Spoiler Alert: They just love Shane!

Movie: Shane

Rank: 45

Year: 1953

Director: George Stevens

Cast: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon De Wilde

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We gather here today a cool week and a half after I first watched Shane. This blog sounded like a great tool for accountability when I decided to commit to watching all of AFI’s 100 Greatest Films, but now it is just a reminder of how far I am behind. Well they say “where there’s a will, there’s a way,” and I’m single, so feel free to send a Will my way. The only real way to catch up is to just get on with it, I guess.

Having been fed a steady diet of westerns by my Dad growing up, I have a foundational knowledge of the genre’s tropes. Shane is the story of a skilled former gunfighter hired by a homesteading family. Despite his attempts to rebrand himself, in an effort to save all of the homestead settlers, he must use those skills to take down the cattlemen who threaten them.

In the words of Oscar Hammerstein II, “The farmer and the cowman should be friends.”

Shane is a rather stoic man, yet the family of Joe, Marian, and their son, Joey Starrett are all enamored with him. Joey, in particular, loves this mysterious new occupant of their home and the sharp shooting skills he exhibits. At one point he even says he loves Shane almost as much as his “Pa.” To quote my notes when watching the movie, “Dude, y’all just met.”

A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.

-Shane, Shane

The vibes of Shane and this family are weird to say the least. While dancing, Shane and Marian are cutting through some thick sexual tension as her husband watches. As they move around the gathering, Joe seemingly notices the uncomfortable dynamic. Maybe this is why he tells Shane to take care of Marian and Joey as he goes to fight cattle baron Rufus Ryker and his hired gunman, Jack Wilson. A fight he would surely lose. In his efforts to stop Joe, Shane knocks him unconscious and rides off to face Wilson himself.

Joey initially declared his hatred for Shane in the moment, but soon regretted the decision. He chased after Shane by foot, with his dog trailing behind, what seemed like an inappropriately long distance alone for a child.

“He only wants to grow his beef and what we want to grow up is families, to grow ‘em good and grown ‘em, grown ‘em up strong, the way they was meant to be grown.”

-Joe Starrett, Shane

A bit of an aside:: How did people find their way around back then? There was no clear road, town or much of anything to establish the path. Am I supposed to believe Shane and these homesteaders can use the stars better than I can use Waze? Maybe true, but still rings ridiculous to me.

Shane and Wilson face off, with Joey and his dog watching. Shane wins, but does not leave unscathed. He plays down the significance of the gun shot. Earlier in the film they simply say an injury smarts. Why do we say this? What is smart about being in pain?

A bit more of an aside: The stereotypical setting of every western: the saloon. Early in the film, Shane was taunted for buying a soda to take back for Joey, and had whiskey spilled on him in order for him to smell more like a man. When did alcoholism become the indicator of enough testosterone? This location is also where the major fights occur in this movie, and many other westerns, begging the question of what the redecoration budget is for these owners?

Joey wants him to return home, but Shane says he cannot and rides off into the vast expanse of the Wyoming Territory. He is to carry a message to his mom: guns are now gone in the valley. Despite her son’s interest in shooting, Marian never wanted him near guns. A point Shane disagreed with initially, but could accomplish for her at least for a while. The territory is on full display with the gorgeous cinematography, allowing for viewers to get the full effect of life in the area.

“There’s no living with… with a killing. There’s no going back from one. Right or wrong, it’s a brand. A brand sticks. There’s no going back.”

-Shane, Shane

Apparently Shane was a great source of inspiration for Logan, with references and parallelism throughout. As I watch these movies, I am able to pick up and better understand the impact of great cinema on the movies and TV we watch today. If I ever get ahead of this list, I will have to go back and compare these movies. At least both proved to be worth the watch and the praise associated with them.