Mein großer Freund Shane (1953)

Mein großer Freund Shane: Directed by George Stevens. With Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon De Wilde. A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smoldering settler/rancher conflict forces him to act.

“A gunslinger, a farmer, a wife, a little boy, a dog, and some dastardly villains….u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI first saw u0026quot;Shaneu0026quot; from the back seat of a u0026#39;51 Ford, at a drive-in theater somewhere in Montana. The movie was new, and I was about 4 years old. From that time, I remember quiet male voices and the ring of spurs. Those sounds have lived in my mind for decades.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Shaneu0026quot; is a classic — no, not a bang-bang shoot-em-up B Western, but it is a solid Western that gives fans of the genre some something to think about besides u0026quot;they went thataway.u0026quot; The scenery (Jackson Hole, Wyoming) is grand and was even moreso on the big screen. When well known Western novelist A.B. Guthrie wrote the screenplay, he kept fairly faithful to Jack Schaeferu0026#39;s novel. The movie makes a reasonable attempt, for that time, to look authentic in costume and gear, and gives fans of the movies of the u0026#39;40s and u0026#39;50s some interesting cinematic moments (see the small things, like how the camera was used to make Alan Ladd seem more u0026quot;heroicu0026quot;).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIu0026#39;d probably recast some of the secondary roles, if I had the chance, but Laddu0026#39;s soft-spoken, gentlemanly way is just right for Shane, and Jack Palance is subtly evil.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eYes, u0026quot;Shaneu0026quot; contains a few clichés, but they werenu0026#39;t yet quite so cliché, in 1953. Besides, they were well done clichés, so, while you may recognize them, you probably wonu0026#39;t mind them.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut, whatu0026#39;s u0026quot;Shaneu0026quot; about, exactly?…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCourage. Loyalty. Honor. Friendship.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt will leave you wishing you knew what happened next.”