High Noon (1952) Facts
| Director(s) | Fred Zinnemann |
| Producer(s) | Stanley Kramer (uncredited), Carl Foreman (uncredited) |
| Featured Cast | Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado |
| Total Facts | 61 |
There was some question as to the casting of Gary Cooper, since he was 50 and Grace Kelly, playing his wife, was only 21.
They only took between 1-3 takes per scene.
They used little to no makeup on the face of Gary Cooper, to show his lines and show how worried he was.
This film was intended as an allegory in Hollywood for the failure of Hollywood people to stand up to the House Un-American Activities Committee during the Sen. Joseph McCarthy Red-baiting era.
This movie is rumored to be able to be viewed in real time. Several shots of clocks are interspersed throughout the film and they correspond with actual minutes ticking by.
Though supposed to be the older man, at 45 Lon Chaney Jr. was actually five years younger than Gary Cooper.
Until his death, director Fred Zinnemann fought not to have this film colorized, saying that he designed it in black and white and that it should be shown that way. He was unsuccessful, however. A colorized version was made by Ted Turner's television production company and was broadcast several times over his several cable outlets.
Writer Carl Foreman was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee shortly after the film came out. In fact, he had fled to England by the time the film was finished.
And speaking of "REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE," the rebellious teenagers from that 1955 film attended "Dawson High," which was supposed to be located at "University & 10th." In fact, the campus was really Santa Monica High School, located at Pico Boulevard & 4th Street in Santa Monica.
In High Noon, Gary Cooper's character (Marshal Will Kane) is betrayed by all the "good" men in town who will not take up arms for a just cause. Carl Foreman (screenplay and uncredited producer) stated that High Noon was intended as an allegory of the contemporary failure of intellectuals to combat the rise of McCarthyism, as well as how people in Hollywood had remained silent while their peers were blacklisted. The film has also been embraced by those who, like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, admire its emphasis on duty and courage.
The Griffith Park Observatory is situated atop a hill in Griffith Park (2800 Observatory Road), with a great view of the city below. James Dean shot the knife fight scene of the classic 1955 film "REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE" in the observatory's parking lot. (In recognition, there's a large bust of James Dean on the west side of the Observatory.)