In Search Of SHANE!!

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Wyatt Burp

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On a Montana trip in 1988 we also went to Wyoming and I just had to see where Shane was filmed. I got directions in Jackson Hole to the remnants of old buildings said to be used in the movie. Well, we couldn't match them to the movie and found out later only one building still stood at that time. Not a set but a real homestead which was "Ernie Wright's" place. but none of these are that building. For years I believed that last picture was the Starrett place. But we were still in the right vicinity in that valley with the Tetons in the background there. Close enough for me in that beautiful area.



 
Great shots.Now where are: Walter Palance and Alan Walbridge?? This is leading up to another thread too. :D
 
I love the cinematography of Shane but to be perfectly honest they butchered the book.

In the book Shane was well dressed and unarmed when he rode up the valley and he was a lot more menacing that Alan Ladd's portrayal (More like Val Kilmer's Doc holliday) In the book Shane very clearly tells Bob that he must leave the valley because you can't go back from a killing. He alludes to this in the movie as well.

Louis L'amour mentions how ridiculous the concept of a Western town's citizens cowering before the evil outlaw is. Considering that the majority of men in western towns had military experience, were combat vets ( civil war) and veterans of indian fights.

I see the book as much more pro- gun than the movie. In the book Starret Sr. is stopped from throwing down on Fletcher ( Ryker) at least twice because Marion begs him not to.
 
Smoke said:
I love the cinematography of Shane but to be perfectly honest they butchered the book.

In the book Shane was well dressed and unarmed when he rode up the valley and he was a lot more menacing that Alan Ladd's portrayal (More like Val Kilmer's Doc holliday) In the book Shane very clearly tells Bob that he must leave the valley because you can't go back from a killing. He alludes to this in the movie as well.

Louis L'amour mentions how ridiculous the concept of a Western town's citizens cowering before the evil outlaw is. Considering that the majority of men in western towns had military experience, were combat vets ( civil war) and veterans of indian fights.

I see the book as much more pro- gun than the movie. In the book Starret Sr. is stopped from throwing down on Fletcher ( Ryker) at least twice because Marion begs him not to.
Click to expand...


Rarely has a riveting book been bettered by a film adaptation.
 
I prefer the final shoot out in the movie to the way it was described in the book, as far as I remember the book, anyway. I also much prefer the way Shane was dressed in the book compared to the fring outfit Shane wore. A guy who wasn't in a wild west show wearing buckskins in 1889 is far fetched. I let that slide, though, since I like the movie so much. It was just a weird decision to have him wear buckskin. BTW, if you watch the movie on VHS or maybe even on TV, there's a truck and trailer going by off in the distance as Shane rides toward the homestead at the opening with the kid watching him. The truck was removed on the DVD version.
 
Funny that you mention the 1988 trip. Me, wife and two small 7 yr. old girls were also on a family trip, starting by way of Devils tower, Custer state park,Beartooth Pass, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, except it was just after the 1988 Yellowstone fire and saw much damage to the Y.S. park. We only had a popup tent and camped across Jenny Lake and reading all the bear warning signs was enough to lose some sleep at night.:eek:
 
Step N. Mud said:
Funny that you mention the 1988 trip. Me, wife and two small 7 yr. old girls were also on a family trip, starting by way of Devils tower, Custer state park,Beartooth Pass, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, except it was just after the 1988 Yellowstone fire and saw much damage to the Y.S. park. We only had a popup tent and camped across Jenny Lake and reading all the bear warning signs was enough to lose some sleep at night.:eek:
Click to expand...
That is correct. We drove through the park while it was burning and didn't stop. I got to meet Mike Venturino in Livingston, Mt. He answered his phone and was talking to a friend who got trapped in the fire but then made it out. I wish we went to the Little Big Horn. But we did make it to the Cody Museum in Wy.
Oh. I just looked up Shane goofs. A bunch of bloopers are posted. They mention another scene where a car is seen. I might check that out.
 
I was there in 88, I used to go out every year for two weeks to do some fishing, I used to stay in Big Sky, a snow storm in Sept, put the fire out.
 
My parents used to work at Mammoth (north end of Yellowstone Park) every summer. They did that for 12 years. When I was stationed at Offutt, I took 30 days leave and spent the whole time with them at Yellowstone. That was in '88. There were some fires going, but they weren't a big concern yet. Later that summer, they had to evacuate with everyone else. I've never been anywhere else that came close to just how beautiful it was/is there.
 
Seems to me I remember that last firefight, Ryker's brother upstairs, Shane turned, drew, and fired DOWN. Also remember the movie was finished and shelved for two years, the company was afraid it was going to flop.
 
Shane was the first movie I ever saw and the only one my Dad ever took me to.
From then on, I was on my own.
 
We lived fairly close to Yellowstone at the time of the '88 fires. Used to wake up every morning with about 1/8" of ash on the car. The sky was dusky and the sun was blood red even at high noon. It was very weird!

I'm sure i'd seen other westerns before Shane, but that's the first one I really remember. I still think to this day that Wilson (Jack Palance) was the most malevolent, evil bad guy ever to appear in a western. I always thought the movie was a little corny, but Jack really made it work! We used to go out to the area where they filmed the movie fairly often back in the '70's but as I recall there wasn't much to see even then.
 
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