on the novel by Jack Schaefer. Alan Ladd plays the title character, a drifting cowboy who wanders into a sprawling Wyoming valley in the late 1800s where homesteaders are being bullied by a greedy gang of cattle ranchers. Shane is adopted by a family (Van Heflin, Jean Arthur, and young Brandon DeWilde) who try to inspire the other homesteaders to stand up to the ranchers, but when guns and murder enter the equation, the homesteaders begin to retreat. That’s when Shane, who kept his gun-slinging past a secret, decides to take matters into his own lethal hands.
Shane is an uncommonly beautiful film full of panoramic vistas and rich Technicolor cinematography by Loyal Griggs (who won the film’s only Oscar for his work). Its aesthetic value is matched by a sensitive portrayal of men wrestling with the necessity and consequences of violence. Jean Arthur’s character acts as a thematic mediator of sorts, discouraging Shane from any notions of violence for fear it will corrupt her husband and impressionable son’s hearts. Author Schaefer and director Stevens seem to present a pacifist point of view, while simultaneously acknowledging that there are times when violence is indeed necessary — but that whoever wages it will be marked for life, damaged in some irreparable way. This leads to the film’s famous ending, in which Shane gets on his horse after vanquishing the ranchers and rides off in self-imposed exile while young, idolizing DeWilde cries his name across the valley.
The film might be ten or fifteen minutes too long, though the languid pacing certainly allows the remote, natural beauty of the setting to wash over the viewer. Despite the singular title, Shane is really more of an ensemble acting piece, with all the players giving more than competent performances. Jack Palance and Ben Johnson (both future Oscar winners) are especially memorable as villains. The film is also distinguished by being the first American film to screen in an aspect ratio wider than the ‘Academy Ratio’ of 1.33:1. Paramount projected Shane at 1.66:1 to widen the image. This would later give way to the more prevalent 1.85:1 ratio, which is still commonly used today.
With Edgar Buchanan, Emile Meyer, and Elisha Cook, Jr.
Academy Award: Best Color Cinematography (Loyal Griggs)
Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Brandon DeWilde), Best Supporting Actor (Jack Palance), Best Director, Best Screenplay (A.B. Guthrie, Jr.)