History Main / Shane

[[redirect:Film/{{Shane}}]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shane1953.jpg
-->"Shane! Come back!"

Based on the novel by Jack Schaefer.

A DeterminedHomesteader named Starrett, his wife, and their young son are running a small farm. Some cattle ranchers want to force them out (along with the other [[DeterminedHomesteader Nesters]]), either with money or with guns. They are using an army of {{Mooks}} for this. While this is going on, a wanderer in buckskin clothing named Shane meets Starrett, and after a quickly resolved misunderstanding, Shane is accepted by the family and begins working for Starrett. Shane is soon idolized by the young boy, who wants to learn how to shoot. There is extensive discussion between Shane, Starrett, and his wife about the appropriateness of guns and violence.

Ultimately Shane protects the DeterminedHomesteader using violence, knowing that this means he will never be able to settle down to a peaceful life, Shane is cursed by his previous choices in life to always be TheGunslinger, [[TheDrifter always drifting]]. His final words before leaving is to tell the young boy to run home and tell his mother that she has her wish "there are no more guns in the valley", [[ButNowIMustGo Shane leaving]] is of course required for this to be true.

Subject to a famous debate about the ending: Is Shane dead, or did he survive?

Was essentially remade and combined with ''HighPlainsDrifter'' as the Clint Eastwood film ''PaleRider'', with ClintEastwood basically playing Alan Ladd's role.
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!!'''Tropes in this Film:'''

* AxCrazy: Wilson. "Prove it."
* BadAss: Shane and Starett
* BadassAdorable: Joey.
* BangBangBANG: Holy crap.
* BarBrawl
* BloodKnight Jack Wilson
* ButNowIMustGo: Maybe... depending on whether you agree with Shane or not.
** Arguably the TropeCodifier in film; the ambivalent ending is referenced constantly in film.
* ChairmanOfTheBrawl
* ConstantlyCurious: Joey.
* DeterminedHomesteader
* TheDragon Jack Wilson
* TheDrifter: Shane is a perfect example of this.
* EmpathicEnvironment: During the confrontation between Starrett and Shane- one of the best examples of this trope actually
* TheFilmOfTheBook
* HeelFaceTurn: Chris Calloway.
* TheGunslinger: Shane
* GunsAkimbo: Subverted for the title character, who is a firm believer that one gun is all he needs.
* HappyEnding: For Jean Arthur's career after thirty years of movies. Few actors have gone out on a higher note.
* HeroicSacrifice
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Inverted in terms of casting. Elisha Cook Junior normally plays this type of character, but in this film, he plays a good guy, "Stonewall" Torrey, a Southern DeterminedHomesteader and friend of the Starrets. In every other respect, he lives "up" to this trope to a T. He's a consistent failure, resents the fact that neither friends nor enemies take him seriously, but is determined to stand up for himself and the Lost Cause...all of which sets him up as an all-too-easy victim to one of the most effective and unsympathetic villains in Western film history.
* KnightErrant: Shane, of course.
* PercussivePrevention: Subverted into a horrifying fight between friends, complete with EmpathicEnvironment.
* TheQuietOne
* RecycledTheSeries - In 1966, there was a single season of the ''Shane'' television series. Starring David Carradine as Shane!
* RetiredGunfighter
* SceneryPorn: Shot in glorious Technicolor in Wyoming's Jackson Hole valley.
* ShellShockedSenior
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Wilson has 8 minutes of screen time and less than 50 words of dialogue. Made the most of it, didn't he? On a more meta level, Wilson is considered one of the definitive Western bad guys and one of the most remembered roles from the career of Jack Palance, who acted for more than ''50 years'' in over 70 movies.
* {{Tearjerker}} - ''"Shane, Come Back!!"''

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* AxCrazy: "Prove it."

* KnightErrant: Shane, of course
* OneSceneWonder: Jack Palance's role as Wilson is both brief enough and unforgettable enough to qualify as this.

* ButNowIMustGo: Maybe... depending on whether you agree with Shane or not

Was essentially remade and combined with HighPlainsDrifter as the Clint Eastwood film PaleRider, with ClintEastwood basically playing Alan Ladd's role.

