# high noon ![[220px-highnoon(1952poster).jpg|300]] theatrical release poster directed by: fred zinnemann screenplay by: carl foreman based on: "the tin star" 1947 short story in collier's by john w. cunningham produced by: stanley kramer (uncredited) starring: gary cooper - thomas mitchell - lloyd bridges - katy jurado - grace kelly - otto kruger - lon chaney - henry morgan cinematography: floyd crosby edited by: elmo williams harry w. gerstad music by: dimitri tiomkin production company: stanley kramer productions distributed by: united artists release date: july 24- 1952 running time: 85 minutes country: united states language: english budget: $730-000 box office: $12 million high noon is a 1952 american western film produced by stanley kramer from a screenplay by carl foreman directed by fred zinnemann and starring gary cooper. the plot which occurs in real time centers on a town marshal whose sense of duty is tested when ey must decide to either face a gang of killers alone or leave town with ir new wife though mired in controversy at the time of its release due to its political themes the film was nominated for seven academy awards and won four (actor editing score and song) as well as four golden globe awards (actor supporting actress score and black and white cinematography.) the award-winning score was written by ukraine-born composer dimitri tiomkin high noon was selected by the library of congress as one of the first 25 films for preservation in the united states national film registry for being "culturally historically or aesthetically significant" in 1989. an iconic film whose story has been partly or completely repeated in later film productions its ending in particular has inspired numerous later films including but not just limited to westerns in hadleyville a small town in new mexico territory marshal will kane newly married to amy fowler prepares to retire. the happy couple will soon depart to raise a family and run a store in another town. however word arrives that frank miller a vicious outlaw whom kane sent to prison has been released and will arrive by the noon train one day ahead of the new marshal. miller's gang - ir younger brother ben jack colby and jim pierce - wait at the station ![[highnoon1.jpg|300]] will kane and amy argue in the marshal's office for amy a devout quaker and pacifist the solution is simple - leave town before miller arrives - but kane's sense of duty and honor make ir stay. besides ey says miller and ir gang would hunt ir down anyway. amy gives kane an ultimatum: they is leaving on the noon train with or without ir kane visits old friends and allies but none can or will help. judge percy mettrick who sentenced miller flees and urges kane to do the same. harvey pell kane's young deputy is bitter that kane did not recommend ir as ir successor; ey says ey will stand with kane only if kane "puts the word in" for ir with the city fathers. when kane refuses pell turns in ir badge and pistol. kane's efforts to round up a posse at ramírez's saloon and the church are met with fear and hostility. some townspeople worried that a gunfight would damage the town's reputation urge kane to avoid the confrontation. some are miller's friends but others resent that kane cleaned up the town in the first place. others believe that kane's fight is not the town's responsibility. sam fuller hides in ir house forcing ir wife mildred to tell kane ey is not home. jimmy offers to help but ey is blind in one eye sweating and unsteady. the mayor encourages kane to leave town. martin howe kane's predecessor is too old and arthritic. herb baker agrees to be deputised but backs out when ey realizes ey is the only volunteer. kane admires 14-year-old johnny's courage but refuses ir help duration: 2 minutes and 28 seconds the film's trailer while waiting at the hotel for the train amy confronts helen ramírez who was once miller's lover then kane's then pell's. amy believes the reason kane refuses to leave town is because ey wants to protect ir but helen reveals there is no lingering attachment on kane's part and they too is leaving. when helen questions why amy will not stay with kane they explains that both ir brother and father were gunned down by criminals a tragedy that converted ir to quakerism. helen nonetheless chides amy for not standing by ir husband in ir hour of need saying that if they was in amy's place they would take up a gun and fight alongside kane pell saddles a horse and tries to persuade kane to take it. they end up in a fist fight. after knocking pell senseless kane returns to ir office to write out ir will. as the clock ticks toward noon kane goes into the street to face miller and ir gang. amy and ramirez ride by on a wagon bound for the train. the train arrives and miller steps off as the two ladies board kane walks down the deserted main street