Review: Shane

Farmers and homesteaders are being bullied by cattle baron Emile Meyer and his men. Coming to the aid of homesteader Van Heflin and his family (Jean Arthur, and son Brandon de Wilde) is mysterious stranger Shane (Alan Ladd). Accepting a gig as a handyman and a place to stay, Shane is an ex-gunfighter of some skill, and has little trouble defending the property against Meyer’s goons (including his brother, played by western veteran John Dierkes), and barroom bully Ben Johnson. This earns him the hero-worship of young de Wilde, much to his pacifist mother Arthur’s horror. Things get interesting when Meyer hires infamously dangerous gunslinger Wilson (Jack Palance), who quickly takes to intimidating homesteaders and farmers like Douglas Spencer, Edgar Buchanan, and brave, but foolish Elisha Cook Jr. A showdown between the two skilled gunfighters looks inevitable.

 

A favourite western of many, but I’m afraid I’m not the biggest fan of this 1953 George Stevens (“A Place in the Sun”, “The Diary of Anne Frank”, “The Greatest Story Ever Told”) film. Scripted by A.B. Guthrie (“The Kentuckian”), it’s a good film with great moments, not a great film, and the story is as old as the hills (It’s based on a book by Jack Schaefer). Also not helping things is the singularly unpleasant Jean Arthur, who must surely rank as the whiniest female lead of any western ever made. It’s the Wild West, lady. It was a violent time, so quit ‘yer yammerin’ and let the men do what they do! And go make me some damn biscuits while ‘yer at it! (I swear I’m kidding). Alternating between boring and nauseating, Arthur is a constant pain in this film’s arse. Other than Arthur, the flaws here are pretty minor, but I just don’t see a classic here (I much prefer “The Magnificent Seven”, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”, “The Big Country”, etc.) Alan Ladd is just OK in the title role that really ought to have been played by Kirk Douglas or Burt Lancaster, someone with a more physical presence. Robert Mitchum would’ve been perfect, actually. Ladd isn’t what I’d call short, but he’s skinny and…well, a bit of a dandy, really. Yes, it fits the soda-drinking character to a degree, but I think we’re meant to think he’s much more of a credible tough guy than Ladd really is. The character itself is fascinating (kind of like a John Wayne character, but with a Gregory Peck sensitivity and paternal quality to him), but purdy-lookin’ Ladd is just a bit tough to take as a tough guy gunslinger, no matter how skilled Shane actually is. Ladd just hasn’t got the right presence, I’m afraid.

 

Thankfully, Stevens has surrounded Ladd with a pretty terrific supporting cast. The standouts are definitely Jack Palance and Van Heflin. Jack Palance’s performance here is one of the best western villain performances of all-time. As infamous gunslinger Wilson, an Oscar-nominated Palance has a real sadistic smirk in this. I’m more convinced than ever that Rattlesnake Jake from “Rango” was a reference to Palance’s Wilson than any Lee Van Cleef character, as many believe. They look very similar. Composer Victor Young (“For Whom the Bell Tolls”, “The Lost Weekend”, “Around the World in 80 Days”) does an excellent job throughout, but he really goes to town on Palance’s entrance, as does Stevens by showing that even dogs are scared shitless of this guy. Van Heflin could occasionally be a bit morose on screen, and was terrible in “The Three Musketeers”, but when he’s on, he can be a very sturdy presence. Here he plays a slightly surly character here, but he actually steals his every scene from Ladd. A really terrific performance. Elisha Cook Jr. once again puts in fine character work playing a guy who isn’t anywhere near as tough as he thinks he is. Poor guy is set for a showdown with a sadistic creep we know he just can’t beat. Jack Palance isn’t the guy you wanna be puffing your chest out at, Mr. Cook. Too brave, too dumb, too small. The shooting of Cook is one of the most chillingly cold-blooded scenes in cinematic history. Also worthy of a mention are Douglas Spencer in the immigrant homesteader role John Qualen usually got, and a rock-solid Ben Johnson as a barroom bully who proves a lot more complex than most, by the end of the film. Johnson, a versatile western player is more than up to the task. Brandon de Wilde is as corny as you can get, and might get on your nerves with his constant blubbering and yammering about Shane. Nominated for an Oscar, he’s not quite as wet-mouthed and dorky as Claude Jarman in “The Yearling”, but he’s also not as charismatic an actor as Jarman was, either. The cinematography by Loyal Griggs (“The Ten Commandments”, “The Greatest Story Ever Told”) is a definite highlight of the film, and won an Oscar. If you pay close attention, not only does the film seem to get thematically darker as it goes along, but the cinematography matches it. It’s really evocative, moody stuff.

 

With an awkward-looking hero, an irritating leading lady, and a kid that just won’t shut the hell up, this western just isn’t my thing. The story is as old as time, which doesn’t help, though the title character is an interestingly mysterious and iconic one. However, it has been expertly shot, scored, and Jack Palance is evil incarnate. It’s a good film, but not a great one. I found it a bit corny, really, and I’m not remotely against sensitive or thoughtful films (“The Big Country” is essentially a pacifist western, for instance and near-brilliant).

 

Rating: B-