High Noon (1952)

	Directed by: Fred Zinnemann	COUNTRY USA GENRE Western NORWEGIAN TITLE Sheriffen RUNNING TIME 84 minutes
	Produced by: Stanley Kramer
	Written by (based on a story by John W. Cunningham): Carl Foreman

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Will Kane	Gary Cooper
Amy Kane	Grace Kelly	½
Jonas Henderson	Thomas Mitchell
Harvey Pell	Lloyd Bridges	½
Helen Ramirez	Kary Jurado
Percy Mettrick	Otto Kruger
Martin Howe	Lon Chaney, Jr.
William Fuller	Harry Morgan
Frank Miller	Ian MacDonald
Jack Colby	Lee Van Cleef

Review

Incredibly tight, quintessential western directed by Fred Zinnemann, whose ability to acknowledge and interpret the psychological depth and relevance of Carl Foreman's pondering script made High Noon an immediate hit as well as an important, genre-altering film. Although the film adopts more or less the same stance on the conflict between the burgeoning urbanization of the New World and the freedom of the lone rider that the films of Sergio Leone or John Ford did, its point of view (even sympathy, if you like) lies on the opposite end of the scale. Even our protagonist, Will Kane, realizes that although he will remain the good guy, he is about to impose a way of life on the society he represents that has been deemed surplus and antiquated. Gary Cooper's thoughtful, sad eyes harbour a deep and harrowing character study, and Lloyd Bridges is perfect as his adversary – the representative of the common man's ambivalence and inability to grasp the complexity of the situation. It's not the showdown that makes High Noon, it's the depth and universal validity of the brilliant preface. And the film's technical achievement works as a perfect intensifier – from the ticking, real-time clocks to the allegorical images. A film to put on the curriculum for more than one university course.