Copyright 27 March 1953 by Paramount. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 23 April 1953. U.K. release: 24 October 1953. Australian release: 25 September 1953. 10,718 feet. 118 minutes. NOTES: Winner of The Picturegoer Seal of Merit. Second to From Here To Eternity in The Film Daily annual poll of American film critics and second to Julius Caesar as the Best American Film of 1953 in the National Board of Review awards. For his performance in the title role of this movie, Alan Ladd won the Photoplay Gold Medal Award for Best Actor of 1953. (Available on an excellent Paramount DVD). COMMENT: What can one say about this perfect western that has not already been said in countless reference books and reviews? The point I was going to make was the effective contrast Stevens presents between God's scenery and man's brutality. And yet this is not a simple God's guys versus the bad guys epic. The good guys are somewhat flawed too and the bad guys through their spokesman, Emile Meyer, offer a quite convincing argument in favor of their violent reaction. Ultimately, of course, they overstep the bounds. But after all that climactic action, perhaps it is the hero (played by stoic Alan Ladd in a perfect bit of casting) that misses out. What does he get for coming to the rescue? What's his reward? Stevens very effectively conveys by purely visual means exactly what the hero expects and what he ultimately receives.

In her introduction of this film, Tiffany Vazquez of Turner Classic Movies stated that some viewers consider this to be among the best western movies of all time. Although I am not a qualified expert of the genre, "Shane" could never compete with the likes of a nearly perfect "High Noon", which happened to be produced in the same year. I could probably name at least a dozen other westerns that exceeded this one in overall quality, but I'll spare you those details.Although the setting of the spectacular Teton Mountains of Wyoming was breathtaking, for some reason I had trouble seeing the version that was aired on TCM this week. It seemed to be of poor quality.Aside from Brandon de Wilde's extremely abrasive voice and peculiar appearance as the boy, which was enough by itself to destroy the entire production, Jean Arthur was sadly miscast as Marian Starrett. Summoned from retirement by her friend George Stevens, the director, she would never make another film again. She didn't appear to be inspired by this role at all, a far cry from her light, airy, and comedic performances in "You Can't Take It With You" and "Foreign Affair", just to name a couple. Her portrayal here was dark and dreary. She whined and fussed too much to be a credible pioneer woman. I could have rated this even lower, but I thought that Alan Ladd and Van Heflin turned in very decent performances, as did a very sinister Jack Palance and Elisha Cook's faithful dog, (spoiler alert!) although the heartbreaking burial scene was reportedly very difficult to pull off. In the end, the dog was among the best features of the film along with those magnificent Tetons in the background. Unfortunately, the toxic combination of the kid and his mother could have dealt this movie a fatal blow, but they didn't, which was miraculous by itself.

Recently watched for the first time.Visually stunning and innovative at the time ,it now feels dated.The relationship between Joey and Shane works well and is the saving grace of the film.Alan Ladd convinces as an uncle figure with Joey but is physically too small to convince as a fighter. I suppose my benchmark for a good film is whether I would watch it again and the sad fact is I wouldn't watch this film again.. The Gunfighter was a much better film

Hoping to put his violent past behind him, a former gunslinger tries to settle into a small town, only to soon find himself compelled to fight again this iconic western starring Alan Ladd as the laconic title character. The plot is more complicated than just that as a young boy also comes to idolise Ladd and the film has some very good scenes as Brandon De Wilde slyly keeps looking at Ladd at the dinner table and silently sneaks out to watch him fight. De Wilde has such expressive eyes that it is almost no wonder that he was nominated for an Oscar back in the day; unfortunately, whenever he opens his mouth to speak, the magic is ruined. While his shrill, whiny voice is no help, he is not exactly saddled with the best dialogue either, and it is hard not to wonder whether the film may have come off better with more focus on Ladd's checkered history (and reluctance to fight once again) rather than De Wilde's idol worship of the man. Add in overbearing music and an underwritten character for Jean Arthur as De Wilde's mother, who may or may not have designs on Ladd herself, and 'Shane' is hardly a flawless masterpiece. The lush colour photography is a very nice touch though, the mysteriousness of Ladd's past is handled well, and topped off by one surefire memorable ambiguous ending, it is easy to see why some consider this to be a classic of the genre.