Sometimes it pays for a filmmaker to take a minimalist approach, to not try to do too much, and to make a point without tying everything together in a neat little package. This is the way producer Stanley Kramer and director Fred Zinnemann took to the classic western High Noon. This film is Spartan in virtually every way, from the low-key acting of Gary Cooper to its virtually real-time exposition of the events in Hadleyville to its black and white presentation. At just 85 minutes in length, this is an outstanding example of how a film can succeed by avoiding excess.
Since he became marshal of Hadleyville, Will Kane (Cooper) has transformed the town from a centre of violence and lawlessness into a decent and prosperous community. Now that he's marrying a Quaker woman (Grace Kelly), Kane is quitting the job and moving on to a life of non-violence in another town. But moments after his marriage, Kane gets word that a killer he put away, is out of prison and arriving on the noon train to exact revenge.
Kane has every reason to leave town with his new wife as planned. But his sense of responsibility, and his knowledge that this grudge will come after him wherever he goes, leads him to put the badge back on and set to work recruiting a posse to help him deal with the trouble. Kane goes from one gathering place to another, the saloon, church and the homes of his friends. Everyone has an excuse for not helping out. As the moment of truth approaches, Kane realises that he is on his own to face four gunfighters. The entire town is hiding behind closed doors; the word 'loyalty' has been buried under a pile of rationalisations.
Taken individually, many elements of High Noon are unspectacular. The plot might be considered threadbare. Cooper's performance could be called 'non-acting'. Except for the last moments of the film, there's little action and a lot of shots of Kane forlornly wandering the streets of Hadleyville. But when these elements are brought together, the film works remarkably well as a simple but powerful parable. It's all the more meaningful when it's considered in the light of events at the time of its making, when people in the movie industry who were targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee experienced similar abandonment by their friends.
