High Noon

For other uses, see High Noon (disambiguation).
High Noon

1952 theatrical poster
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Produced by Stanley Kramer
Carl Foreman (uncredited)
Screenplay by Carl Foreman
Story by John W. Cunningham
Starring Gary Cooper
Thomas Mitchell
Lloyd Bridges
Katy Jurado
Grace Kelly
Otto Kruger
Lon Chaney, Jr.
Harry Morgan
Eve McVeagh
Music by Dimitri Tiomkin
Cinematography Floyd Crosby, A.S.C.
Edited by Elmo Williams
Harry W. Gerstad
Production
company
Stanley Kramer Productions
Distributed by United Artists
Release dates
  • July 24, 1952 (1952-07-24) (New York City, New York)
  • July 30, 1952 (1952-07-30) (United States)
  • August 13, 1952 (1952-08-13) (Los Angeles, California)
Running time
 85 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $730,000[1]
Box office $12,000,000[2]

High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper. In nearly real time, the film tells the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself. The screenplay was written by Carl Foreman. The film won four Academy Awards (Actor, Editing, Music-Score, Music-Song)[3] and four Golden Globe Awards (Actor, Supporting Actress, Score, Cinematography-Black and White).[4] The award-winning score was written by Russian-born composer Dimitri Tiomkin.

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 NFR's first year of existence.

In Chapter XXXV of The Virginian by Owen Wister there is a description of a very similar incident, where Trampas (a villain) calls out the Virginian who has a new bride waiting whom he might lose if he goes ahead with the gunfight. High Noon has even been described as a "straight remake" of the 1929 film version of The Virginian.[5]

Plot

Will Kane (Gary Cooper), the long-time marshal of Hadleyville in New Mexico Territory, has just married pacifist Quaker Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly) and turned in his badge. He intends to become a storekeeper in another town; but word arrives that Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald), a criminal brought to justice by Kane and sentenced to hang, has been pardoned on an unspecified legal technicality. He has vowed revenge on Kane, and will be arriving by train at high noon. Miller's gang—his younger brother Ben (Sheb Wooley), Jack Colby (Lee Van Cleef), and Jim Pierce (Robert J. Wilke)—await his arrival at the train station.

Kane leaves town with Amy, but has second thoughts: He knows that Miller and his gang will wreak havoc on Hadleyville and its people in his absence, and then hunt him down anyway. He turns back. Harvey Pell (Lloyd Bridges), Kane's former deputy who resigned after Kane did not recommend him as his successor, agrees to stand with Kane in exchange for that recommendation. Kane refuses to buy Pell's assistance.

Kane visits Helen Ramírez (Katy Jurado), who was Miller's lover, then Kane's, and now Pell's, to warn her of Miller's imminent arrival. Helen is aware of the danger; she has sold her business and prepares to leave town to avoid Miller, and to avoid seeing Kane killed. Judge Percy Mettrick (Otto Kruger), who sentenced Miller, is leaving as well, and encourages Kane to do the same. Amy gives Kane an ultimatum: She is leaving on the noon train, with or without him.

Will reclaims his badge and scours the town for help, with little success. The marshal who preceded him cannot help due to his advanced age. The tavern and the church yield no volunteers. Many townspeople believe that Kane's departure would defuse the situation; others would welcome Kane's demise. Even his good friends the Fullers are at odds. Mildred Fuller (Eve McVeagh) wants her husband Sam (Harry Morgan) to speak with Kane when he comes to their home, but he makes her claim he is not home while he hides in another room.

As high noon grows near, Kane again discusses the situation with Pell at the stables. Their conversation becomes an argument, and then a full-blown fist fight. Kane finally knocks his former deputy and friend senseless, then goes into the street to face Miller and his gang alone. He guns down Ben Miller and Colby, but is wounded in the process. Helen and Amy both board the train, but Amy gets off when she hears the gunfire. Choosing her husband's life over her religious beliefs, she shoots Pierce from behind. Miller then takes Amy hostage, to force Kane into the open; but Amy distracts Miller long enough to give Kane a clear shot, and he shoots Miller dead.

The gunsmoke clears and the townspeople begin to emerge; Kane glares at them with contempt, throws his marshal's star in the dirt, and departs with Amy.

