Saturday, March 03, 2007

Well, we all need someone to look up to

Or, in Alan Ladd's case, down to. Sounds like he was a shorty.

Caught a couple of movies lately that would make a compelling double feature on kids idolizing flawed men. Decide for yourself if you want to see these together.

Mild, mild west: "Shane"

Yep, another classic Western I finally got around to seeing. All I knew before actually seeing the movie was (a) there was a gunslinger named "Shane" involved and (b) some kid wanted him to come back at the end of the movie.

As it happens, there's a little bit more to this, and while a tad long, it's not a bad story. We meet Shane as he happens across a homesteading family way out west. We know it's way out there because every other shot in this movie has mountains in the background. I recall hearing that was another claim to fame -- the great scenery -- but I'll confess that at times it felt like director George Stevens was hitting me over the head with it. Then again, this was 1953.

Anyway, Shane finds the family and other homesteaders being threatened by the local cattle baron who wants free range of the area. Shane really just wants to work for the family and mind his business, but when trouble rears its head, so do his fighting skills -- first with the fists, then with the guns. All the while, the family's little boy idolizes Shane. Sounds nice, maybe, but the kid is really, really annoying.

All in all, it's not bad. Alan Ladd as Shane is decent, but the air of mystery about him is kind of empty. One treat: A young Jack Palance -- billed as "Walter Jack Palance" -- as a gunfighter hired by the cattle baron. It's a little jarring to see him without the wrinkles and gasping, but he's got a quiet menace that's mostly effective. Forget those one-armed pushups. I think I saw him doing no-armed pushups!

He loves me, he loves me Nazi: "Apt Pupil"

And now for something completely different. Remember when you were a kid and you were convinced the old man in your neighborhood was a former Nazi officer? But instead of telling anyone you just blackmailed him into telling you all about the horrors of the death camps? Wasn't that fun?

In this case, Ian McKellen is the old man and Brad Renfro is the teen. Pretty hard to say after a while which one is creepier, as the two engage in a mental power struggle while mindf*cking each other. It's an interesting idea, no doubt, but also a rather unpleasant one, as each guy finds himself testing his limits when it comes to torture, killings and general bids of ultimate power over others. Sounds like a party!

The most notable thing about this movie, though, is the director: Bryan Singer. This came after his success with "The Usual Suspects" and before he started doing the comic book thing (the first two "X-Men" movies, "Superman Returns"). Sort of an odd fit in the resume, it would seem. Then again, when Ang Lee does a comic book movie, anything's possible.

2 Comments:

At 11:43 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've always enjoyed "Shane" -- it is a good-looking movie and Palance is terrific -- but I'll admit you do have to suspend belief more than a little when 5-foot-5 (maybe) Alan Ladd whups up on 6-2 Ben Johnson.

 
At 5:27 PM, Blogger Jefferson said...

The giveaway for me: When the little boy could look Shane in the eye

 

Post a Comment

<< Home