Rating: 
Summary: ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR WESTERNS OF ALL TIME.
Review: "High Noon" is considered one of the best westerns ever made. There are several reasons that made "High Noon" a classic:1.- Everybody did a great job, there isn't a single weak performance.
2.- It has 2 superstars from that decade: Gary Cooper & Grace Kelly.
3.- The plot is very good and interesting.
4.- It was filmed in "real time".
5.- During the last 25 minutes of the movie, the suspense grows increasingly until the movie reaches the climax. For these and other reasons, "High Noon" is a classic that must be seen.
Rating: 
Summary: Who can you count on ?
Review: For students of cinema, please pay attention to the shots and editing throughout, particularly the last 3 minutes before the train arrives; esp. the overhead crane shot showing Cooper all alone in what appears to be a deserted town. So much for students. Most of you know the basic plot of the story: A lawman (Gary Cooper) marries a beautifull Quaker (Grace Kelly) to the congratulations of his closest friends. He's leaving town the same day and starting life over in a more peacefull occupation, when word reaches him that crazed killer Frank Miller, whom he sent up the river has been paroled and is coming down on the noon train--obviously NOT to congratulate him. In fact, three of Franks' sleazy accomplices are already waiting at the railroad depot to aid in Frank's revenge. Though Cooper's character is that of a competent sheriff, who has cleaned up the town, he ain't Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill, or Doc Holliday-- by no means the fastest gun in the West with a score of kills, and notches on his gun. He's 'only' a good cop and a good man. The citizens assure him Miller is no longer his problem and that he should follow his original plan and take his bride and get on his horse and buggy and high tail it out of town---which he does. This is all established within the first few minutes.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Cooper stops the buggy and turns around. Not out of duty but out of a sense of reality; Miller is a psycho who would hunt him and his wife to the ends of the earth. He's got to go back and get help. Put together a posse and either arrest or shoot Miller. As expected, his wife objects on religious grounds; but that turns out to be the least of his troubles. ----------------------------------------------------------------- What follows is a gutwrenching and brilliantly written script about betrayal. Cooper should easily be able to get at least a dozen men to help him. And, at first, this is indeed what seems will happen. Yet one by one each of his friends abandon him to his fate. Some with outrageous excuses, others with quite reasonable ones. At times it's hard for the audience to tell which is worse. The writer and director do an excellent job in putting the viewer into the minds of the townfolk, both the selfish and the sympathetic; as well as that of the abandoned lawman--who can't quite comprehend what is happenning. The shootout at the end is almost anti climatic, the story is really about men copping out and refusing to shoulder the burden of manhood. This film rightly deserves its reputation.
Rating:
Summary: Do not forsake me, oh my darling!
Review: Tex Ritter's Oscar-winning theme song is heard throughout reflecting the abandonment Marshal Will Kane feels when the town of Hadleyville refuses to help him face down some gunmen itching for revenge. The aerial shot of him standing alone in the streets of Hadleyville exemplifies the struggle he faces. Thing is, he didn't have to go back. He just got married to Amy, a nice Quaker woman, handed in his badge on his retirement day, and was about to embark on a new life until he gets word that three gunmen are awaiting the noon train bringing home Frank Miller, an outlaw Kane once arrested and sent to prison, now released. However, Kane feels a burning responsibility to face them, and he returns, much to the chagrin of his wife. One, even if he did flee, they would track him down, being the vindictive men they are. Two, Kane's replacement won't arrive until tomorrow, and he doesn't want even a "dirty little village in the middle of nowhere" to become embroiled in chaos for even one day under Miller. However, not a finger is lifted to help him. Harvey, a deputy sheriff, is sore at Kane for not being selected as the latter's replacement. Others are friends of Miller. Most of the time, they acknowledge the great service Kane has done for them as marshal, but at the same time, they say he was stupid for coming back, thinking that it would be the new marshal's