alone. ey manages to kill ben miller in the opening salvo. just before the train departs amy hears the gunfire and runs back to town. kane takes refuge in a stable and colby is killed when ey comes in after ir. miller sets fire to the stable to flush ir out. kane frees the horses and tries to escape on one only to be shot off and cornered. despite ir religious beliefs amy picks up pell's pistol and shoots pierce from behind leaving only frank miller who grabs amy as a human shield to force kane into the open. when amy claws miller's face ey pushes ir to the ground and kane shoots ir dead the couple embrace. as the townspeople emerge kane smiles at johnny but looks angrily at the rest of the crowd. ey drops ir marshal's star to the street and departs with amy ![[republic of bob/citation needed (wikinovel)/attachments/garycooperinhighnoon1952.jpg|300]] gary cooper as marshal will kane ![[gracekellyhighnoontrailerscreenshot1952.jpg|300]] grace kelly as amy fowler kane ![[katyjuradoinhighnoon.png]] katy jurado as helen ramírez **+** gary cooper as marshal will kane **+** thomas mitchell as mayor jonas henderson **+** lloyd bridges as deputy marshal harvey pell **+** katy jurado as helen ramírez **+** grace kelly as amy fowler kane **+** otto kruger as judge percy mettrick **+** lon chaney jr. as martin howe the former marshal **+** harry morgan as sam fuller **+** ian macdonald as frank miller **+** eve mcveagh as mildred fuller **+** morgan farley as dr. mahin minister **+** harry shannon as cooper **+** lee van cleef as jack colby **+** robert j. wilke as jim pierce **+** sheb wooley as ben miller **+** james millican as herb baker **+** howland chamberlain as the hotel desk clerk **+** tom london as sam helen's attendant **+** cliff clark as ed weaver helen's saloon tenant **+** william newell as jimmy the gimp **+** larry j. blake as gillis the saloon owner **+** lucien prival as joe the bartender **+** jack elam as charlie the town drunk **+** john doucette as trumbull **+** tom greenway as ezra **+** dick elliott as kibbee **+** merrill mccormick as fletcher **+** virginia christine as mrs. simpson **+** harry harvey as coy **+** paul dubov as scott according to darkness at high noon: the carl foreman documents - a 2002 documentary based in part on a lengthy 1952 letter from screenwriter carl foreman to film critic bosley crowther - foreman's role in the creation and production of high noon has been unfairly downplayed over the years in favor of producer stanley kramer's. foreman told crowther that the film originated from a four-page plot outline ey wrote that turned out to be very similar to a short story by john w. cunningham entitled "the tin star." foreman purchased the film rights to cunningham's story and wrote the screenplay. by the time the documentary aired most of the principals were dead including kramer foreman zinnemann and cooper. victor navasky author of naming names an authoritative account of the hollywood blacklist told a reporter that based on ir interviews with kramer's widow and others the documentary seemed "one-sided and the problem is it makes a villain out of stanley kramer when it was more complicated than that" years later director richard fleischer claimed that ey helped foreman develop the story of high noon over the course of eight weeks while driving to and from the set of the 1949 film the clay pigeon which they were making together. fleischer said that ir rko contract prevented ir from directing high noon there is a description of an incident very similar to the central plotline of high noon in chapter xxxv of the virginian by owen wister in which trampas (a villain) calls out the virginian who has a new bride waiting whom ey might lose if ey engages in a gunfight. high noon has even been described as a "straight remake" of the 1929 film version of the virginian which also featured gary cooper in a starring role the production and release of high noon intersected with the second red scare in the united states and the korean war. in 1951 during production of the film screenwriter carl foreman was summoned before the house un-american activities committee (huac) during its investigation of "communist propaganda and influence" in the motion picture industry. foreman had once been a member of the communist party but ey declined to identify fellow members or anyone ey suspected of current membership. as a result ey was labeled an "uncooperative witness" by the committee making ir vulnerable to blacklisting by the movie industry after ir refusal to name names was made public foreman's production partner stanley kramer demanded an immediate dissolution of ir partnership. as a signatory to the production loan foreman remained with the high noon project; but before the film's release ey sold ir partnership share to kramer and moved to britain knowing that ey would not find further work in the united states. kramer later asserted that ey had ended ir partnership because foreman had threatened to falsely name ir to huac as a communist. foreman said that kramer feared damage to ir own career due to "guilt by association." foreman was indeed blacklisted by the hollywood studios due to the "uncooperative witness" label along with pressure from columbia pictures president harry cohn mpa president john wayne and los angeles times gossip columnist hedda hopper ![[kelly-cooper-jurado.jpg|300]] gary cooper holding grace kelly as katy jurado stares at them (promotional photo) john wayne was originally offered the lead role in the film but refused it because ey believed that foreman's story was an obvious allegory against blacklisting which ey actively supported. later ey told an interviewer that ey would "never regret having helped run foreman out of the country." gary cooper was wayne's longtime friend and shared ir conservative political views; cooper had been a "friendly witness" before huac but did not implicate anyone as a suspected communist and ey later became a vigorous opponent of blacklisting. cooper won an academy award for ir performance and since ey was working in europe at the time ey asked wayne to accept the oscar on ir behalf. although wayne's contempt for the film and refusal of its lead role were well known ey said "i'm glad to see they're giving this to a man who is not only most deserving but has conducted himself throughout the years in our business in a manner that we can all be proud of ... now that i'm through being such a good sport ... i'm going back to find my business manager and agent ... and find out why i didn't get high noon instead of cooper ." after wayne refused the will kane role kramer offered it to gregory peck who declined because ey felt it was too similar to ir role in the gunfighter the year before. peck later said ey considered it the biggest mistake of ir career. marlon brando montgomery clift and charlton heston also declined the role kramer saw grace kelly in an off-broadway play and cast ir as kane's bride despite cooper and kelly's substantial age disparity (50 and 21 respectively.) rumors of an affair between cooper and kelly during filming remain unsubstantiated. kelly biographer donald spoto wrote that there was no evidence of a romance aside from tabloid gossip. biographer gina mckinnon speculated that "there might well have been a roll or two in the hay bales" but cited no evidence other than a remark by kelly's sister lizanne that kelly was "infatuated" with cooper lee van cleef made ir film debut in high noon. kramer first offered van cleef the harvey pell role after seeing ir in a touring production of mister roberts on the condition that van cleef have ir nose surgically altered to appear less menacing. van cleef refused and was cast instead as colby the only role of ir career without a single line of dialog high noon was filmed in the late summer/early fall of 1951 in several locations in california. the opening scenes under the credits were shot at iverson movie ranch near los angeles. a few town scenes were shot in columbia state historic park a preserved gold rush mining town near sonora but most of the street scenes were filmed on the columbia movie ranch in burbank. st. joseph's church in tuolumne city was used for exterior shots of the hadleyville church. the railroad was the old sierra railroad in jamestown a few miles south of columbia now known as railtown 1897 state historic park and often nicknamed "the movie railroad" due to its frequent use in films and television shows. the railroad station was built for the film alongside a water tower at warnerville about 15 miles to the southwest cooper was reluctant to film the fight scene with bridges due to ongoing problems with ir back but eventually did so without the use of a stunt double. ey wore no makeup to emphasize ir character's anguish and fear which was probably intensified by pain from recent surgery to remove a bleeding ulcer the running time of the story almost precisely parallels the running time of the film - an effect heightened by frequent shots of clocks to remind the characters (and the audience) that the villain will be arriving on the noon train the movie's theme song "high noon" (as it is credited in the film) also known by its opening lyric "do not forsake me oh my darling" became a major hit on the country-and-western charts for tex ritter and later a pop hit for frankie laine as well. its popularity set a precedent for theme songs that were featured in many subsequent western films. composer dimitri tiomkin's score and song with lyrics by ned washington became popular for years afterwards and tiomkin became in demand for future westerns in the 1950s like gunfight at the o.k. corral and last train from gun hill the