High Noon (1952) *****

A Hollywood rebuttal to the Communist witch hunts of the era, High Noon is a real time tale about recently wed, retiring Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper) who feels that he has to stay when he learns that a man he put away to hang has been released and is returning to town. The problem is that, unlike other westerns of the era, the townspeople and even his deputies refuse to help him fight off the threat. He's going to have to do it alone.

High Noon was really a revolutionary film for its time, particularly in the way that it depicted the town as being either A) scared or B) indifferent. The judges runs away. The deputy (a great performance by Lloyd Bridges) bargains his help for support in being the new Marshall. The mayor is worried about how a gun fight will affect the towns economy. All in all, this is probably the most realistic western of its era.

The greatest of High Noon lies with Gary Cooper. Will Kane is not John Wayne moseying into a gunfight, ready to raise hell at a moments notice. As the clock ticks away, Cooper puts more and more worry on his face making Kane a more sympathetic character. This is a film that isn't afraid to show the humanity of its hero. You're basically watching a man take the long walk to the executioner, with no one watching his back. Along with Cooper, we also get a great performance from Grace Kelly as Kane's new bride. She's a woman that can't understand why Will Kane feels the need to fight this battle when he doesn't have to.

And that's basically the theme of the film. A man that fights when he doesn't have to do it. When you really look at it, High Noon represents the seeds of the western that Sergio Leone would craft with Clint Eastwood being a hero even when he was a rogue and didn't have to do it. In a way, Clint Eastwood is the heir to Gary Cooper. A chiseled individual that represents what is right, not what the law happens to be.

High Noon is one of those great American westerns that;s head and shoulders over the typical fare of the era, letting a little social commentary slip thru along the way. A true classic film.