responsibility to handle Miller and his thugs. They're also scared <rhymes with witless> as well. That brings open the question of responsibility. The citizens of Hadleyville bicker about whether it's the local government or the state government that's responsible for stopping criminals. And if no one is willing to do so due to cowardice or denial, who else will? Kane thus seems to be the only person willing to take that burden. As Helen Ramirez, a former flame of Kane, points out, "When he dies, this town will die too." Despite her heart of steel, she does show some support for Kane in the end. Then there's the issue of pacifism versus self-defense. It brings the question, when is it right to resort to violence? When one is attacked? When you see someone being attacked? Also, the complaint that the judges and juries set free criminals captured by lawmen still rings true today. Gary Cooper deservedly won the Best Actor statue for his role as Will Kane. And I'm not exactly a big fan of Grace Kelly but she did remarkably well in her first starring role. Maybe it's because she played a Quaker and I lean towards non-violence, or that line of hers on guns: "I don't care who's right or who's wrong. There's got to be some better way for people to live." Given his resemblance to a certain contemporary White House occupant, Lloyd Bridges's portrayal of Harvey made me cringe somewhat. However, Katy Jurado as the resolute, steel-hearted Helen Ramirez gets honours as a fiercely independent woman who has to struggle with being a Mexican amid whites and a business owner as well. Many of the other supporting cast are worth mentioning. Lon Chaney Jr. as Martin, Will's old mentor is one. Harry Morgan, later to become Colonel Potter in MASH, has a small role as Sam Fuller. I also had fun keeping track of the time on the various clocks, be it the courthouse, barber shop, or Helen's room. Obviously, all three don't tell the exact same time, but I kept time there was a ten-minute discrepancy on my clock from the time in the courthouse, 10:40 AM, to noon. I usually never watch Westerns anymore, but this classic was a rare exception to the rule.
Rating:
Summary: An enduring, truly great film worth rewatching many times!
Review: By now, other reviewers have said all there is to say about the plotline and virtually everything else concerning this movie. I'll simply add a personal experience in support of my vote that this is probably the best film of all time. I first saw the film with my parents at a drive in. I was six. That was 50 years ago. I was fascinated by the movie and the music at the time and remain so to this day. I make it a point to watch High Noon again at least once a year and never tire of it. If anything, it gets better with repeated viewing. Repeated viewing provides an appreciation of the lesser things that help make this such a masterpiece--the great job the supporting actors did, the use of the music, the clock, the chair, etc. to build the tension until it becomes almost unbearable by the time the first whistle of the noon train sounds. One of my favorite scenes--In a role often overlooked, Katy Jurado as Helen Ramirez telling Harve, played by Lloyd Bridges, "You are a nice looking boy, Harve. You have beeg, strong shoulders. But it takes more than beeg, strong shoulders to make a man. Will Kane is a man." Wow! Every line, every glance, every moment of this film is exceptional. At that first viewing 50 years ago, when the moment came when Kane fingers his badge and looks at the approaching townspeople, my quiet, proper mother blurted loudly at the screen, "Throw it down in the dirt!" You had to know my mother, but a film which could get her to do that is truly powerful. Has the film aged well? Allow me to offer as evidence that it has, the repeated references to it by none other than Tony Soprano in HBO's The Sopranos. "Whateva happened to Gary Coopa? The strong, quiet type. Just do what hadda be done." The first time Tony makes this statement, you think he means Gary Cooper the actor in his common quiet, but strong roles. By season four, however, Tony adds to his repeated, "Whatever happened to Gary Cooper?" line, "He faced down the Miller gang when none of those blankety blanks from town would help him." You realize then that Tony means, not Gary Cooper, but Will Kane in High Noon. Now, that's an enduring legacy for a great, great film!
Rating:
Summary: Just be aware
Review: This movie is really good, the one with Gary Cooper, BUT some of the Gary Cooper DVD's have the wrong DVD in them. Some of them have the newer version inside the package instead. The correct cover is there, showing Gary Cooper, but the DVD isn't the right one.