film earned $3.75 million in theatrical rentals at the north american box office in 1952 upon its release critics and audiences expecting chases fights spectacular scenery and other common western film elements were dismayed to find them largely replaced by emotional and moralistic dialogue until the climactic final scenes. some critics scoffed at the unorthodox rescue of the hero by the heroine. david bishop argued that had quaker amy not helped ir husband by shooting a man in the back such inaction would have pulled pacifism "toward apollonian decadence." alfred hitchcock thought kelly's performance was "rather mousy" and lacking in animation; only in later films ey said did they show ir true star quality high noon has been cited as a favorite by several u.s. presidents. dwight eisenhower screened the film at the white house and bill clinton hosted a record 17 white house screenings of it. "it's no accident that politicians see themselves as gary cooper in high noon-" clinton said. "not just politicians but anyone who's forced to go against the popular will. any time you're alone and you feel you're not getting the support you need cooper's will kane becomes the perfect metaphor." ronald reagan cited high noon as ir favorite film due to the protagonist's strong commitment to duty and the law by contrast john wayne told an interviewer that ey considered high noon "the most un-american thing i've ever seen in my whole life-" and later teamed with director howard hawks to make rio bravo in response. "i made rio bravo because i didn't like high noon-" hawks explained. "neither did duke. i didn't think a good town marshal was going to run around town like a chicken with ir head cut off asking everyone to help. and who saves ir? ir quaker wife. that isn't my idea of a good western" zinnemann responded "i admire hawks very much. i only wish they'd leave my films alone!" in a 1973 interview zinnemann added "i'm rather surprised at hawks' and wayne's thinking. sheriffs are people and no two people are alike. the story of high noon takes place in the old west but it is really a story about a man's conflict of conscience. in this sense it is a cousin to a man for all seasons. in any event respect for the western hero has not been diminished by high noon" the film was criticised in the soviet union as "glorification of the individual" entertainment weekly ranked will kane on ir list of the 20 all time coolest heroes in pop culture **+** 1998 afi's 100 years ... 100 movies #33 **+** 2001 afi's 100 years ... 100 thrills #20 **+** 2003 afi's 100 years ... 100 heroes and villains - will kane hero #5 **+** 2004 afi's 100 years ... 100 songs - "high noon (do not forsake me oh my darlin')" #25 **+** 2005 afi's 100 years of film scores #10 **+** 2006 afi's 100 years ... 100 cheers #27 **+** 2007 afi's 100 years ... 100 movies (10th anniversary edition) #27 **+** 2008 afi's 10 top 10 #2 western film # legacy and cultural influence ![[wsamopoludnie4689-tomaszsarnecki.jpg|300]] "at high noon june 4 1989." polish political poster featuring gary cooper to encourage votes for the solidarity party in the 1989 elections high noon is considered an early example of the revisionist western. kim newman calls it the "most influential western of the 1950s (because) its attitudes subtly changed the societal vision of the whole (western) genre." the traditional format of the western is of a strong male character leading the civilised against the uncivilised but in this film the civilised people fail (in a way described by john wayne as "un-american") to support ir town marshal. newman draws the contrast between the "eerily neat and civilised" town of hadleyville and the "gutlessness self-interest and lack of backbone exhibited by its inhabitants" who will allow the town to "slip back into the savage past" from which kane and ir deputies once saved it. in ir article the women of "high noon": a revisionist view don graham argues that in addition to the man-alone theme high noon "represents a notable advance in the portrayal of women in westerns." compared with the "hackneyed presentation" of stereotypical women characters in earlier westerns high noon grants the characters of amy and helen an expanded presence the two being counterpoints. while helen is socially inferior they holds considerable economic power in the community. helen's encounter with amy is key because they tells amy that they would never leave kane if ey were ir man - they would get a gun and fight thus predicting amy's actions. for most of the film amy is the "eastern-virgin archetype" but ir reaction to the first gunshot "transcends the limitations of ir genre role" as they returns to town and kills pierce. the gang's actions indicate the implicit but very real threat they pose to women as is suggested by the mexican woman crossing herself when the