High Noon (1952)

Gary Cooper is Marshal Will Kane, a lawman credited with cleaning up Hadleyville. Now he’s marrying pretty Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly) and taking off that badge to become a shopkeeper.

But almost as soon as the ceremony is over, bad news arrives. Convicted killer Frank Miller has been pardoned. He’s headed back to Hadleyville on the noon train; his brother and two other gun buddies are waiting for him at the depot.

When convicted, Miller vowed to get revenge on those who did him wrong. That would include Will Kane. That would also include the town judge.

The good folks of Hadleyville convince Kane to take flight, but he’s only a couple miles outside town when he realizes he’s running, and he’s never run from anything.

So he heads back to Hadleyville, sure the good folks will back him up and stand up against the four gunmen. But plea for special deputies finds those good folks unwilling to put their lives on the line. And his real deputy, Harvey Kell (Lloyd Bridges), abandons Kane because he wanted to become marshal and Kane won’t support his bid for the job.

Meanwhile, Kane’s Quaker wife threatens to leave on the noon stage if he insists on standing up to the Miller gang. Also planning to flee is Helen Ramirez (Katy Jurado), the former lover of Miller and Kane, though she can’t understand why his new wife won’t stand by her husband.

Gary Cooper as Marshal Will Kane, trying to explain his need to defend Hadleyville in High Noon (1952)

Grace Kelly as Amy, the newlywed trying to convince her husband to leave town in High Noon (1952)

Review:

One of the classics, spawning tons of imitations, the film was nominated for an Oscar and won Cooper an Academy Award for best actor.

Made at the time of the Red Scare and the Korean War, it was apparently intended as a statement to Hollywood’s silence as members of its community were being blacklisted for un-American activities. But it withstands the test of time even without that context.

The final showdown is wonderfully staged, and director Fed Zinneman builds the suspense to that point in real time, with frequent scenes showing the clock ticking down as noon approaches. Particularly effective: the closeups of the principals and an obviously worried Will Kane just before the noon whistle sounds.

Jurado and Bridges turned in fine performances in supporting roles in a cast that also includes Lon Chaney Jr., Thomas Mitchell and Harry Morgan as friends of Kane who turn their backs on him in his time of need.

The film also marks the film debut of Lee Van Cleef as a member of the Miller gang. Though he doesn’t have a single line in the film, he’s the first actor we see as the film opens.

The title tune — which became a major hit for Frankie Laine — also won an Academy Award. And Grace Kelly, 21, reportedly had an affair with Cooper, then 50, during filming.

Lloyd Bridges as Deputy Harvey Pell with Katy Jurado as Helen Ramirez in High Noon (1952)

Directed by:
Fred Zinnemann

Cast:
Gary Cooper … Marshal Will Kane
Grace Kelly … Amy Kane
Katy Jurado … Helen Ramirez
Lloyd Bridges … Deputy Harvey Pell
Thomas Mitchell … Mayor Henderson
Otto Kruger … Judge Mettrick
Lon Chaney Jr. … Martin Howel
Harry Morgan … Sam Fuller
Morgan Farley … The Minister
Ian MacDonald … Frank Miller
Lee Van Cleef … Jack Colby
Robert Wilke … Jim Pierce
Sheb Wooley … Ben Miller

Runtime: 85 min.

Title tune: “High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)”
performed by Tex Ritter

Ian McDonald as Frank Miller, fresh off the noon train and ready to settle an old score with Will Kane in High Noon (1952)

Gary Cooper as Marshal WIll Kane in the climatic shootout with Frank Miller and his men in High Noon (1952)

Memorable lines:

Will Kane, turning over his badge after his wedding ceremony: “Tell you the truth, I hate to do this without your new marshal being here.”
Thomas Mitchell: “With the fine job you’ve done here, and the judge will bear me out, this town will be safe until tomorrow.”
(Moments later, news of Frank Miller’s pardon arrives)

Will Kane, explaining why he’s returning to Hadleyville: “They’re making me run. I’ve never run from anybody before.”

Amy Kane: “Don’t try to be a hero! You don’t have to be a hero, not for me!”

Judge Mettrick, as he’s leaving town: “Look, this is just a dirty little village in the middle of nowhere. Nothing that happens here is really important. Get out.”
Will Kane: “There isn’t time.”
The judge: “What a waste.”

Katy Jurado as Helen Ramirez, Marshal WIll Kane’s former love in High Noon (1952)

Robert Wilke as Jim Pierce, part of the Frank Miller gang in High Noon (1952)

Helen Ramirez: “When are you going to grow up?”
Harvey Pell: “I’m getting tired of that kind of talk.”
Helen: “Then grow up.”

Helen Ramirez: “It isn’t Kane. But I’m going to tell you something about you and your friend Kane. You’re a good looking boy. You have big broad shoulders. But he is a man. It takes more than big broad shoulders to make a man, Harvey, and you have a long way to go. You know something. I don’t think you will every make it.”

Former sheriff Martin Howell: “You risk your skin catching killers and the juries turn them loose so they can come back and shoot at you again. If you’re honest you’re poor your whole life and in the end you wind up dying all alone on some dirty street. For what? For nothing. For a tin star.”

Helen Ramirez: “What kind of woman are you? How can you leave him like this? Does the sound of guns frighten you that much?”
Amy Kane: “No, Mrs. Ramirez. I’ve heard guns. My father and brother were killed by guns. They were on the right side, but that didn’t help them when the shooting started. My brother was 19. I watched him die. That’s when I became a Quaker.”

Lee Van Cleef as Jack Colby, part of the Frank Miller gang in High Noon (1952)

Sheb Wooley as Ben Miller, part of the Frank Miller gang in HIgh Noon (1952)

Ian McDonald as Ben Miller, using Amy (Grace Kelly) to lure Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) into the open in High Noon (1952)

Gary Cooper as Marshal Will Kane embraces Grace Kelly as Amy in High Noon (1952)