Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) has just married his sweetheart, Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly). They are about to leave the town of Hadleyville when a telegram comes. It states that Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) is alive, having escaped death row, and is comming back to town to kill Will Kane, The man who put him in jail.
Comming in on the next train, Miller is joined by three of his posse who also detest Kane and want him dead. Will Kane has only one hour to round up his own posse to try and stop Frank Miller. His only deputy, Harvey Pell (Lloyd Bridges) quits on him, and no one else has courage enough to stand up to Miller's gang. Kane is going to have to go it alone when that train comes in... at High Noon.
Cary Cooper is spectacular in High Noon, and has amazing chemistry with all of his co-stars, including Harry Morgan and Lloyd Bridges.
Grace Kelly plays his wife with with equal passion.
I also LOVE the panoramic pull-back shot of Will Kane wandering through the town just before High Noon. It is a wonderful camera angle and adds a great deal depth and dimension to the picture.
And how about the ending? Will Kane takes care of business and then, whenm the townspeople come out to congratulate him, he and his wife leave without one word spoken. He doesn't want their praises; they wouldn't help him in his time ouf need, so he doesn't want anything back in return. A classic ending.
On Second Thought...
Having watched this film again, I am taken by how complex it is. On one level, we have the frustrated, agonized Will Kane who is scared at the prospect of facing Frank Miller, and on another level we have the brave Will Kane who tries to rally the town to stop Miller.
Whatever you belive the film to be, a classic western or an analogy to the then-current communist witch-hunts, one thing is certain. This is probably the best western ever made. It has the beautiful girl, the hero, the bad guy, horses and guns. The elements mix just right.
And then there is Gary. Gary Cooper plays the part of Marshall Will Kane extremely well, balancing the scared Kane with the tough. The suspence is killer... as the time slowly ticks away to high noon, as Kane is sweating more and more, we sweat more and more untill the final gun battle. Every time he looks at the clock, he worries. We worry too.
Like John Wayne in his films, this role and Gary Cooper have become synonimous with Male heroism. Like Will Smith in I Am Legend, the hero, Gary Cooper takes on the bad guys alone and wins. It is a film where you want to stand up and cheer. And you should. This is probably the best western ever made, and definatly one of the best performances in cinema history.
09-07-2008
Plot: 
Visual Effects: 
Floyd Crosby, father of rock ledgend David Crosby, did superb job on the camera, especially the panoramic pull-back shot of Will Kane wandering through the town just before High Noon. Classic.
Sound:
Whicked score, and the song, Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin that won the Oscar is amazingly well sung by Tex Ritter. The song is as powerful today as it was back then. It is amazing to hear the song at the beginning of the picture and be lured in to Will Kane's world. Great, great song.
Character Development: 
Atmosphere:
Westerns are always easier to get into that some other genre's of films; it's not always clear why, though.
Realism:
Most westerns are "hollywoodized," this one included, but not much. And by "Hollywoodized," I mean a flashy western flick with big stars and a predictable outcome.
Warren’s Rating:
Movies it was nominated with for Best Picture:
*The Greatest Show on Earth, (1952); Ivanhoe, (1952); Moulin Rouge, (1952); The Quiet Man, (1952)
8.86/10 Is the movie worth your time to watch?
05-06-04
Age at win: 52
Nominated for: Best Actor in a Leading Role, Marshal Will Kane, High Noon
Nomination: 2/5 (acting), 2/6 (total; 1 Honorary Oscar included); Win: 2nd
Cary Cooper is spectacular in High Noon, and well deserving of the Oscar. You can see the pure emotion comming from Cooper in almsot every scene. (He had a bleeding ulcer throughout the filming of High Noon, which may have given his performance a boost.)
No one else could make the role of Marshall Will Kane any better than the way that Gary Cooper played the role. It is a special role and one that only comes along once in ablue moon. Kudos to Gary for his wonderful performance.
05-06-04
