Labels

High Noon (1952)

A picture produced during a tumultuous time in the history of filmmaking during a political landscape of post war America it turned the preconceived notion of the western genre upside down. Upsetting a good many, while thrilling far more, especially in the critical community, the film  went onto  establish itself as the most influential westerns of the 1950s. Trading action and bravery for a battle of conscience and cowardice, this feature quietly shook the Hollywood establishment on its way to becoming an all-time classic.

 

High Noon is a western about a marshal’s struggle to protect a fragile frontier town from the threat of killers on the day he was set to leave his position. On the day Mashal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) is to give up his star and start life anew elsewhere with his blushing bride he hears word of the eminent return of an old nemesis with an agenda of revenge for him, the man that put him away. Despite the advice of townsfolk and his wife Amy (Grace Kelly), Will elects it important to stay and stop the murderous man and his gang from taking over the town if he were to leave. Though Will believes what he is doing is right, Amy fears of his life and threatens to leave him for choosing the job over her, while all his friends and perceived allies in town he attempts to recruit refuse to help, leaving him the soul protector of the town and his being. At the strike of noon Will finds himself in a deadly face off with Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) and his gang, taking them down with final help from Amy. As a crowd surround Will as the tired victor, he casts down his star in disgust and departs with Amy.

 

Unlike common westerns that preceded High Noon, this picture forgoes much of the high action to build anticipation and suspense. Constructed within the running time of the feature is the sense of a clock counting down in real time the waning minutes until the moment Will Kane must face his fears as he tries to rally allies to fight off the murderer on his way to face him. Also, unlike many prior westerns this film is populated with men unwilling to fight, partly out of cowardice and partly out of accepting the lawlessness that is to come, ideals not typically embraced by the full force pro-American post war culture. This picture puts up a brave new look at the genre as it displays a story about conscience and corruption of individuals rather than focusing on the usual hypermasculine, squeaky clean, do-gooder action films that came before it. Featuring a strong leading man in Gary Cooper, an early appearance of newcomer Grace Kelly, all directed by filmmaker of some of the more thoughtful films of the era in Fred Zinnemann.

 

In the shadow of House Un-American Activities Committee, the story that would become High Noon was an adaption from a John W. Cunningham short story by the name of “The Tin Star” in a screenplay penned by Carl Foreman. With a screenwriter deemed an “uncooperative witness” by the HUAC and on his way to being wrongfully blacklisted by Hollywood, the picture would meet several obstacles in preproduction by the Hollywood establishment that looked upon the project as communist propaganda. Before joining Columbia in his final independently produced picture, Stanley Kramer appointed Fred Zinnemann to direct the film that served as an allegory towards McCarthyism. The veteran director having made some of the more successful off-the-beaten-path yet very thoughtful pictures of recent memory, would deem he did make the picture as an allegory, but a story of one man’s struggles in a dangerous situation.

 

Breaking the “rules” of westerns Zinnemann’s picture was not only slow, but dirty and gruff. Shot in black and white it clashed with westerns that gain interest by being shot in brilliant color. Instead of being picturesque, as if photographed like a living painting, the camera lacked filters to highlight the dirt and sweat on the actors who in many cases did not wear makeup. It was an anti-western for its time, but helped establish what westerns would be as the decade moved forward.

 

John Wayne was the originally envisioned leading man for the role of Will Kane, but the highly conservative actor known for his stance on hype-masculine roles, staunch clean American values, and current president of the Screen Actors Guild emphatically declined, damning the project as being disgraceful and un-American. Other great leading men such as Gregory Peck, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Peck, and Charlton Heston all turned down the role of Will Kane for similar reasons, considering the film potential poison for an actor’s career. Gary Cooper, a “friendly witness” to the HUAC and political conservative would accept the role with a differing outlook on the story’s core from his counterparts. His performance as the troubled Kane was so well praised, he would be honored with the Academy Award which he ironically had John Wayne, his good friend, accept on his behalf as he was working in Europe at the time of the ceremony.

 

The 21 year-old off Broadway actress Grace Kelly was discovered by Kramer appears as co-star with Cooper as the troubled bride that worries she will lose he husband to his sense of duty on the day of their wedding. With her performance and beauty her career launched quickly into the spotlight. Other players of note through the feature was the likes of Llyod Bridges coming into his own as a more mainstream actor after a time in Republic pictures as the jealous deputy that abandons Kane. Mexican born actress Katy Jurado delivers a striking performance as the lusty and exotic former love interest of Kane, foil to much of the background friction in the story. Other greats that pepper the cast include Lon Chaney Jr., Harry Morgan, and Thomas Mitchell to name just a few.

 

A significant piece to the construct of the picture is that of Dimitri Tiomkin’s score including the titular song that serves to capture in short the backbone plot within its lyrics while delivering a tone and pace mirroring that of the film. Tiomkin would receive Oscars for score and song while his tune would go on to be a hit song for Country-Western singer Tex Ritter.

 

Despite the film being met with initial political controversy it would quickly become a successful film loved by many, including politicians and members of the Hollywood. For a great many it was considered one the greatest films of the year and all-time. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, it would win four, while finding itself honored throughout the award circuit for 1952.

 

The legacy of High Noon penetrated movies, the western genre, and popular culture, becoming one of the highest praised films in American cinematic history. Futile attempts had been made in remake the story and even sequalize it, but the original High Noon is near a perfect feature. Among the very first class of preserved films at the Library of Congress in 1989, High Noon remains one of the finest pictures that is rather simple by production standards, but powerful in suspense and execution as it left a lasting impact on the cinematic world that continues to be seen today.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts