Thoughts about High Noon

John Wayne called it the most un-American movie he ever saw, and even starred in a rebuke film directed by Howard Hawks (Rio Bravo). One is a favorite, while I slogged through 45 minutes of the other before turning it off.

To me, High Noon might be the most American, albeit the least flattering. Let's face it - Americans like movies that flatter them.

I appreciate a good western among the reams of poor takes, and few approach the gravitas of High Noon. The esteemed western debuted 65 years ago this summer, and it remains among the top westerns.

The script flies in the face of most westerns, where the lawman asks for help and the townspeople rise up, offering their support unconditionally. High Noon gave moviegoers a real-time film that comes surprisingly close to depicting passing time.

I think it’s more realistic than people like to admit. We all like to think we would rush in and help the beleaguered marshal. But most of us would crumple like the deputy who readies to assist only to find he’s the only, then disappears back to the family he suddenly wants to defend. The church congregation proves more telling. The city fathers realize that there problem isn’t the pardoned criminal but the sheriff upon whom the criminal has sworn revenge. They rationalize the criminal’s return isn’t their problem.

Kane visits friend after friend only to find no one willing to help. His old deputy wants to be named to Kane’s post in exchange for his support. At the end, after vanquishing his foes with the help of his bride, Kane throws his badge into the dirt before riding off. Who wouldn't want to quit their job in such a fashion? I know I would.

Why does he decide to stand in the first place? They could have rode off mid-film, but Kane assures his bride that the general store they plan to run won’t escape notice of Frank Miller and his gang. They have to deal with this situation now, no matter the danger. It’s immensely satisfying. He only wants to leave and start his new life, but he must close a deadly chapter first, a chapter that would have claimed him if his pacifist wife had not intervened. Only she would defend the marshal facing off with four killers while the town cowered.

I think you can read High Noon any political way you want. Gary Cooper was staunchly conservative, as was Tex Ritter, whose drawling theme filters through the entire film.

But if you don’t think people who routinely proclaim their toughness will scurry to the margins when Frank Miller’s train approaches and a reckoning is due, you don’t know humanity.