Shane
Movie, 1953, The '50s and before, Set in Wyoming
Shane is #5 of 34 in release order and #5 of 34 in chronological order in the Westerns.
The story
A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smouldering settler and rancher conflict forces him to act.
Shane recap
Shane (1953) brings a former gunfighter to a Wyoming valley where homesteaders are being driven off by a cattle baron. George Stevens directs. Shane (Alan Ladd) rides onto the farm of Joe Starrett (Van Heflin), his wife Marian (Jean Arthur) and their son Joey (Brandon deWilde), who idolizes him. He hires on as a farmhand and puts away his gun. Rufus Ryker (Emile Meyer), who grazed the open range before the settlers came, wants them gone. Shane takes insults in Grafton's saloon, then wins a brawl with Ryker's men with Joe's help. Ryker hires Jack Wilson (Jack Palance), a gunslinger in black, who goads the hot-tempered farmer Frank "Stonewall" Torrey into drawing and kills him in the mud. Shaken families begin to leave. Ryker invites Joe to town to talk terms, a trap, and Shane knocks Joe out cold to go in his place. Marian and Shane share a quiet bond neither acts on. The film stands alone; Clint Eastwood's Pale Rider later borrows its outline.
Shane ending explained
Shane ends with Shane killing Wilson and the Rykers in the saloon, then riding away wounded as Joey calls for him to come back. Joey has followed him to town and shouts a warning about a man on the balcony. Shane tells the boy there is no living with a killing and that he must go. He rides off toward the mountains while Joey cries "Shane! Come back!" The film follows Jack Schaefer's 1949 novel, and a short-lived 1966 TV series took the name.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch Shane
Shane is streaming on fuboTV, Paramount+, Kanopy, Hoopla, YouTube (free), and Fawesome in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 97%
Where it fits
- Release order: after High Noon, before The Searchers.
- Chronological order: after High Noon, before The Searchers.
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
Directed by George Stevens.