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Shane Overview:

Shane (1953) was a Drama - Western Film directed by George Stevens and produced by George Stevens and Ivan Moffat.

The film was based on the novel of the same name written by Jack Schaefer published in 1949.

SYNOPSIS

Considered one of the greatest Westerns, this is Ladd's finest role. Like High Noon, with which it shares some similarity, Shane proposes that the stain of killing can't be washed away, even if the death comes in a righteous cause. Ladd gets involved in a nasty skirmish between ranchers and farmers when he rides up to Heflin's farmhouse looking for water. From the first, he impresses young De Wilde with his instinctual quick draw and then earns Heflin's trust when he backs down bullying Meyer. Ladd seems to be putting down roots as he fights for the farmers. But after a final showdown with steely-eyed Palance, he rides away from the farm he's made secure, knowing that his mere presence will bring more death. A landmark Western, beautifully directed and photographed.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Shane was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1993.

Academy Awards 1953 --- Ceremony Number 26 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Supporting ActorBrandon De WildeNominated
Best Supporting ActorJack PalanceNominated
Best CinematographyLoyal GriggsWon
Best DirectorGeorge StevensNominated
Best PictureGeorge Stevens, ProducerNominated
Best WritingA. B. Guthrie, Jr.Nominated
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Shane Quotes:

Joe Starrett: What Ryker has comin' isn't fit for a woman to see.
Shane: I've heard about you.
Jack Wilson: What have you heard, Shane?
Shane: I've heard that you're a low-down Yankee liar.
Jack Wilson: Prove it.
Shane: You speaking to me?
Chris Calloway: I don't see nobody else standing there.
Shane: 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: You were watchin' me down it for quite a spell, weren't you?
Joey: Yes I was.
Shane: You know, I... I like a man who watches things go on around. It means he'll make his mark someday.
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Shane Facts
Alan Ladd was only 5'6", and this had to be compensated for. When he is in scenes with Van Heflin the two are about the same height, although Heflin was far taller. When Ladd is shown with Jean Arthur he is perhaps a bit taller than she. When Heflin is shown with her, Heflin is far taller than she.
In the funeral scene, the dog consistently refused to look into the grave. Finally, director George Stevens had the dog's trainer lie down in the bottom of the grave, and the dog played his part ably. The coffin (loaded with rocks for appropriate effect) was then lowered into the grave, but when the harmonica player began to play "Taps" spontaneously, the crew was so moved by the scene that they began shoveling dirt into the grave before remembering the dog's trainer was still there.
In the face-off between Wilson (Jack Palance) and Elisha Cook Jr. (Torrey), Torrey tells Wilson that he is "a low-down, lyin' Yankee". Although director George Stevens kept directing Palance at this point to smile - an expression of amused contempt at Cook - Palance continued take after take to show too much menace and not enough of a smile mixed in. Finally, Stevens took Cook aside and whispered something to him. During the next take, Cook read his line, and added "and a son of a bitch, too!" This time, Stevens got his take. When Shane faces Wilson, Shane says "You're a low-down Yankee liar".
The scene where Alan Ladd practices shooting in front of Brandon De Wilde took 119 takes to complete.
Jean Arthur, a committed animal lover, took it upon herself to personally inspect the conditions that the film's roster of livestock were being kept in. If they wasn't up to her satisfaction, she would ensure that the matter was rectified.
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