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Shane

7.7

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Remake:

Pale Rider

Original title

Shane

Year

1953

Running time

118 min.

Country

United States

Director

George Stevens

Screenwriter

A.B. Guthrie Jr.. Story: Jack Schaefer

Cast

Music

Victor Young

Cinematography

Loyal Griggs

Producer

Paramount Pictures

Genre

Western

Synopsis

George Stevens' classic Western, adaptated from the Jack Schaefer novel, stars Alan Ladd in the title role. Riding the ranges of Wyoming's Grand Tetons, Shane stops at the farm of homesteader Joe Starrett (Van Heflin) just before Ryker (Emile Meyer), a powerful and predatory cattleman, arrives with his hired muscle to make the farmer a threatening offer for land that he intends to get by any means necessary. When Shane lets the cattle baron know that his gun will back Starrett if there's any trouble, the grateful homesteader offers the stranger a job as a hired hand, which he accepts. Joe's young son Joey (Brandon de Wilde) is drawn to the quiet stranger, whose difference from the men he knows is confirmed by the accidental revelation of a gunfighter's lightning reflexes. Shane becomes a valuable asset to the farm, but is slowly drawn into the continuing hostilities between the two opposing groups. To complicate matters, Shane feels an unspoken, and unwanted, attraction to Starrett's wife Marian (Jean Arthur). This creates a sense of ambivalence in Joe, whose son already idolizes the gunslinger. Stevens' meticulous artistry imbues the simple Western with the mythic aura of an Arthurian legend, as Loyal Griggs' beautifully composed images provide the canvas for career performances by Ladd, Heflin, Arthur, and de Wilde, in what many regard as the finest western ever made.

Rankings Position

#22 Best Westerns in the history of film
#88 Best Movies of the '50s

Awards: 1953: Oscar: Best Cinematography color. 6 Nominations, including Best Picture and Director

1953: BAFTA Awards: Nominated for Best Film and Foreign Actor (Heflin)

1953: National Board of Review: Best Director and Top 10 Best Films

1953: Writers Guild of America (WGA): Nominated for Best Drama Screenplay

1953: New York Film Critics Circle: Nominated for Best Director

1953: Directors Guild of America (DGA): nominated to Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film.

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Ranking Lists Position

24 My Favorite Westerns (328)

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Shane

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