High Noon (1952)

Director:

Fred Zinnemann

Writers:

John W. Cunningham (story)
Carl Foreman (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 July 1952 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Western

Tagline:

Simple. Powerful. Unforgettable.

Plot:

A marshall, personally compelled to face a returning deadly enemy, finds that his own town refuses to help him.

Plot Keywords:

Cult Western | Time For Title | Morality | Husband Wife Relationship | Gunfight

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Marshal Will Kane
Thomas Mitchell	...	Mayor Jonas Henderson
Lloyd Bridges	...	Deputy Marshal Harvey Pell
Katy Jurado	...	Helen Ramírez
Grace Kelly	...	Amy Fowler Kane
Otto Kruger	...	Judge Percy Mettrick
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Martin Howe (as Lon Chaney)
Harry Morgan	...	Sam Fuller (as Henry Morgan)
Ian MacDonald	...	Frank Miller
Eve McVeagh	...	Mildred Fuller
Morgan Farley	...	Dr. Mahin, minister
Harry Shannon	...	Cooper
Lee Van Cleef	...	Jack Colby
Robert J. Wilke	...	Jim Pierce (as Robert Wilke)
Sheb Wooley	...	Ben Miller
Tom London	...	Sam
Ted Stanhope	...	Station Master
Larry J. Blake	...	Gillis, saloon owner
William 'Bill' Phillips	...	Barber
Jeanne Blackford	...	Mrs. Henderson
James Millican	...	Deputy Sheriff Herb Baker
Cliff Clark	...	Ed Weaver
Ralph Reed	...	Johnny, town boy
William Newell	...	Jimmy, drunk with eye patch
Lucien Prival	...	Joe, Ramirez Saloon bartender
Guy Beach	...	Fred, coffinmaker
Howland Chamberlain	...	Hotel clerk
Virginia Christine	...	Mrs. Simpson
Jack Elam	...	Charlie, drunk in jail
Paul Dubov	...	Scott
Harry Harvey	...	Coy
Tim Graham	...	Sawyer
Nolan Leary	...	Lewis
Tom Greenway	...	Ezra
Dick Elliott	...	Kibbee
John Doucette	...	Trumbull
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lee Aaker	...	Boy (uncredited)
Roy Bucko	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Bob Carson	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Ben Corbett	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Virginia Farmer	...	Mrs. Fletcher (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Chubby Johnson	...	First old timer on hotel porch (uncredited)
Merrill McCormick	...	Fletcher (uncredited)
Syd Saylor	...	Second old timer on hotel porch (uncredited)

Directed by
Fred Zinnemann

Writing credits
John W. Cunningham		(story "The Tin Star")
Carl Foreman		(screenplay)

Produced by
Carl Foreman	....	associate producer (uncredited)
Stanley Kramer	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
Floyd Crosby

Film Editing by
Elmo Williams

Production Design by
Rudolph Sternad

Art Direction by
Ben Hayne

Set Decoration by
Murray Waite

Makeup Department
Louise Miehle	....	hair stylist
Gustaf Norin	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Clem Beauchamp	....	production supervisor
Percy Ikerd	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Emmett Emerson	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Jean L. Speak	....	sound engineer (as Jean Speak)
John Speak	....	sound (uncredited)

Stunts
Regis Parton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Slim Talbot	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Don Turner	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack N. Young	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Morris Rosen	....	head grip
Homer Plannette	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joe King	....	wardrobe: men
Ann Peck	....	wardrobe: women

Editorial Department
Harry W. Gerstad	....	editorial supervisor (as Harry Gerstad)

Music Department
George C. Emick	....	music editor (as George Emick)
Anthony Galla-Rini	....	musician: accordions
Dimitri Tiomkin	....	musical director

Other crew
Sam Freedle	....	script clerk
Calvin Spencer	....	double: Lloyd Bridges
Sally Hamilton	....	executive secretary (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Stanley Kramer Productions

Distributors

• United Artists (1952) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1953) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• United Artists (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Constantin Film (1960) (West Germany) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (1999) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Artisan Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• VellaVisión (2002) (Spain) (DVD)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Maple Pictures (2006) (Canada) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD) (special edition)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Chapman / Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes
• Republic Pictures (II)  current copyright proprietor
• Sound Services  magnetic recording
• Stanley Kramer Productions  current owner

