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  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 8, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10.

  • Is it any good?

    5.0

  • Common Sense says

    "Come back, Shane!" Classic Western for the ages.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 10 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Most characters take principled stands, putting their lives on the line for what they believe is right. But their hidden motivations result in violence. Shane tries to put his deadly past behind him, but gets dragged back into killing. He resists temptations to join the bad guys and have an affair. A supporting character is depicted (warmly) as a Confederate. Indians and other people of color are invisible.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Fistfights and shootings, many of the bullets turning out to be fatal. Director Stevens, a WWII veteran, was determined to keep the gunplay realistic -- not gory, but not harmless and cartoony either.

  • Sex:

    Only the modest indication that Mrs. Starrett is attracted to Shane.

  • Language:

    Not an issue.

  • Consumerism:

    Based on a popular (and equally fine) novel.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Whisky galore in a cowboy saloon, with Shane significantly humiliated, abused, and told he's not a "man" when he orders non-alcoholic stuff. Other characters get notably drunk.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Shane

Parents need to know that this is a serious-minded Western, not one of the charming but silly singing-cowboy fantasies that stampeded by the hundreds out of old Hollywood. Death is a serious thing here, and gunplay is realistic, not cartoonish or gratuitous. There's also a sense of the harshness of frontier life. The possibility of an adulterous love triangle is present but tastefully handled. Some viewers may be more troubled by the hints of Hollywood's longstanding Gone With the Wind sentimental representation of the Confederate South (the movie takes place shortly after the Civil War), or the equating of drinking whiskey with being a "real man."

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about how the characters seem unable to escape their social roles. Though it's not spelled out in detail, Shane is a veteran gunfighter trying to put his violent past behind him, but he winds up pulled back into killing, even if he is supposedly defending innocent people. Even the villains seem to be offering a last-minute compromise solution, which is declined. Did the conflict have to turn out the way it did? What do you think would have happened if Shane stayed with the Starretts?
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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Katy0
    Lives in Missouri
    I rate this title on for age 9 and give it 4.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Positive messages

    Classic

    "Shane" is only tainted slightly by the overly pointed direction.

    This review...

    Helped me decide | Had useful details | Read my mind
    Flag as inappropriate

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