Cast

Gary Cooper as Marshal William "Will" Kane
Grace Kelly as Amy Fowler Kane
Will Kane and Amy Fowler meet in the Marshal's office
Katy Jurado as Helen Ramírez

Uncredited Cast

Production

The creation and release of High Noon intersected with the second Red Scare and the Korean War. In 1947, while Carl Foreman was writing the screenplay, he was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) during its investigation of "Communist propaganda and influence" in the Hollywood motion picture industry. Foreman had once been a member of the Communist Party, but he declined to identify fellow members, or anyone he suspected of current membership. As a result, he was labeled an "uncooperative witness" by the committee, making him vulnerable to blacklisting.[6] After his refusal to name names was made public, Foreman's production partner Stanley Kramer demanded an immediate dissolution of their partnership. As a signatory to the production loan, Foreman remained with the High Noon project; but before the film's release, he sold his partnership share to Kramer and moved to Britain, knowing that he would not find further work in the United States.[6]

Kramer later asserted that he ended their partnership because Foreman had threatened to falsely name him to HUAC as a Communist. Foreman said that Kramer feared damage to his own career due to "guilt by association". Foreman was indeed blacklisted by the Hollywood studios due to the "uncooperative witness" label and additional pressure from Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn, MPA president John Wayne, and Los Angeles Times gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, among others.[6]

Wayne was originally offered the lead role in the film, but turned it down because he felt that Foreman's story was an obvious allegory against blacklisting, which he actively supported. Later, he told an interviewer that he would "never regret having helped run [Foreman] out of the country".[7] Gary Cooper shared Wayne's conservative political views, and had been a "friendly witness" before HUAC; but he did not implicate anyone as a suspected Communist, and later became a vigorous opponent of blacklisting.[8]

According to Darkness at High Noon: The Carl Foreman Documents—a 2002 documentary based in part on a lengthy 1952 letter from Foreman to film critic Bosley Crowther—Foreman's role in the creation and production of High Noon has been unfairly downplayed over the years in favor of Kramer's. Foreman told Crowther that the film originated from a four-page plot outline he wrote that turned out to be very similar to a short story by John W. Cunningham called "The Tin Star". Foreman purchased the film rights to Cunningham's story and wrote the screenplay. By the time the documentary aired, most of the principals were dead, including Kramer, Foreman, Zinnemann, and Cooper. Victor Navasky, author of Naming Names, a definitive account of the Hollywood blacklist, told a reporter that, based on his interviews with Kramer's widow and others, the documentary seemed "one-sided, and the problem is it makes a villain out of Stanley Kramer, when it was more complicated than that".[9]

Casting

After Wayne declined the Will Kane role, Kramer offered it to Gregory Peck, who turned it down because he felt it was too similar to his role in The Gunfighter (1950). Peck—a Democrat and strongly opposed to blacklisting—later said it was the biggest regret of his career, but added that he didn't think he could have played Kane as well as Cooper did. Other actors who turned down the role included Charlton Heston, Kirk Douglas, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster.

Grace Kelly was cast as Will Kane's religious wife after Kramer saw her in an off-Broadway play. He arranged a meeting with her and cast her on the spot. During filming, Kelly and Cooper had an affair. There was some question as to the casting of Cooper and Kelly, since he was 50 and Kelly was 21.

Lee Van Cleef debuted in this film as Jack Colby, one of the members of the Miller gang. He was originally cast as Deputy Harvey Pell, but Kramer decided that his nose was too "hooked", which made him look like a villain, and told him to get it fixed. Lee Van Cleef laid out a few angry cuss words for the insult and was cast as Jack Colby. Bridges eventually landed the Pell role, thanks to Cooper.

Filming

High Noon was filmed in the late summer/early fall of 1951 in several locations in California.[10] Opening scenes were shot at Iverson Movie Ranch. A rural road east of Oakdale, CA was the setting for the Hadleyville train depot. Columbia Ranch and Columbia State Historic Park were both used for the town of Hadleyville itself. St. Joseph's Church, in Tuolumne City, California, was used for exterior shots of the church where Kane solicits help from the townspeople. Sierra No. 3, the "movie star locomotive", brought villain Frank Miller into Hadleyville after his release from prison.

Zinnemann wanted a hot, stark look to the film. Cinematographer Floyd Crosby achieved this by not filtering the sky and having the prints made a few points lighter than normal. Zinnemann said that the black smoke billowing from the train is a sign that the brakes were failing. He and the cameraman didn't know it at the time, and barely got out of the way. The camera tripod snagged itself on the track and fell over, smashing the camera, but the film survived and is in the movie.

Cooper had several health problems during filming. These problems included a bleeding ulcer and pain in the back. Due to his bad back, he was reluctant on doing the big fight scene with Bridges, but eventually did it without the use of a stunt double. No makeup was used for Cooper, in order to show his lines and his look of concern. Between takes, Cooper would chat with the crew or snooze underneath a tree.

The events occur in approximate real time.

