SHANE (FILM)

'''Shane''' is a 1953 western film made by Paramount Pictures. It was produced and directed by George Stevens from a screenplay by A.B. Guthrie Jr., based on the 1949 novel of the same name by Jack Schaefer. The cinematography was by Loyal Griggs, the music score by Victor Young and the costume design by Edith Head.^[1]
The film stars Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur and Van Heflin with Brandon De Wilde, Elisha Cook Jr., Jack Palance and Ben Johnson.

Contents

Plot

Background and production

Technical details

References in other media

Cast

Awards and nominations

Welsh language version

Footnotes

External links

Plot

A mysterious gunslinger named Shane (Alan Ladd) drifts into a quiet western town, and quickly finds himself drawn into a conflict between simple homesteader (sodbuster) Joe Starrett (Van Heflin) and powerful cattle baron Rufus Ryker (Emile Meyer), who wants to force him and every other homesteader in the valley off his land. Shane accepts a job as a farmhand, but finds Starrett's young son Joey (Brandon DeWilde) drawn to him for his strength and skill with a gun. Shane himself is uncomfortably drawn to Starrett's wholesomely charming wife, Marian (Jean Arthur).
As tensions mount between the factions, Ryker hires Jack Wilson (Jack Palance), a cold-blooded and skilled gunslinger. Joe Starrett decides to take it on himself to go kill Wilson and Ryker and save the town; however, he is stopped by Shane who insists on going himself. Starrett and Shane get in a fist fight where the winner will go on to face Wilson and Shane regrettably uses his gun to hit Joe over the head and knock him out, knowing this was the only way to prevent Joe from getting killed. Shane then goes to take on Wilson in a climactic showdown, killing him and Ryker, but being wounded in the shootout. After urging young Joey to refrain from a life of guns and violence, Shane leaves for parts unknown.
When Shane rides away, Joey calls after him, "Pa's got things for you to do! And Mother wants you. I know she does." The movie closes with Joey shouting "Shane! Shane! Come back!"
Due to the ambiguous nature of the final shot, there is some question as to whether or not Shane actually survives his wound.

Background and production

''Shane'' tells the story of a gunfighter who comes to a recently-settled farm area near a quiet town and fights for the rights of homesteaders against the long-entrenched hard-bitten open-range cattlemen who control the majority of the land.
Although the film is fiction, elements of the setting are derived from Wyoming's Johnson County War. The physical setting is the high plains near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and many shots feature the Grand Teton massif looming in the near distance. Other filming took place at Big Bear Lake, San Bernardino National Forest, the Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth and at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California.
Director George Stevens originally cast Montgomery Clift as Shane, and William Holden as Joe Starrett. When they both proved unavailable, the film was nearly abandoned. Stevens asked studio head Y. Frank Freeman to see a list of available actors with current contracts. Within three minutes, he chose Alan Ladd, Van Heflin and Jean Arthur.
Although the film was made between July and October 1951, it was not released until 1953 due to director George Stevens' extensive editing. The film cost so much to make that at one point, Paramount considered selling it to another distributor. The studio felt the film would never recoup its costs. In fact, the film ended up making a significant profit.
Jean Arthur was not the first choice to play Marian; Katharine Hepburn was originally considered for the role. Even though she had not made a picture in five years, Arthur accepted the part at the request of George Stevens with whom she had worked in two earlier films, ''The Talk of the Town'' (1942) and ''The More the Merrier'' (1943) for which she received her only Oscar nomination. ''Shane'' marked her last film appearance, although she later appeared in theater and a short-lived television series.
Jack Palance had problems with horses and Alan Ladd with guns. The scene where Shane practices shooting in front of Joey required 116 takes.

Technical details

''Shane'' was the first flat widescreen (soft matted 1.66:1) color western film to be produced. (It was actually shot for 1.37:1 Academy ratio, but the studio dictated that it be cropped in the movie projector to compete with the to-be-released CinemaScope format.) The music was stereophonic.
The film was also one of the first films to attempt to recreate the overwhelming ''sound'' of gunfire. Warren Beatty cited this aspect of ''Shane'' as inspiration during the filming of ''Bonnie and Clyde'' (from the documentary "George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey").
In addition, ''Shane'' was one of the first films to simulate actually being shot. Actors were attached to hidden wires that yanked them backwards when they were shot from the front.

References in other media

★ Samuel L. Jackson's character in The Negotiator mentions Shane as one of his favorite movies; he and Kevin Spacey get in to an argument as to whether or not Shane dies.

★ A sample of Joey calling out to Shane, at the end of the movie, was used in the hit single The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking by Roger Waters. Scenes from the movie were used in the video clip of that song.

★ In the episode "Synchronized Swimming (Season 4, epis. 5/Original air date: Oct. 16, 1999)," Arnold and the gang of Hey Arnold! create a routine based on the film. They finish the routine with a unison chanting of Joey's final line, "Shane! Shane! Come back, Shane!"

★ Cliff Robertson played a gunfighter-themed guest villain called "Shame" in the 60s Batman (TV series) episode "Come Back, Shame".

★ Clint Eastwood's 1985 western Pale Rider contains many thematic and plot references to Shane.

Cast

★ Alan Ladd as Shane

★ Jean Arthur as Marian Starrett

★ Van Heflin as Joe Starrett

★ Brandon De Wilde as Joey Starrett

★ Jack Palance as Jack Wilson

★ Ben Johnson as Chris Calloway

★ Edgar Buchanan as Fred Lewis

★ Emile Meyer as Rufus Ryker

★ Elisha Cook Jr. as Frank 'Stonewall' Torrey

★ Douglas Spencer as Axel 'Swede' Shipstead

★ John Dierkes as Morgan Ryker

★ Ellen Corby as Liz Torrey

★ Paul McVey as Sam Grafton

★ John Miller as Will Atkey, bartender

★ Edith Evanson as Mrs. Shipstead

Awards and nominations

'Wins'

★ Academy Awards: Best Cinematography, Color, Loyal Griggs; 1954.
'Nominations'

★ Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Brandon De Wilde; Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Jack Palance; Best Director, George Stevens; Best Picture, George Stevens; Best Writing, Screenplay, A.B. Guthrie Jr.; 1954.
'Other'

★ The original film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

★ ''Shane'' was listed at #69 on the original ''AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies'' list in 1997. When the list was revisited in 2007, it rose to #45.

Welsh language version

''Shane'' was one of few films to be dubbed into the Welsh language, and was broadcast on Television in Wales. Since the audience of the Welsh Language version were fluent English speakers and familiar with the original version, many of the translations of lines from the film caused considerable amusement, such as "Siwmae Shane" for "Howdy Shane", and "Ti'n cachwr Shane". The latter phrase would be considered as vulgar, and most would not consider it an accurate literal translation of the original, where there is no evidence of vulgar language.

Footnotes

1.

External links

★ Shane at Filmsite