There was more misinformation surrounding the release of George Stevens’ Shane in 1953 than other film of its time.

One of the myths about the film is that it was filmed in widescreen. Another is that it was filmed in both standard and widescreen formats. Another is that it was filmed in the standard process and later modified to become the first Vista Vision release from Paramount to combat Fox’s Cinemascope. In actuality the film was shot in the standard process but modified to a widescreen format for its Radio City Music Hall debut in August, 1953 to simulate Cinemascope, but was not called Vista Vision. The first Vista Vision film was White Christmas which did not have its Radio City Music Hall premiere until October, 1954. The Robe, which was the first film released in Cinemascope did not appear until September, 1953, a month after the first showing of Shane.

All of this came to light when Warner Bros., which took over the distribution of Paramount films earlier this year, decided to release Shane on Blu-ray in the format shown at Radio City Music Hall. When the politically correct police cried foul, the uproar was so loud that Warner Bros. re-thought their decision and held back the Blu-ray release until it could be redone in the standard format in which previous video releases, as well as TV showings of the film, audiences have long been used to.

Stevens originally wanted to make the film with Montgomery Clift, William Holden and perhaps Katharine Hepburn in the roles that eventually went to Alan Ladd, Van Heflin and Jean Arthur as, respectively, the weary gunfighter, the cattle rancher and his wife. Filmed in 1951, it was budgeted at $1.95 million, but came in at $3 million, giving the Paramount suits fits. No Alan Ladd film had made over $2.6 million and neither would this one, they reasoned. They attempted to sell the film and found a buyer in Howard Hughes who agreed to buy it for RKO. When Hughes backed out of the deal, they had no choice but to release it themselves. By this time Stevens had won an Oscar for Paramount’s A Place in the Sun and it was no longer considered an Alan Ladd film, but a George Stevens film, which increased its prestige considerably. Still, Stevens’ long time in editing the film kept it out of theatres until Paramount had already decreed its prestige films would now be filmed in Vista Vision, thus dictating that the film be masked for its Radio City Music Hall premiere.

Although it wasn’t the first film to deal with a reformed gunfighter trying to settle down, it was immediately the most popular. Filmed with the majestic Grand Tetons as background, the film was one of the most beautifully filmed color westerns ever seen, a fact made abundantly clear by the Blu-ray release which corrects the faded images of previous video releases and TV showings.

On a story level, what makes it special is that the first and last person we see on screen is an eight year-old boy played by Brandon De Wilde, 9 at the time of filming. The title character of the weary gunfighter, played by Ladd, is the second and next to last we see. Actually we may see him last in a long shot, but De Wilde’s lingering longing is what we remember.

In between we get a suspense filled story about the weary gunfighter who wants to put his gun down, but can’t just yet. He takes a job a ranch hand for the boy’s father (Heflin) while his mother (Arthur) provides food and reassurance. Eventually Shane is drawn into a gun battle with Jack Palance, an evil gunslinger hired by the local cattle baron (Emile Meyer) to scare settlers into giving up their land, and if he can’t scare ‘em, kill ‘em.

The film’s ending is one that has been argued about ever since its premiere. Does Shane ride off into the sunset because he feels his job is done or because he has been mortally wounded and doesn’t want to cause the family any more grief by dying in front of them?

The performances of all four stars are among their best, but only De Wilde was nominated for an Oscar as was Palance as the evil villain. Ladd was snubbed for an Oscar campaign by Paramount who pushed William Holden to an Oscar win instead for Stalag 17. Heflin and Arthur could not be considered for supporting awards because they listed over the title and considered by the studio be eligible in the lead categories for which they had no chance.

A bit of an odd credit is the one that read “introducing Brandon De Wilde” in that the child actor had already made an auspicious big screen debut the year before in The Member of the Wedding, filmed later, but released earlier.

One of the top TV directors of the 1950s, John Frankenheimer made his big screen debut with 1957’s The Young Stranger which also served as the film debut of James MacArthur as the 16 year-old titled character. By the 1960s Frankenheimer had become a top film director. He is best remembered today for what has become known as his paranoia trilogy, consisting of The Manchurian Candidate; Seven Days in May and Seconds.

1966’s Seconds, which is the only one of the three films not to receive immediate acclaim, has been released on Blu-ray by Criterion which has provided several extras including interviews with Alec Baldwin, Frankenheimr’s widow, Evans, and the film’s co-star Salome Jens.

Although most critics were down on the film when it opened, two things which were immediately clear were the brilliance of James Wong Howe’s Oscar nominated cinematography and Rock Hudson’s brilliant performance, the best of his career.

The film begins with John Randolph as a bored middle-aged banker trapped in a boring marriage who opts into a program whereby he will be given a cosmetic makeover that changes him into Hudson. Thus begins the Faustian nightmare of his sci-fi/horror film that was considered shocking in its day even though the nude grape stomping scene was omitted for American audiences.

Seconds has long since been regarded as one of the best films of the 1960s and one of Frankenheimer’s best as well, although the myopic DGA at the time nominated him among nine others for his direction of Grand Prix, which has not enjoyed a lasting reputation, instead.

Robert Redford has not had a critically acclaimed film as a director since 1994’s Quiz Show. His latest, The Company You Keep does nothing to revive his reputation behind the camera.

It’s not that the film is bad, it’s just that it doesn’t really go anywhere. The film does start off interestingly with the arrest of Susan Sarandon as a thirty plus years Weather Underground fugitive. She was wanted for her participation in a bank robbery that resulted in the death of a guard. Also wanted is Redford, who goes on the lam after reporter Shia LeBeouf writes a story about him. Where has he gone, and why? The answer is anti-climactic.

On the plus side, the film gives us some good actors we can never see enough of, including Julie Chrsite, Sam Elliott, Nick Nolte, Richard Jenkins and Stanley Tucci, but except for Christie and Brenan Gleeson, none of the supporting players have that much to do. But why cast Christie, in reportedly her final film, and not have her smile that million kilowatt smile? A smile does cross her lips briefly in profile, but we don’t get see the sparkle in her eyes, definitely a missed opportunity.

This week’s new releases include Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Third Season and the U.S. release of Amour.