HIGH NOON

 The first Western I ever loved.

Will Kane (Gary Cooper, nailing the role to perfection), a painfully good sheriff, puts off his honeymoon to defend his town from a gang of outlaws. The gang is traveling to his town because of personal grievances they have with him. When Will tries to recruit people to fight alongside him, he finds all of the towns citizens don’t want to get involved, some actively want him to leave, and others are vocal in their dislike of him. It quickly becomes clear that Will is likely facing his death. 

High Noon is an ultra-dark, ultra-bleak, nihilistic western. It gets a lot of its strength from how minimalistic and simplistic it is. At the end of the day, the bare basic plot is that of good man vs bad men. That simple story allows the film to really focus on Will as a character, and on his reaction to the town’s betrayal (Even Amy, his just-married wife played by the always wonderful Grace Kelly, abandons him). 

High Noon is directed by Fred Zimmerman (‘Oklahoma!’, ‘From Here to Eternity’, ‘A Man for All Seasons’, ‘The Day of the Jackal’). Zimmerman brings a dread and heaviness that grows and builds throughout the runtime. By the end, it’s overwhelming. The superb cinematography by Floyd Crosby (‘From Here to Eternity’, ‘Walk Tall’, ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’, ‘The Raven’, ‘The Terror’, and ‘Beach Blanket Bingo’) aids in creating tension and dread. The shots of Cooper’s Will standing alone in the town are unforgettable and haunting. 

Carl Foreman (‘The Guns of Navarone’, co-wrote ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’) penns the screenplay. He adapts it from the magazine short story ‘The Tin Star’ by John W. Cunningham. The work delivered isn’t the strongest. That said, there are still memorable moments and lines throughout.

High Noon is minimalist and simple. It’s also one of the darkest and most nihilistic westerns you can see. It’s a western that’s been stripped-down to its bare essentials, yet it still works due to its emphasis on character work and darker themes.

4 STARS