April 23, 1953 –
George Stevens iconic western, Shane, starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon De Wilde, and Jack Palance, premiered in New York City on this date.
The film was completed in 1951 but George Stevens‘ editing process was so rigorous that it wasn’t released until 1953. This drove up the costs of what should have been a simple, straightforward Western; in fact, they spiraled so much that Paramount approached Howard Hughes about taking on the property, but he declined. He changed his mind when he saw a rough cut and offered to buy the film on the spot. This made Paramount rethink its strategy–originally it was going to release it as a “B” picture but then decided it should be one of the studio’s flagship films of the year. This proved to be a good decision, as the film was a major success and easily recouped its inflated budget.
The Haus of Dcaligari 