"High Noon" is one of the best Western films ever made, but it is really about character: doing what you believe is right, even if nobody supports you, even if it means risking your life. Gary Cooper's Will Kane is the very definition of 'character' and 'duty'.
Cooper is retiring as the sheriff of a small
town, to run a store in a distant town with
young bride Grace Kelly (in her first significant
role). He is about to leave town when a telegram
arrives: four ex-convict gunmen are coming to
town at Noon to kill him, since he was the man
who sent them 'up the river.' Cooper is unable to
get anyone to stand with him against the gunmen.
His friends tell him to leave town, his enemies
simply want him dead. Cooper must face the gunmen
alone.
Will Kane's character keeps him from getting
help. He turns down help from several people who
are too young or too incompetent to face the
gunmen. He refuses to strike a deal with immature
deputy Lloyd Bridges, because it would not be the
right thing to do. He asks, but does not demand
or cajole, others to stand with him. His new
bride threatens to leave him if he stays, but
Kane won't turn from duty. During the climatic
gun battle, he takes the time to free horses from
a burning barn, and he steps in front of a gun to
prevent his wife from being taken hostage. All of
this for an undeserving, ungrateful town.
This example of exemplary character reminds me of
"A Man For All Seasons", which had Sir Thomas
More refusing to sanction the divorce of King
Henry VIII. Kane, and More, value their integrity
more than their lives, even more than their
family's welfare. They will do what they feel is
right, despite friends and family telling them to
do otherwise. But while More fought his lost
cause with words, Kane is not a man of words. He
spends much of the film in stunned silence,
disbelieving that no one will stand by him.
Without complex arguments to support himself,
Kane is even more alone than More was. Both films
were directed by Fred Zinnemann.
The film's tension is ever present and
increasing. There are frequent shots of various
clocks, with the hands approaching Noon. Like
"Rope", the movie was filmed in real-time. There
is only one comic relief from the tension: when
the children are herded from the church, they
shout in delight at their unexpected freedom.
"High Noon" has only three obvious flaws. The
theme, sung by Tex Ritter in a baleful drone, is
reprised again and again. (It did win the Oscar
for Best Song). There is also a fight scene
between Cooper and Bridges that doesn't quite
fit. The four gunmen are interchangeable bad guy
stereotypes, but admittedly their characters are
not important to the story.
Cooper won Best Actor, and Katy Jurado won Best
Supporting Actress. Her character somehow manages
to be the former girlfriend of Cooper, Bridges
and Ian MacDonald, who plays the lead bad guy.
Zinnemann was nominated for Best Director, and
the film was nominated for Best Picture and for
the script. (94/100)
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