High Noon
February 13th 2009 03:45
BY THE early 1950s, people knew exactly what to expect from a western. The clean-cut good guy in the crisp white hat would inevitably defeat the snarling bad guy in the care-worn black hat, and there was always a raucous saloon scene somewhere in the middle featuring happy whores in frilly dresses and comedic drunks. High Noon is nothing like that.
Gary Cooper plays Will Kane, a weathered marshal who wants nothing more than to turn in his badge and start a new life with his new wife (Grace Kelly). However, when word spreads that a murderer Kane arrested (Ian MacDonald) is out of jail and on his way to town with vengeance on his mind, the marshal reluctantly changes his plans. Despite being urged to run by the fickle and disloyal townsfolk, Kane decides to stay and face the menace, and the countdown begins.
Loosely based on John W. Cunningham’s story The Tin Star, the movie was labelled ‘un-American’ when it was released because many saw it as an allegory for Senator Joseph McCarthy’s communist witch-hunts. Screenwriter Carl Foreman and actor Lloyd Bridges were consequently blacklisted by Hollywood producers and didn’t work for years. Technically, High Noon broke a lot of ground. The film progresses in real time, which director Fred Zinnemann cleverly emphasises with periodic shots of clocks and watches ticking down to noon, when the murderer’s train is due. The simple black-and-white cinematography works perfectly, and the carefully crafted suspense is almost unbearable at times.
The two-disc DVD Collector’s Edition features three behind-the-scenes docos that include insightful interviews with Fred Zinnemann and Lloyd Bridges, as well as historians and admirers. There’s also an audio commentary and some material associated with cowboy crooner Tex Ritter (John Ritter’s father), who won an Oscar for the title song.
A timeless classic – the Citizen Kane of westerns.
Gary Cooper plays Will Kane, a weathered marshal who wants nothing more than to turn in his badge and start a new life with his new wife (Grace Kelly). However, when word spreads that a murderer Kane arrested (Ian MacDonald) is out of jail and on his way to town with vengeance on his mind, the marshal reluctantly changes his plans. Despite being urged to run by the fickle and disloyal townsfolk, Kane decides to stay and face the menace, and the countdown begins.
Loosely based on John W. Cunningham’s story The Tin Star, the movie was labelled ‘un-American’ when it was released because many saw it as an allegory for Senator Joseph McCarthy’s communist witch-hunts. Screenwriter Carl Foreman and actor Lloyd Bridges were consequently blacklisted by Hollywood producers and didn’t work for years. Technically, High Noon broke a lot of ground. The film progresses in real time, which director Fred Zinnemann cleverly emphasises with periodic shots of clocks and watches ticking down to noon, when the murderer’s train is due. The simple black-and-white cinematography works perfectly, and the carefully crafted suspense is almost unbearable at times.
The two-disc DVD Collector’s Edition features three behind-the-scenes docos that include insightful interviews with Fred Zinnemann and Lloyd Bridges, as well as historians and admirers. There’s also an audio commentary and some material associated with cowboy crooner Tex Ritter (John Ritter’s father), who won an Oscar for the title song.
A timeless classic – the Citizen Kane of westerns.
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