Hello, peeps! For once I’m here posting something besides a tag, lol (much as we loves them, precious). Rachel of Hamlette’s Soliloquy and Heidi of Along the Brandywine are hosting the Legends of Western Cinema Week, so I decided to drop in with an analysis of one of my top heroes ever (seriously, him and Saunders are pretty much tied for first place).
I don’t remember when I first watched Shane, but I was fairly young – about 6 or so, I would guess. I fell in love with the titular blond, laconic cowboy, and he became my first screen crush (followed shortly by Kirk Douglas as Ned Land in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – he’s no longer a crush, but still a character I definitely enjoy).
So, exactly what is it that makes me love Shane so much (aside from the fact that he’s blond and handsome)? Well, for one thing, he’s the Outsider character type, which I have always related to, especially in my teenage and recent years. And he’s the Mysterious Stranger with a Hidden Past. But it goes beyond that, which is what we’re going to discuss today.
(Beware, this analysis may contain some spoilers – that can’t be helped. Read at your own risk; or, better yet, go watch the movie and then come back to read it).
Self-Control
In my mind, Shane was always the epitome of self-control (so much so, that when I read verses like Proverbs 16:32 he’s the first example that comes to mind). In the first scene at Grafton’s store/bar, Chris Calloway is taunting Shane, trying to rile him up and get him into a fight. You can tell Shane reallllly wants to lick the stuffing out of him (it’s a tense scene with VERY good acting), but he restrains himself, doesn’t respond, and leaves.
Come to think of it, I don’t think Shane gets angry once in the movie. Even when he warns Ryker and gets in fistfights, he’s not mad – just serious.
Patience
This goes along pretty well with the first point, but I hadn’t thought about it much until recently. Like I said, Shane doesn’t get mad at anybody; he takes the time to talk to Joey, who worships him as a hero; he reasons with Marian, who can’t stand guns; and he doesn’t argue with the settlers who don’t understand or trust him.
Respect
Annnnd, this point goes along well with Patience! He’s respectful to everybody: the Starrets, the other settlers, Grafton, even Ryker and his men.
Forgiveness
Eventually, Chris – the guy who taunted Shane at the bar – decides he’s had enough of Ryker’s tactics, and he comes to apologize. Shane would have good reason to hold a grudge, but he doesn’t; he accepts Chris’s apology in a gracious way and shakes hands with him. He also forgives Joey for a thoughtless comment that probably hurt at the time.
Self-Sacrifice
Toward the end of the movie, it comes out that Ryker and his men are planning to lure Joe Starret into town to kill him. Shane hears about it and tries to convince Joe not to go; but Joe, stubborn as ever, won’t listen. At that point, Shane does something that surprised me at first, until later I realized why. He ends up fighting Joe to make him stay back. He knows it’ll upset Marian, and he knows Joey won’t understand, but he doesn’t have the time to argue with them, because he can’t let Joe go and get himself killed.
And of course, he ends up facing off with Ryker’s hired gunman in an epic duel at the end, one that he knows he may not walk away from. But his life isn’t the only thing he’s risking here. This end is one of the scenes that makes Shane so achingly beautiful: here you have this quiet man who’s running from his mysterious violent past, yet he has to bring it up again in order to save the people he’s come to love from a ruthless cattle baron. He doesn’t want to kill again, but it has to be done. But it means he can’t stay in the valley anymore, no matter how much he’d like it or how much Joey begs him to. The memory would haunt him, and so he has to keep moving, forever trying to put his old life behind. Does he regret having to kill? Yes. Does he regret saving the people? No. 🥹💔
The ending gets me every time. It’s so heartbreaking yet perfect. 🥺
(By the way, I have been up to the Grand Tetons where this was filmed. It’s an absolutely gorgeous area, and that’s probably one of the reasons this movie is so special to me. 💕)
Conversation time! Have y’all seen Shane, and if not, when are you going to? (Because hopefully my post piqued your interest. 😜)
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Thank you for sharing! What a beautiful post…
I must admit (despite Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons being my Happy Place) I have yet to see Shane. (Frightful, is it not??) Seriously though, I’m so happy you shared this character study… It’s so lovely. And thank you so much for joining in LOWCW! 💜
(P.S. I do have the book though and remember reading it! :))
Thank you! 🥰 It’s one of the few movies I remember seeing very early in my childhood – my parents raised me well, haha! 😂
I have yet to read the book, but it’s on my (very long) TBR list. 🤭
I covered Shane for another Hamlette sponsored blogathon a couple of years ago. Like you, I had seen it as a kid. But up until the blogathon I had never revisited it (50+ years…) I have seen other movies that covered the “loner rides into town and gets involved with the local scene” theme quite often. I appreciate the approach you used to delve into this. Way too often I look at movies at face value and never really look at the underlying themes. I enjoyed your post.
Quiggy @ The Midnite Drive-In
Thank you! 😊 I’ve loved it for years, and recently I realized that it’s inspired some of my characters and themes in my writing. 🤭
I haven’t seen this one – I love old movies, but I’ve somehow just not watched many westerns (I think High Noon is the only one?). This post is intriguing me, though – I may have to watch it!
(I just want to let you know I just encountered your blog and it looks like exactly my cup of tea – I’m glad to meet you and you’ll probably be seeing me around from here on out :))
I haven’t watched very many either, just this and Winchester 73. And yes, you should definitely watch it! It’s SUCH a good movie, and I love the storyline and the characters.
(Oh, glad to have you here! 😁💕)
I mean, if there was ever a character who could come close to Saunders in sheer wonderfulness, it’s Shane. And I love that.
That’s such a good point about Shane never getting angry. You really get the sense that he must have an absolutely explosive temper, but he knows that about himself and has learned how to control it absolutely. And we never hit a “fine, now I’m just going to go ahead and lose my temper” moment — which makes one wonder what he would look like if he did let loose.
His patience is something that definitely drew me to Shane — in the book, actually, but also in the movie. I saw the movie as a teen and liked it okay, then read the book in my twenties and liked it a lot. Reread it in my thirties and loved it, which led me to rewatch the movie, and now I’m ten years deep in my Alan Ladd phase. But that patience and willingness to take everyone seriously, from Joey to Marian to a squirt like Chris Calloway, absolutely attracts me like a magnet.
I have goosebumps from reading your post 🙂 And I am so envious that you’ve been to the Tetons! Actually, I have vague memories from visiting them when I was about 7 years old, but that was almost 40 years ago, and I dearly want to go back. Did you get to visit the “Shane Cabin” while you were there? I soooo want to get over there, but it’s a long ways from where I live, and never seems to pan out when we make tentative plans to visit.
They’re very different characters, but in some senses they’re not so different. They’ve both got the “hero” qualities that I always look up to. 🙂↕️💕
I never thought about that, but I think you’re right! Because he gets deadly serious sometimes (you gotta wonder if his temper is part of the past he’s trying to escape). Hmm, now I kind of want to write a prequel fanfiction . . . 🤔
Ahhh, I love it when rereads/rewatches make you love a story more! I still need to read the book, but I will never get tired of watching the movie. 🙂↕️💕
Aww, I’m so happy you enjoyed! 🥰 And glad I could join the party this time. 😊 Sadly, I haven’t been to the Shane cabin – we were in Jackson, and didn’t make it over to Kelly. If we go back, though, I’d love to see it if I can.
It’s been ages since I’ve seen this film, but I’ll never forget that ending. It almost breaks your heart. Your fab review has me wanting to see this film again.
Yay, I’m always happy to share my favorite movies! 😁