High Noon

"High Noon" is one of the most famous western movies ever made!

It seems like a happy day for retiring Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper).  He is getting married and leaving Hadleyville to start a new life.  But the day takes a tragic turn when he finds out that Frank Miller, a man he sent to prison years ago,  has been released and is coming town on the 12:00 noon train for a revenge showdown with Marshall Kane.

Kane’s new wife, Amy (Grace Kelly), urges him to leave town with her and avoid the gunfight. Other friends agree and urge Kane to leave, too.  But Kane’s sense of honor and pride won’t let him go.  He decides that he’ll stay and confront Miller and his gang at High Noon.

Since Marshall Kane has protected the town for many years, he figures that he can count on the townspeople to help him in his time of need.  But as time progresses, and the fateful noon hour approaches, it becomes increasingly clear that the townspeople are too afraid to help.

The clock keeps ticking.  Will Kane have to stand alone at High Noon? If so, will he survive? All the odds are against him.

• Gary Cooper won both the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his outstanding performance as Marshal Will Kane in “High Noon.”

• John Wayne was not offered the leading role in “High Noon.”  Other actors that were offered the part but turned it down were Charlton Heston, Gregory Peck and Marlon Brando.

• The timing for the movie “High Noon” is very close to the actual time that things unfold in the film.  Gary Cooper has roughly 1 ½  hours to prepare for the showdown which is very close to the running time for the movie.  This was intentionally done by the director in order to add to the movie’s suspense.

• Director Fred Zinneman passionately fought against colorization of “High Noon.”  Eventually, however, Ted Turner colorized the movie to show on his cable channel.

• There is a sequel to High Noon that was made 28 years later and shown on television.  The title of the sequel was “High Noon Part 2 – The Return of Will Kane.”  Lee Majors stars as Will Kane in this version.

• “High Noon” is one of the few movies in the United States to be honored in the U.S. Library of Congress National Film Registry.

• “High Noon” won four Academy Awards, including one for the famous High Noon hit song by Tex Ritter named “Do Not Forsake Me, O My Darling.’  The awards were: Best Actor (Gary Cooper), Best Film Editing, Best Song “High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me) and Best Movie Music Scoring.

• “High Noon” also won four Golden Globe Awards, including the first Golden Globe Award ever given to a Mexican Actress – Katy Jurado for her portrayal as Helen Ramirez in the film. The awards were: Best Actor (Gary Cooper), Best Supporting Actress (Katy Jurado), Best Motion Picture Score and Best Cinematography.