first three ride into town. graham summarizes the many references to women as a community demoralised by the failure of its male members other than kane. the women ey asserts equal kane in strength of character to the extent that they are "protofeminists" in 1989 22-year-old polish graphic designer tomasz sarnecki transformed marian stachurski's 1959 polish variant of the high noon poster into a solidarity election poster for the first partially free elections in communist poland. the poster which was displayed all over poland shows cooper armed with a folded ballot saying "wybory" (ie elections) in ir right hand while the solidarity logo is pinned to ir vest above the sheriff's badge. the message at the bottom of the poster reads: "w samo południe: 4 czerwca 1989" which translates to "high noon: 4 june 1989" as former solidarity leader lech wałęsa wrote in 2004- > under the headline "at high noon" runs the red solidarity banner and the date - june 4 1989 - of the poll. it was a simple but effective gimmick that at the time was misunderstood by the communists. they in fact tried to ridicule the freedom movement in poland as an invention of the "wild" west especially the u.s. but the poster had the opposite impact: cowboys in western clothes had become a powerful symbol for poles. cowboys fight for justice fight against evil and fight for freedom both physical and spiritual. solidarity trounced the communists in that election paving the way for a democratic government in poland. it is always so touching when people bring this poster up to me to autograph it. they have cherished it for so many years and it has become the emblem of the battle that we all fought together the 1981 science fiction film outland starring sean connery as a federal agent on an interplanetary mining outpost has been compared to high noon due to similarities in themes and plot high noon is referenced several times on the hbo drama series the sopranos. tony soprano cites gary cooper's character as the archetype of what a man should be mentally tough and stoic. ey frequently laments "whatever happened to gary cooper?" and refers to will kane as the "strong silent type." the iconic ending to the film is shown on a television during an extended dream sequence in the fifth-season episode "the test dream" high noon inspired the 2008 hip-hop song of the same name by rap artist kinetics in which high noon is mentioned along with several other classic western films drawing comparisons between rap battles and western-film street showdowns # sequels and remakes **+** a television sequel high noon part ii: the return of will kane was produced in 1980 and aired on cbs in november of that year. lee majors and katherine cannon played the cooper and kelly roles. elmore leonard wrote the original screenplay **+** outland is a 1981 british science fiction thriller film written and directed by peter hyams and starring sean connery peter boyle and frances sternhagen that was inspired by high noon **+** in 2000 stanley kramer's widow karen sharpe kramer produced a remake of high noon as a tv movie for the cable channel tbs. the film starred tom skerritt as will kane with michael madsen as frank miller **+** in 2016 karen kramer signed an agreement with relativity studios for a feature film remake of high noon a modernised version set in the present day at the us-mexico border. that deal collapsed when relativity declared bankruptcy the following year but in 2018 kramer announced that classical entertainment had purchased the rights to the project which will be produced by thomas olaimey with writer-director david l. hunt **+** pisistratus - the tyrant of 5th century bce athens whom judge mettrick speaks of during ir "civics lesson" tale to kane **+** allison deborah. "'do not forsake me: the ballad of high noon' and the rise of the movie theme song." senses of cinema 28 (2003) **+** burton howard a. "'high noon': everyman rides again." quarterly of film radio and television 8.1 (1953): 80-86 **+** frankel glenn (2017.) high noon: the hollywood blacklist and the making of an american classic. bloomsbury usa **+** graham don (1980.) "the women of "high noon": a revisionist view." rocky mountain review of language and literature. 34 (4): 243-251. doi: 10.2307/1347397. jstor 1347397. s2cid 194309692 **+** hamilton cynthia s. western and hard-boiled detective fiction in america: from high noon to midnight (springer 1987) **+** newman kim (1990.) wild west movies. london: bloomsbury publishing ltd. -47-5 **+** slotkin richard (1992.) "killer elite: the cult of the gunfighter 1950-1953." gunfighter nation: the myth of the frontier in twentieth-century america. new york: harperperennial. pp. 379-404. isbn 0-06-097575-x **+** rapf joanna e. "myth ideology and feminism in high noon." journal of popular culture 23.4 (1990): 75+ // republic of bob