Shane

1953

1h 58m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

652

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Drama

Western

A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smouldering settler and rancher conflict forces him to act.

Directors

George Stevens

Writers

A.B. Guthrie Jr.(screenplay by)

Jack Sher(dialogue by)

Jack Schaefer(novel by)

Stars

Alan Ladd

Jean Arthur

Van Heflin

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Watch Shane (1953) Original Trailer [FHD]
Trailer
Watch SHANE (Masters of Cinema) Original Theatrical Trailer

Top cast

Shane

Marian Starrett

Joe Starrett

Joey Starrett

Jack Wilson

Chris Calloway

Fred Lewis

Rufus Ryker

Frank 'Stonewall' Torrey

Douglas Spencer

Axel 'Swede' Shipstead

Morgan Ryker

Liz Torrey

Sam Grafton

Bartender Will Atkey

Mrs. Shipstead

Ernie Wright

Axel Johnson

Susan Lewis

Directors

George Stevens

Writers

A.B. Guthrie Jr.(screenplay by)

Jack Sher(dialogue by)

Jack Schaefer(novel by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

I first watched this movie decades ago, probably when I was I’m my teens, and possibly when I was spending some summer vacation time with my grandparents, who seemingly were always watching western shows. I read my first Zane Grey western, Riders of the Purple Sage, in that old house. I am not a student of film history, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that this 50s era movie came to be a template of sorts for westerns. Our hero is by no means an anti-hero like Eastward’s Man with No Name, but he does plays things close to the vest early on in his attempt to leave his past behind. The plot is basic and rather predictable, but if it was an trendsetter as I just alluded, then maybe it set some of the western movie cliches that emerge. It is quite watchable and well-made, though perhaps not quite on the same level in my mind as a film like High Noon, which steadily builds up suspense through the townspeople refusing to help the hero, while this film doesn’t aim for suspense as much as it relies upon action: elaborate fistfights and gunplay. (Though it has tension only we viewers are aware of with its implied romantic extra-marital tension.

narrator5627 Jul, 2021