Buy the DVD:

High Noon

Considered one of the finest westerns ever made, High Noon doesn’t show classical aspects of its genre--deserts, prairies, beautiful landscapes or gun fights between Indians and Cowboys. In fact the only desert will be seen in the loneliness printed in Gary Cooper’s eyes.

The story is pretty simple but highly effective, Cooper is Will Kane, a retiring Marshall who intends to get married and leave the small town on his last day, when he hears the news: Frank Miller, a convicted murderer, will get out of prison and is coming on the noon train to fulfill his vow, to kill Kane, the man who arrested him.

Initially persuaded to escape, Kane changes his mind and decides to face the killer and his band of three more criminals, a decision opposed by the whole town. Kane tries to find special deputies, who may help him in this task, but one by one everybody turns him down and he soon realizes that he will be alone in this suicide duty.

Gary Copper, known as the personification of the all-American hero, received an Academy Award as “Best Actor” for his performance in the movie; his pained expression was due to a bleeding ulcer he had during the shooting. Grace Kelly, in one of her first film roles, plays Kane’s Quaker wife, showing the beauty and powerful acting that would make her a future star and princess. Other known faces in the film are Lloyd Bridges and Lon Chaney Jr., both very effective in their roles.

The well crafted screenplay by Carl Foreman and the fantastic directing work of Fred Zinnemann, capable of creating perfect representations of the story’s mood in single shots, the emptiness and solitude felt by the hero, are strongly enhanced by the beautiful tune “Do Not Forsake Me,” composed by Dmitri Tiomkin and with lyrics by Ned Washington, undoubtedly one of the best songs in cinema’s history.

Released during the Red Scare in the fifties, the film works as a perfect metaphor of its time, the loneliness felt by those who were prosecuted. Dealing with subjects like duty, courage and self sacrifice, the growing tension of the movie and the constant presence of the time factor, strongly represented by a ticking clock present in each scene, built the movie pace until the final confrontation, in which Kane must face the deadly killer or lie a coward in his grave.

An unforgettable classic and a must-have film in any DVD Collection.

Written by: Edward Olivier

Reviewers Rating: 9.5
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0

Rate It