High Noon (2000)

Tom Skerritt has the role of Will Kane, the marshal of Hadleyville who’s just given up his job — and presumably his gun — for a quiet life living with his new wife, a Quaker woman named Amy (Susanna Thompson).

But no sooner is Will headed off to his honeymoon than word comes that Frank Miller (Michael Madsen) has been released from prison and is heading to town.

There’s no secret why: He vowed to kill Kane and those who condemned him to death during a trial in Hadleyville.

So, to Amy’s dismay, Will turns their buckboard around and heads back to town to face down Miller if necessary, convinced plenty of townsfolk will join him in that job.

Just like Gary Cooper 50 years earlier, he’s in for a surprise, underestimating how protective his old friends can be of their hides when there’s a chance that bullets will soon start flying.

Tom Skerritt as Will Kane, seeking help for when Frank Miller comes calling in High Noon (2000)

Susanna Thompson as Amy Kane, threatening to leave if Will stays to face the Frank Miller gang in High Noon (2000)

Review:

In the extras that follow the movie, director Rod Hardy says he viewed his job as retelling a classic story, rather than remaking a classic film. He should have remembered that once behind the camera.

This follows the original nearly scene by scene — right down to the “Back in 5 Minutes” note Will Kane pins on the door of his office when he heads out to seek help from residents of Hadleyville. About the only thing missing is the famous song, “Do Not Forsake Me,” and the film could have used it.

Late in the film, as the clock clicks down to the time when Frank Miller will step off the stage for a long-awaited showdown with Kane, we see images of several of the people who have turned their backs on the good marshal. In the original, it helped build suspense. Here, it just looks silly.

In one departure from the original, Kane faces even stiffer odds — six to one instead of four to one. Likely that’s simply because four to one odds don’t seem so stiff we’re so used to seeing good guys gun down bad guys with relative ease.

The end result, we’re reminded that Tom Skerritt is no Gary Cooper, and the characters playing Helen Ramirez and Harvey Pell pale in comparison to Kathy Jurado and Lloyd Bridges.

This will come off better to those totally unfamiliar with the original.

Maria Alonson as Helen Ramirez, Will Kane’s former lover in High Noon (2000)

Reed Diamond as Harvey Pell, Will Kane’s headstrong young deputy in High Noon (2000)

Directed by:
Rod Hardy

Cast:
Tom Skerritt … Will Kane
Susanna Thompson … Amy Kane
Reed Diamond … Harvey Pell
Maria Alonson … Helen Ramirez
Randy Birch … Fellows
David Lereaney … Sam Beattie
Michael Madsen … Frank Miller
Dennis Weaver … Mart Howe

Runtime: 93 min.

Michael Madsen as Frank Miller, back in Hadleyville and looking to even an old score in High Noon (2000)

Dennis Weaver as Mart Howe, the former lawman feeling too old and feeble to help Will Kane in High Noon (2000)

Memorable lines:

Susanna: “You’re looking forward to this gunfight?”
Hotel clerk: “Yes. And no.”
Susanna: “Yes and no?”
Hotel clerk: “Yes, it’s going to be very interesting. But no one’s offering very good odds.”

Former sheriff Mart: “I did the job back East 25 years. It’s a great job, too. You risk your life catching killers so that the courts can turn them loose to shoot at you again. And if you’re honest, your poor your whole life. And in the end, you wind up dying all alone in some dirty street. For what? For what? For nothing. For a tin star.”

Susanna Thompson as Amy Kane, learning about her husband’s past from a hotel clerk in High Noon (2000)

Tom Skerritt as Will Kane, knowing the time for a showdown has arrived in High Noon (2000)