Shane

97%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Enigmatic gunslinger Shane (Alan Ladd) rides into a small Wyoming town with hopes of quietly settling down as a farmhand. Taking a job on homesteader Joe Starrett's (Van Heflin) farm, Shane is drawn into a battle between the townsfolk and ruthless cattle baron Rufus Ryker (Emile Meyer). Shane's growing attraction to Starrett's wife, Marian (Jean Arthur), and his fondness for their son Joey (Brandon de Wilde), who idolizes Shane, force Shane to realize that he must thwart Ryker's plan.

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Critics Reviews

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Penelope Houston

Sight & Sound

The simple story, the legendary hero: this is the Western tradition. But in developing his narrative George Stevens employs an unusually sophisticated technique.

Jul 6, 2018

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William Brogdon

Variety

Wyoming's scenic splendors against which the story is filmed are breathtaking. Sunlight, the shadow of rain storms and the eerie lights of night play a realistic part in making the picture a visual treat.

Jul 2, 2007

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Here, as too often in his career, Stevens is aiming to have the last word on a genre: everything aims for 'classic' status, and everything falters in a mire of artsiness and obtrusive technique.

Jul 2, 2007

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Matt Neal

ABC Radio (Australia)

This is not a film trying to show us what the Wild West was really like, but to be a perfect example of what America wanted it to be like.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 9, 2021

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

There's something different about the way director George Stevens constructed Shane that makes it a more powerful, more complex and more enduring film.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 22, 2020

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Although the film contains all the basic elements of a Western, including shootouts and flailing fists, many of the characters are quite opposed to guns.

Rated: 10/10

Aug 23, 2020

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Audience Reviews

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Tim M Making familiar Western tropes feel authentic, Shane stands the test of time as one of the genre's most resolute classics. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/15/24 Full Review Christian K A classic old school western, an unknown gunslinger rides into a new valley, solves its problems, and vanishes forever after. While entirely predictable plot and pacing wise, it was well performed and shot for its era. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/30/24 Full Review Nol P Shane is just so excellent A great story and cast and scenery Little boy Joey was cute and the ending was so uplifting and gave me a tear or twoDefinitely a top 10 of all westerns ever...periodOf course not on any streaming platform as usual so it was great to find on Ebay like I did for a very fair price! Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 05/02/24 Full Review Audience Member It’s just a shame the kid isn’t more likable as his character did the narration for the book and we are meant to see every event through his eyes. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/23/24 Full Review DanTheMan 2 Admittedly it does lose points for having one of the most annoying children in film history, Shane often appears on many lists of best westerns and often rightly so. It's a beautiful tale about the necessary pacifism of a developed civilisation and the violence upon the back on which its peace was won. It's tragic in its irony as Shane himself is the portrait of the kind of man that was necessary to win the peace but who society cannot permit to stay and enjoy it, gunshots as loud as cannons making that plain as day. Too good to be evil and too evil to be good. Presented to us through the eyes of an adoring child and this picture of a man who wants to be something he isn't. It's not a film trying to show us what the Wild West was really like but to be a perfect example of what America wanted it to be like. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/12/23 Full Review j f Kid is hella annoying. I say no more kids in movies. Gave me a headache. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

George Stevens Director Alan Ladd Shane Jean Arthur Marian Starrett Van Heflin Joe Starrett Brandon De Wilde Joey Starrett Jack Palance Jack Wilson

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Shane

Shane: Official Clip - Low Down Yankee Liar