Shane

Shane is probably the archetypal Western and a central hero that could be a forerunner to Eastwood's character in Unforgiven. The film takes it's time to set up the relationship between Shane and the family he is staying with, in particular the hero-worship of the young boy and Shane's desire to experience family life. Much of the film is seen through the eyes of the boy, and so enjoyment of the film depends somewhat on whether you find the child annoying or endearing, but it cleverly allows the film to preach a greater complexity to the child whilst allowing its hero to eventually fulfil his slightly more simplistic purpose. Whilst the film does attempt to make the central antagonists a little more than one-note villains, ultimately Palance's entrance into the film is the point at which this approach is set aside in favour of the tropes we have come to expect. It's still watchable throughout, beautifully shot with an ending that is quite moving.

A fairly classic archetypal Western with Alan Ladd as the reluctant-hero type. I think it's mostly elevated by two excellent performances, one from Brandon De Wilde, who was only around 10 or 11 at the time, and one from Jack Palance as a villainous character who conveys so much menace despite having very few actual lines. Few performances have presence like his does. I was delighted after watching it to see that their two performances were the two to attract the attention of the Academy, as well: both were nominated for Best Supporting Actor (I probably would have given it to Palance instead of Sinatra, who won that year for "From Here to Eternity".