* TheDrifter: Shane is a perfect example of this

* ElephantsChild: Joey.

'''Tropes in this Film'''

One of the greatest [[TheWestern Westerns]] ever. So great, when TNT had an "All the Greatest Westerns Ever Made Movie Marathon", they added an asterisk with a footnote: "Except Shane". It is based on the novel of the same title by Jack Schaefer.

* BadAss Shane and Starett

* BloodKnight (Jack Wilson)
* ButNowIMustGo, maybe... depending on whether you agree with Shane or not

* TheDrifter (A perfect example of this)
* EmpathicEnvironment, during the confrontation between Starrett and Shane- one of the best examples of this trope actually

* TheGunslinger

* IneffectualSympatheticVillain Inverted in terms of casting. Elisha Cook Junior normally plays this type of character, but in this film, he plays a good guy, "Stonewall" Torrey, a Southern DeterminedHomesteader and friend of the Starrets. In every other respect, he lives "up" to this trope to a T. He's a consistent failure, resents the fact that neither friends nor enemies take him seriously, but is determined to stand up for himself and the Lost Cause...all of which sets him up as an all-too-easy victim to one of the most effective and unsympathetic villains in Western film history.
* KnightErrant (Shane, of course)
* OneSceneWonder Jack Palance's role as Wilson is both brief enough and unforgettable enough to qualify as this.
* PercussivePrevention, subverted into a horrifying fight between friends, complete with EmpathicEnvironment.

* SceneryPorn: shot in glorious Technicolor in Wyoming's Jackson Hole valley.

* BadAss (Shane)(and Starett)

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: One of the few good westerns to use the Black Hat White Hat Trope straight.
* CompleteMonster: Jack Wilson. He almost seems to ''get off'' by shooting people.

* EmpathicEnvironment, during the confrontation between Star and Shane- one of the best examples of this trope actually

* IneffectualSympatheticVillain Inverted in terms of casting. Elisha Cook Junior normally plays this type of character, but in this film, he plays a good guy, "Stonewall" Torrey, a Southern DeterminedHomesteader and friend of the Starrets. In every other respect, he lives "up" to this trope to a T. He's a consistant failure, resents the fact that neither friends nor enemies take him seriously, but is determined to stand up for himself and the Lost Cause...all of which sets him up as an all-too-easy victim to one of the most effective and unsympathetic villains in Western film history.

* AdaptationDisplacement Unfortunately, even though the book is loved by readers, there aren't that many readers. Shame, because it's a really good book.
** This troper actually had no idea that it was a movie.
** This troper read the book as part of his high school English Literature curriculum, and considers it far superior to the movie in every way. It's also one of his personal favorite novels.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The scene where Shane and Joe start wrestling with the tree stump in the yard seems to come right out of nowhere. (In the original novel, it makes a bit more sense because the stump is symbolic of the struggles Joe had to go through to build his farm, plus there's a reasonable lead-up to their actual effort to remove the stump.)

* {{Narm}} - Oh lord..."SHAAAAAAANE!!!!!"

* YourMileageMayVary: There may be a number of fans of the original novel who consider this movie to be not quite as good.
** After seeing the movie on TV once, this troper always interpreted the "...except Shane" pitch on TNT's "All the Greatest Westerns Ever Made Movie Marathon" as an ''exception'' to the Greatest Westerns list, because for him, it didn't qualify.

* BadAss (Shane)

* AdaptationDisplacement Unfortunately, even though the book is loved by readers, there aren't that many readers. Shame, becuase it's a really good book.

* Narm - Oh lord..."SHAAAAAAANE!!!!!"

A DeterminedHomesteader named Starrett, his wife, and their young son are running a small farm. Some cattle ranchers want to force them out (along with the other [[DeterminedHomesteader Nesters]], either with money or with guns. They are using an army of {{Mooks}} for this. While this is going on, a wanderer in buckskin clothing named Shane meets Starrett, and after a quickly resolved misunderstanding, Shane is accepted by the family and begins working for Starrett. Shane is soon idolized by the young boy, who wants to learn how to shoot. There is extensive discussion between Shane, Starrett, and his wife about the appropriateness of guns and violence.

* Bang Bang BANG: Holy crap.