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High Noon Overview:

High Noon (1952) was a Drama - Western Film directed by Fred Zinnemann and produced by Stanley Kramer and Carl Foreman.

The film was based on the short story The Tin Star written by John W. Cunningham published in Colliers Magazine in Dec 6, 1947.

SYNOPSIS

Cooper is Hollywood's perfect hero, the very embodiment of integrity and grace in this greatest of Westerns. As a newly married town marshal, he must balance an innate sense of justice and duty with loyalty to his beautiful new - and pacifist - bride when he is left by an ungrateful town to face a gang of deadly outlaws alone. As we watch spellbound, film time is real time as the showdown grows ever closer. This masterpiece is frequently interpreted as a parable about artists left to "stand alone" and face persecution during the HUAC Hollywood blacklisting. (However, Howard Hawks allegedly devised Rio Bravo as an answer to this film's wimpiness." Also, John Wayne once declared High Noon un-American. He was apparently offended by the ending of film, which shows Sheriff Kane removing his badge and tossing it in the dirt.)

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

High Noon was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1989.

Academy Awards 1952 --- Ceremony Number 25 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActorGary CooperWon
Best DirectorFred ZinnemannNominated
Best Film EditingElmo Williams, Harry GerstadWon
Best Music - ScoringDimitri TiomkinWon
Best Music - SongMusic by Dimitri Tiomkin; Lyrics by Ned WashingtonWon
Best PictureStanley Kramer, ProducerNominated
Best WritingCarl ForemanNominated
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High Noon BlogHub Articles:

Western RoundUp: High Noon

By Laura Grieve on May 28, 2024 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

High Noon I’ve seen High Noon (1952) multiple times over the years, including a memorable theatrical screening at the FilmEx festival when I was in my teens. The FilmEx screening, which took place in Century City, California, was part of a 50-hour movie marathon honoring the 50th anniversar... Read full article

High Noon: The Cowards Among us

By FlickChick on Feb 8, 2021 From A Person in the Dark

So, this is what happened the other day. AloneFor some strange reason, the theme song from "High Noon," the 1952 western, invaded my brain. Now, you should know that I am not a western fan by any stretch and this song is never one that is on my playlist. Still, it persisted, first in the shower and ... Read full article

High Noon (1952, Fred Zinnemann)

By Andrew Wickliffe on Nov 11, 2018 From The Stop Button

High Noon is a film all about courage and cowardice, so it’s appropriate the film starts with the most courageous thing it’s ever going to do and it does a few. It commits to its theme song. Not a piece of music from Dimitri Tiomkin, but a country song (written by Tiomkin, lyrics by Ned Washingt... Read full article

High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic

on Jul 9, 2017 From Journeys in Classic Film

Part of the reason I read film books is to have an outsider entice me to check out a movie. Where some of you come here to have me tell you whether a certain film is worth your time or not – and if you value my opinion, I thank you – I defer to experts whose cases for a certain film are ... Read full article

The Strong and Quiet Amy Kane: Grace Kelly in High Noon

By Virginie Pronovost on Nov 13, 2016 From The Wonderful World of Cinema

2-  Helen: What kind of woman are you? How can you leave him like this? Does the sound of guns frighten you that much?Amy: I’ve heard guns. My father and my brother were killed by guns. They were on the right side but that didn’t help them any when the shooting started. My brother was n... Read full article

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High Noon Quotes:

Martin: 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.
Martin: You risk your skin catching killers and the juries turn them loose so they can come back and shoot at you again. If you're honest you're poor your whole life and in the end you wind up dying all alone on some dirty street. For what? For nothing. For a tin star.
Sam: (to his wife) Well, whaddya want? Do you want me to get killed? Do you want to be a widow, is that what you want?
Marshal Will Kane: Stay at the hotel until it's over.
Amy: No, I won't be here when it's over. You're asking me to wait an hour to find out if I'm going to be a wife or a widow. I say it's too long to wait! I won't do it!
Marshal Will Kane: Amy!
Amy: I mean it! If you won't go with me now, I'll be on that train when it leaves here.
Marshal Will Kane: Don't shove me, Harve. I'm tired of being shoved.
See More Quotes from High Noon
High Noon Facts
Its loss in the Best Picture category to the much-derided The Greatest Show on Earth, by Cecil B. DeMille, is usually cited as one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Academy Awards. This loss is often seen as an effort to satisfy Senator Joseph McCarthy, as DeMille was one of his biggest supporters.
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.
Katy Jurado says, "One year without seeing you" in Spanish, to which Cooper replies, "Yes, I know."
Stanley Kramer removed Carl Foreman's credit as producer. They never spoke to each other again.
Lee Van Cleef was originally hired to play Deputy Harvey Pell. However, the studio decided that his nose was too "hooked", which made him look like a villain, and told him to get it fixed. He refused, and Lloyd Bridges got the part. Van Cleef was given the smaller role of gunman Jack Colby, one of the Miller gang.
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