I've watched hundreds of Westerns, I'm now power streaming "Have Gun Will Travel", and "Rawhide". Most are delicious morality plays, using the genre to explore themes of mob violence, racism, "what is true manhood". Like "Twilight Zone", the Western genre was allowed veiled references to many societal themes of the day.

(One of my Medium Western political observations: https://medium.com/p/54c20610205a/edit)

All that said, "Shane" is my favorite, I could watch it endlessly. Though its a traditional good vs evil, I believe its gift is how understated the characters are. For some reason, Jean Arthur is to die for (she has that righteous/vulnerable lilt in her voice), and of course Shane is short & soft-spoken, but carries power in his voice and actions. When Elisha Cook does his foolish draw on Palance, Shane/Joe show manly/smart restraint. The movie is even "fair" in the sense that Joe (Van Heflin), acknowledges the "sod busters" debt to Riker's original settlers/cattlemen. Like all good storytelling, the movie allows the imagination to run wild (how Joey grows up, what if Shane stayed given his thing w Marian, and of course "did Shane die at the end?")

It is drawn upon simple lines, part of the appeal of all Westerns. It also is shot in Technicolor with a fantastic backdrop.