Reception

The film earned an estimated $3.4 million at the North American box office in 1952.[11]

Upon its release, the film was criticized by audiences, as it did not contain such expected Western elements as chases, fights, and picture-postcard scenery. Rather, it presented emotional and moralistic dialogue throughout most of the film; with the exception of a minor fistfight, there is only action in the climax.[12] Some critics scoffed at the conclusion of the film in which Cooper's character has to be saved by Kelly.[13][14] David Bishop argues that her pacifist character, killing a man who is about to shoot her husband was cold and abstract, saying that it "pulls pacifism toward apollonian decadence."[14] Alfred Hitchcock described Kelly's performance as "rather mousy" and stated that it lacked animation, and said that it was only in the later films that she "really blossomed" and showed her true star quality.[15][16]

In the Soviet Union the film was criticized as "a glorification of the individual."[6] The American Left appreciated the film for what they believed was an allegory of people (Hollywood people, in particular) who were afraid to stand up to HUAC. However, the film eventually gained the respect of people with conservative/anti-communist views. Ronald Reagan, a conservative and fervent anti-Communist, said he appreciated the film because the main character had a strong dedication to duty, law, and the well-being of the town despite the refusal of the townspeople to help. Dwight Eisenhower loved the film and frequently screened it in the White House, as did other American presidents.[6] Ronald Reagan cited High Noon as his favorite film,[17] as did Bill Clinton, who screened it a record 17 times at the White House.[18]

By contrast, John Wayne told an interviewer that he considered High Noon "the most un-American thing I've ever seen in my whole life".[19] In 1959, Wayne teamed up with director Howard Hawks to make Rio Bravo as a conservative response. "I made Rio Bravo because I didn't like High Noon," Hawks explained. "Neither did Duke [Wayne]. I didn't think a good town marshal was going to run around town like a chicken with his head cut off asking everyone to help. And who saves him? His Quaker wife. That isn't my idea of a good Western."[20]

Zinnemann responded, "I admire Hawks very much. I only wish he'd leave my films alone!"[21] In a 1973 interview, he added, "I'm rather surprised at [Hawks' and Wayne's] thinking. Sheriffs are people and no two people are alike. The story of High Noon takes place in the Old West but it is really a story about a man's conflict of conscience. In this sense it is a cousin to A Man for All Seasons. In any event, respect for the Western hero has not been diminished by High Noon."[22]

Accolades

The movie won Academy Awards for:

Category Film Result
Best Actor in a Leading Role Gary Cooper Won
Best Film Editing Elmo Williams and Harry W. Gerstad [23] Won
Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Dimitri Tiomkin Won
Best Music, Song Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington for "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'", sung by Tex Ritter. Won
Best Director Fred Zinnemann Nominated
Best Picture Stanley Kramer Nominated
Best Writing, Screenplay. Carl Foreman Nominated

Many movie historians believe that High Noon lost out for the 1952 Best Picture Award to The Greatest Show on Earth because the initial release of High Noon bared a panoramic view of modern downtown Los Angeles.[24]

Entertainment Weekly ranked Will Kane on their list of The 20 All Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture.[25]

Mexican actress Katy Jurado won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Helen Ramírez, becoming the first Mexican actress to receive the award.

American Film Institute recognition

Cultural influence

"At High Noon, June 4, 1989". Polish political poster featuring Gary Cooper to encourage votes for the Solidarity party in the 1989 elections.

In 1989, 22-year-old Polish graphic designer Tomasz Sarnecki transformed Marian Stachurski's 1959 Polish variant of the High Noon poster into a Solidarity election poster for the first partially free elections in communist Poland. The poster, which was displayed all over Poland, shows Cooper armed with a folded ballot saying "Wybory" (i.e., elections) in his right hand while the Solidarity logo is pinned to his vest above the sheriff's badge. The message at the bottom of the poster reads: "W samo południe: 4 czerwca 1989," which translates to "High Noon: 4 June 1989."

In 2004 former Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa wrote:[26]

Under the headline "At High Noon" runs the red Solidarity banner and the date—June 4, 1989—of the poll. It was a simple but effective gimmick that, at the time, was misunderstood by the Communists. They, in fact, tried to ridicule the freedom movement in Poland as an invention of the "Wild" West, especially the U.S. But the poster had the opposite impact: Cowboys in Western clothes had become a powerful symbol for Poles. Cowboys fight for justice, fight against evil, and fight for freedom, both physical and spiritual. Solidarity trounced the Communists in that election, paving the way for a democratic government in Poland. It is always so touching when people bring this poster up to me to autograph it. They have cherished it for so many years and it has become the emblem of the battle that we all fought together.