Rating:
Summary: What to Do?
Review: In The Divine Comedy, Dante reserves the last and worst ring in hell for those who, in a moral crisis, preserve their neutrality. I thought about that provision when recently seeing this film again. In brief, here's the situation. Marshall Will Kane (Cooper) learns that Frank Miller has been released from prison and will arrive on the noon train when it stops in Hadleyville. Joined by others, Miller then intends to locate the marshall and kill him. For various reasons, everyone in town abandons Kane...including his newlywed wife Amy (Kelly) and his deputy Harvey Pell (Lloyd Bridges). Of course, Kane is tempted to leave with his new bride before noon and avoid Miller...but he doesn't. As high noon approaches, he finds himself alone and facing almost certain death. Cooper received and deserved his Academy Award for best actor. His performance in this film may well have been the best in his entire career. Especially effective use is made of the theme song "Do Not Forsake, O My Darling" co-written by Dimitri and Ned Washington (sung off-camera by Tex Ritter), the key component of Tiomkin's music score which received an Academy Award. The supporting cast is outstanding, notably Bridges, Katy Jurado (Helen Ramirez), and Lon Chaney, Jr. (Martin Howe). Working with Carl Foreman's screenplay, director Fred Zinnemann focuses on what was (more than 50 years ago) a very controversial idea: that otherwise good people would refuse to support their marshal when he and their town are threatened by cold-blooded killers. John Wayne was among those who called this film "Un-American." Several of the townspeople can be accused of cowardice but that is not true of Amy Kane who is a pacifist whose principles require her to oppose her husband's decision to remain. The final scene in the street is unforgettable. Whatever we may think, today, of Kane's decision and of those who oppose it or who remain neutral, we can nonetheless agree that this film still attracts and then sustains our interest; also, that our sense of dramatic tension increases with each passing moment.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Watching
Review: Instead of throwing his badge down at the end, how bout he hands it to one the townfolk, get's on the wagon, grabs the reigns, stops and looks at the crowd, pauses, then says "Make sure to say hello to the new sheriff for me... and be sure to let em know he'll be defending a town full of cowards." Then he just glares at em and rides a way. Everyone looks shameful and kind of drag their feet in the dirt while looking at the ground. As he rides away a little a boy runs after him yelling, "please shane- I mean kane, please don't go...."
Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC, FOR ITS RELEVANCE
Review: In its 50 years of constant popularity with audiences, High Noon is proven gold, a piece of art film classic, for its relevance to the real hearts and minds of humanity. It deals with some of the questions that people have always been attempting to answer in and with our lives; the relation and balance between [our] individual and [our] society, the problem of mutual responsibility; how far "privatised", or indifferent to its own existence can a community go before it loosens to a primary lawless jungle...
Garry Cooper, a paradigm of an all-American actor, stands for a paradigm of an all-American Marshall, in the most- illustriously un-Hollywoodian Western.
He is wed to a gracious Quaker (Grace Kelly) but he understands that he has to stand in as the lawman for another day, as a vicious villain and his gang are about to arrive with the noon train. His options are clear: Either he stands by what is his duty-- and he has no doubts on this matter whatsoever-- or he can sneak away from his duty, underwriting some or other of the various and most reasonable excuses that clever and well-spoken people expound for him, when he calls on them to commonly defend their town.
The judge claims that the first duty is to his own life, so he can be a judge --to some other town...The former marshal will not stand by the law, as he claims arthritis, but also that self- rule responsibility, democracy, is a lie, as "people don't give a darn". The local statesman delivers a memorable political speech to the townsfolk ...and concludes that the marshal better be gone and the people stay low, and avoid conflict with the outlaws...The parson, though he knows who is right, is against all violence, therefore he offers an honest "don't know"...
