Shane: The Post-Game Show
The climax of the film involves Shane fighting Joe Sr. in order to keep him from running into a sucidal trap. Stevens forces us to watch almost the entire fight from underneath a horse! The whole scene erupts during the fight--horses scream, cattle jumps fences--all presenting to the viewer the complex relationship between man and nature that Stevens is so attracted to.
Unlike most westerns which oppose man/civilization with nature/wilderness, Stevens wants to present a world in which man and nature are on the same team. They can, and must work together in order for a true community to be born. You can come to your own conclusions about what Stevens was trying to say, but there can be no denying the attempt to speak. Stevens plays his final card when, in one of the more preposterous and wonderful scenes I have ever witnessed in a film, little Joey suddenly turns himself into a horse! He scampers at lightning speed after Shane, wading through rivers, scuffling across dusty paths, fighting over tall grass--mirroring images of horses Stevens has shown us throughout the film.
Shane is riding a horse, yet this small child is able to maintain pace not only with Shane but also stay ahead of his dog who chases after him at full speed. The dog finally catches up with Joey at, of all places, the graveyard--the very spot where Stevens first established this theme of animals working together, and experiencing a genuine relationship with man.
With dirty face Joey huddles under the saloon door with his dog and watches the final shootout. This is first rate use of subtle, subversive narrative technique. Perhaps a comment is being made on the primal nature of the child, behaving solely on instinct. Stevens has created a subtext which adds immeasurably to the primary text, filling the film with brave, abstract, articulate meaning.
As for Alan Ladd, no apologies required. This guy was miscast in every film he ever made. Suck the life out of Peter O'Toole and you've got Alan Ladd. Palance's performance, while appealing to the eye, is limited by the script which provides only a few significant moments for his gunslinger character. The child is extremely annoying, although thankfully he is not asked to carry the film like I suspected he might.
The cinematography is extraordinary, and must be considered along with Gone With the Wind as one of the finest uses
Latest Articles