According to an English professor at Yeshiva University,[27] High Noon is the film most requested for viewing by U.S. presidents. It has been cited as the favorite film of Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower,[17] Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.[17][28]

The conflict of the role of the Western hero is ironically portrayed in the film Die Hard. The German-born antagonist, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) confuses John Wayne as the hero walking off into the sunset with Grace Kelly, only to be corrected by the protagonist, John McClane (Bruce Willis).

High Noon is referenced several times on the award-winning HBO drama series The Sopranos. Tony Soprano, the main character, believes that Gary Cooper's character is the best archetype for what a man should be, mentally tough and stoic. He frequently laments, "Whatever happened to Gary Cooper?" and refers to his character in the film as the "strong, silent type". The famous ending of the film is shown on a television during an extended dream sequence in the fifth season episode "The Test Dream".

High Noon inspired the 2008 hip-hop song of the same name by rap artist Kinetics. In the song, Kinetics mentions High Noon and several other classic Western films and draws comparisons between rap battles and Western-style street showdowns.[29]

The plot of High Noon is spoofed in the 1993 comic album "Les Dalton à la noce" (The Daltons at a Wedding) of the Franco-Belgian series Lucky Luke.[30] In the album the series' main antagonists, the Daltons, seek to take revenge on the old sheriff of Hadley City on his wedding day and only Lucky Luke comes to his support.

Remakes and sequel

Other appearances

References

  1. ↑ Champlin, C. (1966, Oct 10). Foreman hopes to reverse runaway. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/155553672?accountid=13902
  2. ↑ Tino Balio, United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry, University of Wisconsin Press, 1987 p. 47
  3. ↑ List of the 25th Academy Awards Winners.
  4. ↑ IMDB List of nominations and awards for High Noon.
  5. ↑ Wills, Garry (1998). John Wayne's America (1st Touchstone ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 274. ISBN 9780684838830. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Byman, Jeremy (2004). Showdown at High Noon: Witch-hunts, Critics, and the End of the Western. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-4998-4.
  7. ↑ John Wayne: Playboy Interview / MAY 1971. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  8. ↑ Meyer, Jeffrey Gary Cooper: American Hero (1998), p. 144
  9. ↑ Weinraub, Bernard (April 18, 2002). "'High Noon,' High Dudgeon". The New York Times.
  10. ↑ "High Noon". MovieLocations.com.
  11. ↑ 'Top Box-Office Hits of 1952', Variety, January 7, 1953
  12. ↑ The Making of High Noon, hosted by Leonard Maltin, 1992. Available on the Region 1 DVD from Artisan Entertainment.
  13. ↑ DiMare, Philip C. (17 June 2011). Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 411. ISBN 978-1-59884-297-5. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  14. 1 2 Bishop, David (1 August 2006). The Wheel of Ideals. Lulu.com. p. 289. ISBN 978-1-84728-535-5. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  15. ↑ Mcclure, Hal Hays (30 July 2012). Adventuring: My Life As a Pilot, Foreign Correspondent and Travel Adventure Filmmaker. AuthorHouse. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-4685-9812-4. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  16. ↑ Fawell, John (2004). Hitchcock's Rear Window: The Well-made Film. SIU Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-8093-8970-4. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  17. 1 2 3 DVD documentary Inside High Noon, John Mulholland.
  18. ↑ Review © 2004 Branislav L. Slantchev
  19. ↑ John Wayne: Playboy Interview / MAY 1971. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  20. ↑ Michael Munn (2005). John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth. Penguin. p. 148. ISBN 0-451-21414-5.
  21. ↑ Fred Zinnemann: interviews - Fred Zinnemann, Gabriel Miller - Google Books
  22. ↑ Gabriel Miller, ed. (2005). Fred Zinnemann: Interviews. University Press of Mississippi. p. 44. ISBN 1-57806-698-0.
  23. ↑ Elmo Williams has said that Gerstad's editing was nominal and he apparently protested Gerstad's inclusion on the Academy Award at the time. See Williams, Elmo (2006), Elmo Williams: A Hollywood Memoir (McFarland), p. 86. ISBN 0-7864-2621-7.
  24. ↑ Wiley, Mason, Bona, Damien (1987). Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards. Burns & Oates. ISBN 0-345-34453-7.
  25. ↑ "Entertainment Weekly's 20 All Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  26. ↑ Lech Walesa. "In Solidarity." The Wall Street Journal. 11 June 2004. Accessed 15 March 2007.
  27. ↑ Manfred Weidhorn. "High Noon." Bright Lights Film Journal. February 2005. Accessed 12 February 2008.
  28. ↑ Clinton, Bill (June 22, 2004). My Life. Knopf. p. 21.
  29. ↑ "Rap Genius: Lyrics and Explanations for the Kinetics song "High Noon"".
  30. ↑ fr:Les Dalton à la noce

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