Everyone is abandoning the lawman and the law, even the deputies themselves, out of personal ambition, infatuation for a woman or plain cowardice; everyone but the young, whose spirit is potent, and heart courageous.
There is another cameo of a brilliant woman, a foreigner, who abandons the town, not because of lack of courage, but because she never loved it, as the town never truly loved her...
So the man realises that he stands on his own against enemies of his-- and more than his; he stands, fights, and wins, with the help of his woman, who, at the crucial moment, breaks away from the dead community and fights with the life.
The film is strongly injected with political criticism of one time, in the 1950's when a political stand was bitterly and vehemently and inhumanly persecuted in the land of dreams, America...At the time the persecuted felt, more or less, abandoned by their brethren, as much as the good marshal Garry Cooper in this film...
But this happens repetitively, and no time is exempt from the perils of idiocy, as the Greeks meant it, i.e., total privacy and indifference for the republic...
I found hope in the stance of the 14 years-old boy, who, pretending to be 16 y.o., presents himself to the lawman for duty!
And I also found hope in the Quaker girl, who overcomes her abhorrence for violence to defend the man she loved and married.
Before the film ends, the marshal sheds his authority to the dust, by discarding his tin star to the ground. This I understood as a piece of austere social criticism to awaken us all, not as a negative conclusion as for the future of our societies, as long as there are such people as this blessed marshal, and some more, to remind us to defend our most precious humanities.
All this is said using the conventions of a western film story, including the personification of good and evil unadulterated, and the modestly optimist ending, by means of a shoot out to kill. The title song ("Do not forsake me, oh my darling!") is very specific in its outline of the film story, including the train of thought that Frank Miller (the evil one) must die before the hero allows love to take him to his bride. I think later on, after this song had begun its own success, the lyrics were modified from all such detail.
This is a classic film, beautiful, always relevant and productive to the heart and the mind.
Rating:
Summary: High Noon, a timeless reckoning
Review: Gary Cooper was at his career best in quietly defining the emotional turmoil of an honorable lawman who finds little encouragment and support from the very people he has selflessly served for years. Though off the professional hook because of his newly-wed status and a new life in a world away from law enforcement, Will Kane could not easily avoid taking on armed responsibility one last time.
"High Noon" perfectly defined timeless if unpleasant elements of human behavior that can at times infuriate, confuse, frustrate, and even sabotage the best of honorable intentions. When people herd, they can always find a way of rationalizing aversion to getting involved for the greater good and can become quite clever in explaining away personal cowardice. As the noon hour drew closer, Kane finally sought out the help of his long time mentor and retired fellow lawman who succinctly noted that "deep down, people don't care, they just don't care." Anyway, age and arthritic hands made his armed support a moot point.
This film is a relevant today as when released just over 50 years ago. In some ways, even more so. Few films capture so elegantly what it is to find ones self in dire circumstances so utterly alone.
Facing such a defining moment takes an uncommon courage and a real character to fight long odds of probable defeat. Not much is so really different in today's politically charged climate, not really. Will Kane's strength and courage of conviction will never go out of style, but alas, will always be in short supply.
Rating:
Summary: A tense, humanist drama of principles, courage and regret
Review: "High Noon" surprised me with its quality. I was expecting a good Western, but I was not expecting a multi-layered, metaphorical and psychological drama. This is genre storytelling at its finest, using the setting of a Western to tell a more far-reaching story. Short, ringing in at only 84 minutes, "High Noon" manages to capture a complete tale in glances, unspoken dialog, gestures and implied content. Filmed in real time, there is a tense urgency as well as a melancholy finality. The clock ticks towards high noon, and nothing will stop it. Gary Cooper is excellent as a retiring hero, past his prime but still willing to stand up for his principles. He is a living example of the saying "better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness." He risks everything to light his candle. Grace Kelley is just beautiful. Katy Jurado is a smoldering woman. Really, just one of the best films of all time.
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