Also Known As:

Train sifflera 3 fois, Le (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
Zwölf Uhr mittags (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
A la hora señalada (Argentina) [es]
Al punt del migdia (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
B'Tzohoray Ha-Yom (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Comboio Apitou Três Vezes, O (Portugal) [pt]
Délidöben (Hungary) [hu]
Matar ou Morrer (Brazil) [pt]
Mezzogiorno di fuoco (Italy) [it]
Quand le train sifflera trois fois (France) [fr]
Sheriffen (Sweden) [sv]
Sheriffen (Denmark) [da]
Sheriffi (Finland) [fi]
Solo ante el peligro (Spain) [es]
Tacno u podne (Yugoslavia: Serbian title) [sr]
Train sifflera trois fois, Le (Belgium: French title) (alternative spelling) [fr]
Traino tha sfyrixi treis fores, To (Greece) [el]
Trein zal drie maal fluiten, De (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
W samo poludnie (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | West Germany:12 (f) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba) | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 (re-release) | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #15653)

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Stanley Kramer Productions

Trivia:

Henry Fonda was prevented from accepting the role of Will Kane because he had been graylisted from Hollywood due to his political activism, forcing him to act exclusively on the stage from 1947 to 1955.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Will Kane goes to visit Martin Howe, the house door has a different arrangement of panels on the outside from the inside.

Quotes:

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 nineteen. I watched him die. That's when I became a Quaker. I don't care who's right or who's wrong. There's got to be some better way for people to live. Will knows how I feel about it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Remembering 'Battlestar Galactica' (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Buffalo Gal (Won't You Come Out Tonight)

Remarkably well-organised western in which not one single second is wasted and the tension is built up admirably.

John Wayne was totally wrong to call this movie un-American. Courage and cowardice are universal emotions, and the attitudes of the characters in High Noon are, I think, incredibly truthful and telling. I know that if I lived in the Wild West, had a job and family, and was asked to stand up and fight against a gang of gun-toting psychos I would probably not be able to do it. That's why Gary Cooper's Will Kane is such a remarkable character in terms of self-respect, morality and inner strength. It's the way he MUST uphold the law even though it will perhaps cost him his wife and his life. It is the various townfolk with whom most of us will identify, even if it makes us feel shame or unworthiness to admit it. No matter how bravely we act, nor how much we want to think heroically of ourselves, 90% of us would cower in the shadows when the time came to do what Will Kane does in this movie.

On his wedding day, dependable lawman Will Kane (Gary Cooper) has just handed in his badge and is preparing to leave town with his bride Amy (Grace Kelly) when he receives devastating news. An old adversary, Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald), has been pardoned for crimes that he should have hanged for and is on his way to Kane's town of Hadleyville to get revenge. He is due on the noon train, leaving Kane one hour to either run for his life or make preparations to fight. Kane and Amy set off at full gallop, hoping to put some miles between themselves and danger, but Kane doesn't get far before he feels compelled to turn back. With the new sheriff not due for a day, he just can't let go of the extraordinary sense of duty and responsibility he feels towards his town. However when he gets back to town he gets quite a shock - for no-one has the guts (nor, in some instances, the inclination) to fight alongside him against the Miller gang. As time ticks unstoppably towards noon, Kane gradually realises that if he's going to stop Miller and his boys, he's going to have to do it alone!

Cooper's performance is extremely powerful and he received a thoroughly deserved Oscar for it. Kelly is good as his bride, although many viewers will find her character hard to like. Lloyd Bridges has a brilliant early role as Kane's deputy, while the very best of the supporting pack is Katy Jurado as a Latino woman whose "history" with most of the men in town puts her in an unenviable position when the shooting starts. Fred Zinnemann directs the film outstandingly, making each scene fit into the grander scheme of things with literate precision. Any aspiring young film-maker wanting to learn how to pace a film correctly should watch High Noon with a close eye, for it is unparallelled as the most perfectly paced film of all-time. The music by Dmitri Tomkin - plus that incredible ballad "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling" by Tex Ritter - is just one more element that makes High Noon one of the great masterpieces. There's nothing else to say - if you haven't already, go out and see this film NOW!