Review: Shane

Directed by: George Stevens

Written by: A. B. Guthrie Jr. & Jack Sher

Starring: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon deWilde, Walter Jack Palance

Rating: [3.5/5]

Bullies exist in all areas of life as they try to have their way through force or coercion, but typically these brutes never quite get punched back and when they do it becomes quite a satisfying experience. Shane delivers this time after time as one lone cowboy encounters a harsh situation for a family and decides to intervene. 

Traversing through a settlement, Shane (Alan Ladd) receives shelter from the Starrett family. As he sets to depart he learns that a cattle baron named Rufus Ryker (Emile Meyer) has raged a campaign trying to take the land of the Starrett family and many others. He decides before he heads out to help them take on this group of bullies. 

Telling a simple story with a fairly anonymous protagonist, Shane navigates much like a wandering man who decides to help a group of people in need. Something giving continual credence to the connection between cowboys of the wild west and the samurai of feudal Japan. It came as a surprise he even received a name but unlike the other characters, the titular character carries no surname. He floats along and encounters a situation where he can help and it makes for quite the enjoyable squash-buckling western with plenty of entertainment for all to enjoy. 

As much as the action taking place in this feature has garnered acclaim as the scenes in the saloon where Shane takes on a group of men trying to end his life, a distinct earnestness makes this a violent but heartwarming story. In an era where people willingly opened up their homes to a stranger to spend the night, the relationship Shane builds with the Starrett family pulls the heartstrings, especially when seeing the positive impact his presence has on them. This namely occurs with the young boy of the family Joey (Brandon deWilde) and how much he looks up to Shane. While it may be to the degree his mother, Marian (Jean Arthur), would like because of the violent capabilities Shane proves to have the capability to utilize. 

With this story having a strong focus on Shane and his assistance with this family, this feature also operates as a story about community and unity can make a discernible difference when trying to stop the acts of a bully like Ryker. The plan of this cattle baron consists of intimidating each individual family to give him what he wants hoping to break them but a united front would provide a much more difficult bunch, which the patriarch of the Starrett family, Joe (Van Heflin) attempts to convince the others. However, a community of people includes individuals who must make the best decisions for themselves divorced from how it may benefit a larger group of people. Something quite insightful this feature navigates as Joe tries to keep them together against Ryker. 

All that being said, the star of the show undoubtedly proves to be Shane, and the lead actor portraying him Alan Ladd. He brings a different persona as compared to the other characters. He brings a sense of humility in his demeanor but confidence in knowing he can take care of business should the time ever come. This trend of one guy taking on a hoard of bad guys has appeared in several other westerns like High Noon and a slew of others and it continues to make for such a satisfying way to bombastically reach the conclusion of a story. An underdog story in itself and shows the valor of the heroic character we follow throughout the story. Everything builds to the final showdown and it delivers in absolute spades. 

Very well made in all facets, Shane serves as a very enjoyable Western employing all of the values one would expect from a story centered on community, family, and the friendship that can be built through mere respect. Ryker obviously respects none of that as he hopes to put profit above all of that running contrary to what someone like Shane represents. The earnestness of the story tugs at the heartstrings as you see a genuine connection buit between Shane and this family. Also, it never hurts to appreciate yet another strong performance by screen legend and icon Jean Arthur.