High Noon Movie

Many people think the movie High Noon is the best western of all time. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture.

But Director Howard Hawks and actor John Wayne felt differently (this was the McCarthy era) and responded to the “liberal preachiness of this ‘un-American’ film (and its cowardly townspeople)” by creating a no-nonsense, right-wing rebuttal in Rio Bravo (1959).

In any case, it’s a classic.

From Wikipedia:
“High Noon is an American 1952 western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself. The screenplay was written by Carl Foreman, based on John W. Cunningham’s pulp short story, “The Tin Star.”

“In 1989, High Noon was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”, entering the registry during the latter’s first year of existence. The film is #27 on the American Film Institute’s 2007 list of great films.

“Will Kane (Gary Cooper), the longtime marshal of Hadleyville, New Mexico Territory, has just married pacifist Quaker Amy (Grace Kelly) and turned in his badge. He prepares to move away to become a storekeeper. Then the town learns that Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald), a criminal Kane brought to justice, is due to arrive on the noon train. Miller had been sentenced to hang, but was pardoned for reasons never stated. In court, he had vowed to get revenge on Kane and anyone who got in his way. His three gang members wait for him at the station. The worried townspeople encourage Kane to leave, hoping to defuse the situation.

“Kane and his wife leave town, but fearing that the gang will hunt him down, Kane turns back. He reclaims his badge and scours the town for deputies—even interrupting Sunday church services—but while many townspeople profess to admire Kane, only a fourteen-year-old boy is willing to lend a hand. His deputy, Harvey Pell (Lloyd Bridges), resigns. His former lover, Helen Ramírez (Katy Jurado), supports him, but there is little she can do to help. Disgusted, she sells her business and prepares to leave town. Kane’s wife threatens to leave on the noon train with or without him, but he stubbornly refuses to give in.

“In the end, Kane faces the four gunmen alone. He guns down two of Miller’s men, though he himself is wounded in the arm. Helen Ramirez and Amy both board the train, but Amy gets off when she hears the sound of gunfire. Amy chooses her husband’s life over her religious beliefs and kills the third gunman by shooting him in the back. Miller then takes her hostage and offers to trade her for Kane. Kane agrees, coming out into the open. Amy, however, claws Miller’s face, causing him to release her. Kane then shoots and kills him. As the townspeople emerge, Kane contemptuously throws his marshal’s star in the dirt and leaves town with his wife.”