High Noon (1952)

Director:

Fred Zinnemann

Writers:

John W. Cunningham (story)
Carl Foreman (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 July 1952 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Western

Tagline:

Simple. Powerful. Unforgettable.

Plot:

A marshall, personally compelled to face a returning deadly enemy, finds that his own town refuses to help him.

Plot Keywords:

Cult Western | Time For Title | Morality | Husband Wife Relationship | Gunfight

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Marshal Will Kane
Thomas Mitchell	...	Mayor Jonas Henderson
Lloyd Bridges	...	Deputy Marshal Harvey Pell
Katy Jurado	...	Helen Ramírez
Grace Kelly	...	Amy Fowler Kane
Otto Kruger	...	Judge Percy Mettrick
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Martin Howe (as Lon Chaney)
Harry Morgan	...	Sam Fuller (as Henry Morgan)
Ian MacDonald	...	Frank Miller
Eve McVeagh	...	Mildred Fuller
Morgan Farley	...	Dr. Mahin, minister
Harry Shannon	...	Cooper
Lee Van Cleef	...	Jack Colby
Robert J. Wilke	...	Jim Pierce (as Robert Wilke)
Sheb Wooley	...	Ben Miller

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | South Korea:15 | Canada:G (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | West Germany:12 (f) | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 (re-release) | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #15653)

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Stanley Kramer Productions

Trivia:

Gary Cooper was responsible for getting soon-to-be-graylisted actor Lloyd Bridges the role of Harvey Pell.

Goofs:

Continuity: Amy's luggage has been loaded on to the train, which we see pull off without any unloading, but it reappears on the cart in the final scene.

Quotes:

[when his Deputy Sheriff, his last hope of help, deserts him]
Will: Go on home to your kids, Herb.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Newhart: Dick the Kid (#5.3)" (1986)

Soundtrack:

High Noon

A Man Who Won't Run Away

For me, Will Kane embodies the American ideal of a hero: a man who stands up for what is right, even when nobody else does, even when the temptation is strong to stick the head in the sand.

Will Kane explains his outlook at the outset: there is no point in running away if that means spending the rest of your life watching your back. His best chance is to face his enemies on his home ground. At this point, he still thinks that honest folk will stand by him. The rest of the movie is a study in character: will he stand his ground when his entire world crumbles around him?

It is puzzling that Howard Hawks, John Wayne, and others thought of High Noon as un-American. I am not sure if this is because of the allegory of the McCarthy era; or the people of an American town collectively sticking their heads in the sand; or the Marshal throwing his badge to the ground in the last scene.

Clearly, the movie does not criticize McCarthyism itself. (It has nothing to say about communism, either.) It appears to criticize the people who did not stand up to McCarthy and the HUAAC, but it can equally well be seen as a comment on the appeasers who did not stand up to fascism or communism.

In any case, not too much must be made of the anti-appeasement angle, because the townsfolk is not the primary focus of the movie: the focus is on Will Kane. When the townsfolk behave like cowards, that gives Will Kane a chance to prove that he is a hero. If the town had stood by the Marshal, we would have seen, at best, an excellent Western like Rio Bravo, but not a masterpiece like High Noon. For Will Kane to be a hero, it is necessary that he stands alone.

No statement can convey the dramatic impact of Will Kane throwing his badge away, but it is worth discussing what this gesture means. For me, it means that the town and the badge were not worth fighting for. Will Kane fought for principle: he fought because he does not run away.