Other Titles • High Noon (1952) • Zwölf Uhr mittags (1953)
Synopses for High Noon (1952)
1.
Cooper is Hollywood's perfect hero, the very embodiment of integrity and grace in this greatest of Westerns. As a newly married town marshal, he must balance an innate sense of justice and duty with loyalty to his beautiful new--and pacifist--bride when he is left by an ungrateful town to face a gang of deadly outlaws alone. As we watch spellbound, film time is real time as the showdown grows ever closer. A masterpiece. Frequently interpreted as a parable about artists left to "stand alone" and face persecution during the HUAC Hollywood blacklisting. (However, Howard Hawks allegedly devised "Rio Bravo" as an answer to this film's "wimpiness." Also, John Wayne once declared High Noon un-American. He was apparently offended by the ending of the film, which shows Sheriff Kane removing his badge and tossing it in the dirt.) A made-for-TV sequel, High Noon Part II: Return of Will Kane, aired in 1980. Academy Award Nominations: 7, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay.
(10 votes)
2.
Gary Cooper won the Oscar® for the Best Actor in this classic tale of a lawman who stands alone to defend a town of cowardly citizens against a gang of revenge-seeking criminals. In the greatest showdown in the history of cinema, Cooper stands to lose not only the town but his new wife, Grace Kelly. The film also stars one of Hollywood's most beloved and prolific actors, Lloyd Bridges, and marks the first starring role for a beautiful young actress and internationally adored screen legend - Grace Kelly. High Noon garnered a total of four Academy Awards® including Best Editing, Score and Original Song.
(10 votes)
3.
One of the greatest Westerns ever made gets the deluxe treatment on this superior disc. Written by Carl Foreman (who was later blacklisted during the anticommunist hearings of the 1950s) and superbly directed by Fred Zinnemann, this 1952 classic stars Gary Cooper as just-married lawman Will Kane, who is about to retire as a small-town sheriff and begin a new life with his bride (Grace Kelly) when he learns that gunslinger Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) is due to arrive at high noon to settle an old score. Kane seeks assistance from deputies and townsfolk, but soon realises he will have to stand alone in his showdown with Miller and his henchmen. Innovative for its time, the suspenseful story unfolds in approximate real time (from 10:40 a.m. to high noon in an 84-minute film), and many interpreted Foreman's drama as an allegorical reflection of apathy and passive acceptance of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anticommunist campaign. Political underpinnings aside, this remains a milestone of its genre (often referred to as the first "adult" Western), and Cooper is flawless in his Oscar-winning role. The first-rate DVD gives this landmark film all the respect it deserves, beginning with a digitally remastered transfer from the original film negative. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
(10 votes)
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
Movie Database
In Theaters
