Ivy read Shane a few months ago and really enjoyed it, and I discovered that I had the 1952 version, starring Alan Ladd, on dvd. I've seen it before and had remembered it as being black and white, but apparently not.
   For a film almost 70 years old it holds up remarkably well. The plot is solid, as you'd expect from Schaeffer's book, and the characters are played well (the chief baddie gunslinger is played by a young Jack Palance). But what really struck me was how well the film portrayed everyday life in the West; horses, mud; ramshackle buildings; extremely homespun entertainment. It does it a good sight better than some modern Westerns.
   I wouldn't recommend you go out and find the dvd, unless you are a hard-bitten Western fan or have fond memories of Shane. But we both enjoyed it.
   (I must try to find the cult classic film Monty Walsh, also based on one of Schaeffer's books; a book I reckon is much better than Shane.)