High Noon
(Fred Zinnemann, 1952)
A marshall, personally compelled to
face a returning deadly enemy, finds that his own town refuses to help him.
Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper) is on his way to retire from his duties and get
married to the love of his life Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly), but he learns that his worst enemy is returning on
the noon train. The soon to be married couple has to wait to leave and Kane
must stay and face his enemy Frank Miller (Ian
MacDonald). The Marshall goes out and asks for help from his fellow
citizens but got no help at all. He must go against Miller and his gang alone.
Fred Zinnemann’s film is a beautiful black and white
Western that launched the revisionist Westerns with a more social oriented
approach than the traditional paternal Westerns of John Wayne. High Noon
also fuelled a debate about how a man of courage, a marshall in this case,
should take care of his duties like a professional and not ask help from
non-professionals. The nay-sayers of High
Noon were John Wayne and Howard
Hawks who hated the film and even remade it with their own interpretation
of the story with great success with Rio
Bravo.
Despite the controversy from the right-wing of
Hollywood of the 1950’s, the pace and the action of High Noon are well handled and there is no low moment in the film.
The storytelling is pretty classic and the technique of Zinnemann has never
been so good. It is no surprise that it got seven Oscar nominations and won
four most notably for Gary Cooper as the Best Actor in a Leading Performance.
As a matter of fact, High Noon written by Carl
Foreman (screenplay) is a metaphor on the current blacklist and “witch hunt”
of Senator McCarthy. Foreman was a blacklisted screenwriter and the tale of the
marshall of asks for assistance to the people is how the American people were
ready to give away any mark men in the 1950’s just to not get involved with
people completely innocent. This also might be one of the main reasons why
Wayne and Hawks were strongly disapproving the films’ themes.
However, this is one of the Westerns that proved to
pass the test of time with great brio. The pacing, the cinematography, and the
presence of Gary Cooper justifies my rating of five stars. Every Western
enthusiast should discover this wonderful masterpiece.
A Great Western that changed the face of the decorated genre. Gary Cooper shines in his portrayal. Many regard the final shootout sequence as the best ever in the history of the genre. Btw, I was not aware of the fact that Wayne and Hawks disliked the movie and remade it into Rio Bravo. Thanks for bringing it up :-)
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! It is indeed a Great Western full of Classic elements!
DeleteI consider this one of the best westerns ever made and Cooper's performance one of the great portrayals of a man doing the Right Thing.
ReplyDeleteExact, he is a hero in this film! Glad you also share the love!
DeleteThis is one of my very favorite Westerns (maybe my favorite), because of what you mentioned- that it was symbolic of the blacklisted actors. John Wayne's reaction to it- disliking it- makes me think less of John Wayne.
ReplyDeleteEven without all of that subtext, the blacklisted actors and John Wayne's reaction, it is such a great movie.
Indeed this is a great movie. I like Wayne a lot in his films but I often disagree with him as a person...
Delete