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Rating: 4.75 out of 5
Yoooooooooooo!! I want to tell you that I just watched one of the best westerners out there. That westerner is High Noon starring Gary Cooper. I will say that I have seen a few westerners in my lifetime, and the one that I always enjoy is Clint Eastwood’s The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Besides that, I really don’t spend much time on this genre because it’s usually cowboy chasing Indians, spectacular scenery, or some epic horse chase. I want to tell you that High Noon is none of those things. The overall intensity and build-up in this film are beyond exciting and heart-pounding, and the end is what set the standard for most films for a showdown. If you are debating watching this film, AFI, American Film Institute gave this film a few awards. Here are ranks they gave this film: #33 in 100 movies, #20 for 100 thrills, the hero ranked #5, the song “High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin’)” ranked #25, #10 in 100 film scores, #27 for 100 cheers, #27 when AFI reranked all the films and #2 for all-time best western film.
Directed by Fred Zinnemann, High Noon occurs in real-time. It centers on a town marshal whose past comes back when he must decide to protect the town he once served or bounce with his new wife. Former Marshal Will Kane (Cooper) has just been hitched to his lovely bride, Amy (Kelly). Life is grand from the wedding when Will learns that local criminal Frank Miller (MacDonald) has been set free and is arriving on the noon train. To make matters worse, Frank’s crew has rode through town and set up post at the train station waiting for his arrival. Against the wishes of Amy, Will goes on a mission to start recruiting deputies to fight Miller. As he searches, Will soon learns that people in the town have become soft and soon realizes that he will have to face Miller and his crew alone.
Like I said in the intro, this isn’t your typical Western film. There are no chases, no epic scenery, no Indians causing trouble, or no train robbery. The story is straightforward. A US Marshal just had his wedding and decides it’s time to hang it up. However, word arrives that Frank Miller, a vicious outlaw whom Kane sent to prison, has been released and will arrive on the noon train. You sit there and can see that this doesn’t sit well with Frank, and to make matters worse, Miller’s gang, his younger brother Ben, Jack Colby, and Jim Pierce, ride into town and sit at the train station for him.
This is where the film excels in my eyes. The emotional and moralistic dialogue of everyone Will comes into contact with until the climactic final scenes is what sets this film apart. Will runs all over town trying to find men to help him with his cause. When I say no one will help, absolutely no one comes to Will’s aid. Young deputy Harvey Pell is pissed at Will because he did not recommend him as his successor and says he will only help if Will puts in a good word for him. When that doesn’t happen, homeboy quits like a punk bitch. Judge Percy Mettrick, who sentenced Miller, flees on horseback and urges Kane to do the same. Hell, even Will’s old flame Helen Ramírez says naw and jumps on a train after selling her place. Many of the townsfolk even resent Will because he cleaned up the town too well. Everyone straight up trifling in this film.
What is excellent in this film is that it happens in real-time. We actually see the clock slowly move towards noon every time Will or someone else looks up at it. This brought on a significant sense of desperation in the film and the audience. As we look at Will trying to recruit person after person, we know time is slowly ticking away to the inevitable. The film did this by having the threat of Miller’s gang in town even when they are not seen on screen. You knew they were there and waiting for their boss to show up. The scene that showed this to pure perfection was around the last 2 minutes or so before noon. As the music blares on the beat of each drum strike, the scene changes from person to person.
Now the climax of the scene was perfect for this film and had me on the edge of my seat, but also, you can see where many films now and after this film has used it. When Miller joins back up with his gang, the four of them stand across from Will for an epic shoot-out. The intensity of Will going to a barn and taking out each man one by one until the final with saving his girl. That last shot was mwah! Loved every minute of it, and when Will retired, he should’ve slapped every person on the way out.
How about the freakin cast? They were beyond excellent in this film. First, we have to talk about Gary Cooper as Marshal Will Kane. This dude set the tone for the whole movie. It’s one thing for a marshal to be relaxed and calm and act like nothing will go wrong, but Cooper took Will in a whole new direction. He showed the desperation in Will and the thought that he might not make it out. Cooper was a straight-up G in this role. Also, there is a young Lloyd Bridges. Who would’ve thought because I was shocked to see him in a serious role like this. See too many Hot Shots films.
Let’s take a second to talk about the acting jobs of the beautiful actresses in this film Grace Kelly as Amy Fowler Kane and Katy Jurado as Helen Ramírez were perfect and complete opposites from each other. Kelly played Amy as a loving wife who feared for her husband but also was a Quaker and didn’t like violence and so no need for it. She had that sweet and innocent look but wasn’t some damsel in distress. On the other hand, Katy Jurado played Helen as a woman with a past with Will and was a businesswoman. When she saw things going wrong, she sold her business and dipped. I liked her because she was stone cold and seemed to have no emotions. Love her character.
Let’s give a shout-out to Fred Zinnemann, who directed this film. I want to say that his direction and how this film was shot were fantastic. He let simple things like time and the anticipation of a fight loom heavily over this film. He really made you sit on the edge of your seat as you waited for the noon train to roll in. What he did was simple but so effective.
Yooooo! Honestly, I didn’t know that the movie’s theme song, “High Noon,” or as the world knows it, “Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling,” started with this film. You know how many western movies roll to this song. It is an all-time classic for this genre. Honestly, I thought it was a much older song. The film score is pretty intense also. Just throwing that out there.
High Noon is one of the best western films out there. It doesn’t play on the typical western themes with robberies and chases. This one kept it simple with a marshal running around trying to find help before the noon train. Cooper was excellent, along with Kelly and Jurado. The music is good with the classic song High Noon. Give this film a stare-down before an epic gunfight.
