High Noon (1952)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Fred Zinnemann

Writers:

Carl Foreman (screenplay)
John W. Cunningham (magazine story "The Tin Star")

Release Date:

30 July 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Tagline:

Simple. Powerful. Unforgettable.

Plot:

A marshall, personally compelled to face a returning deadly enemy, finds that his own town refuses to help him.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Wedding | Badge | 1880s | Famous Score

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Marshal Will Kane
Thomas Mitchell	...	Mayor Jonas Henderson
Lloyd Bridges	...	Deputy Marshal Harvey Pell
Katy Jurado	...	Helen Ramírez
Grace Kelly	...	Amy Fowler Kane
Otto Kruger	...	Judge Percy Mettrick
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Martin Howe (as Lon Chaney)
Harry Morgan	...	Sam Fuller (as Henry Morgan)
Ian MacDonald	...	Frank Miller
Eve McVeagh	...	Mildred Fuller
Morgan Farley	...	Dr. Mahin - Minister
Harry Shannon	...	Cooper
Lee Van Cleef	...	Jack Colby
Robert J. Wilke	...	Jim Pierce (as Robert Wilke)
Sheb Wooley	...	Ben Miller

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 (re-release) | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #15653)

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Stanley Kramer Productions

Trivia:

Although the picture takes place between 10:35 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.. slightly longer than the 84-minute running time, this was due to the re-editing ordered by Stanley Kramer and Fred Zinnemann, both of whom were unhappy over the first assemblage. Editor Elmo Williams experimented by using the final portion of the material shot and condensed it to exactly 60 minutes of footage timed to real-time in the film. Thus the film we see is Williams' experimental version, which met with both Kramer's and Zinnemann's approval.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the mayor makes his speech in church there are children sitting in the pews with the adults. Then the children disappear, but they're back in the next shot.

Quotes:

Will: [initially leaving town] This is crazy, I don't even have any guns.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gung Ho (1986)

Soundtrack:

High Noon

I don't get it

I am puzzled; how can anyone rate this as less than a 10? Can anyone find a single flaw in this movie? Any way it could have been better? This is the gold standard by which Westerns should be measured, not to mention any drama. It simply doesn't get any better than this.

As film, High Noon does an exceptional job of giving depth to characters quickly. The situation defines their character. Katy Jurado' role is one of the exceptions, where there is more talking, but we see unfold an exceptionally interesting person.

How many movies can you watch repeatedly over the years as you grow up and grow old that continue to move you and continue to reveal new depth and meaning? That is the measure of art.

This movie is timeless, and has a lesson for humanity of all eras and all nationalities. It will be watched a hundred years from now, a thousand years from now, if civilization survives that long. The message of this film is that this is not at all certain. It is up to us.

I suspect the reason some people down-rate High Noon is not for the quality of the film, but the message. Like John Wayne, they just don't like what it says about America.

Well I've got bad news for you, John, the Frank Millers have killed the sheriff and now run this country. The gang has gotten elected president and vice president. And the townspeople and ministers acquiesced like sheep or even actively supported it as "good for business."