Shane

Shane (1953) starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Jack Palance. A mysterious stranger named Shane (Ladd) rides into a valley in Wyoming and gets mixed up in the battle between ranchers and homesteaders. The ranchers are the bad guys, and they're trying to drive the farmers out. They even go so far as to hire a gunslinger (Palance) to come in and scare them off. But they don't count on Shane, who is a retired gunman himself. This movie is one of the great Westerns, with all the necessary elements in place. It's good vs. evil, plain and simple, and good wins out, with a little help from a six-gun. Great soundtrack, too. (Subtitles for the hearing-impaired and closed captions are both included on the DVD.)  Grade: A