HIGH NOON
(1952, Zinnemann)
"People gotta talk themselves into law and order before they do anything about it. Maybe because down deep they don't care. They just don't care."
High Noon follows Will Kane (Gary Cooper), a marshal at a small town who is about to retire and move to another town after marrying Amy (Grace Kelly). But things change when he finds out that Frank Miller, a ruthless outlaw with a vendetta against him has just been released and is set to arrive on the noon train.
Unlike other westerns,
High Noon is a more introspective film as it follows Kane's unsuccessful attempts to recruit a posse to aid him against Miller, while also questioning his own decisions from the past and his current decision to stay and fight. It is in this process that his predecessor, Martin (Lon Chaney) tells him the above quote. Instead of bringing words of comfort and inspiration, he lays it all bluntly: people just don't care.
You gotta admire the boldness of the filmmakers for sticking to this story of isolation and lack of heroism, particularly in the middle of the 20th Century. Through most of the film, you see a Kane that's not only alone, but afraid and insecure. I've only seen one of the other Best Actor nominees that year, but I have no issues with Cooper winning. He did so much with only his eyes and his expression.
In addition, director Fred Zinnemann does a great job of keeping up the tension right from the opening frame. The dread of the arrival of these outlaws is heightened also by the excellent editing by Elmo Williams and Harry W. Gerstad, and the score by Dimitri Tiokin. All of those contribute greatly to keep you on the edge with very little actual "action".
I do think that the conflict between Kane and his deputy Harvey (Lloyd Bridges) deserved a bit more attention, and maybe more could've been done with Kelly's character. I also don't think that Miller (Ian MacDonald), who we finally meet in the last 15-20 minutes, had a commanding presence for the amount of expectation the film lays on his arrival. Still, a damn fine western.
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