High Noon

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This Western classic stars Gary Cooper as Hadleyville town marshal Will Kane, about to retire from office and go on his honeymoon with his new Quaker bride, Amy (Grace Kelly). But his happiness is short-lived when he is informed that the Miller gang, whose leader (Ian McDonald) Will had arrested, is due on the 12:00 train. Pacifist Amy urges Will to leave town and forget about the Millers, but this isn’t his style; protecting Hadleyburg has always been his duty, and it remains so now. But when he asks for deputies to help fend off the Millers, virtually nobody will stand by him. Meanwhile, the clocks tick off the minutes to High Noon — the film is shot in real time, so that its 85-minute length corresponds to the story’s actual timeframe. Utterly alone, Kane walks into the center of town, steeling himself for his showdown with the murderous Millers. Also starring Lloyd Bridges, Lee Van Cleef and Lon Chaney Jr., and considered a landmark of the adult Western, High Noon won four Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Cooper and Best Song for the hit, “Do Not Forsake Me, O My Darling” sung by Tex Ritter. (Dir. by Fred Zinnemann, 1952, USA, 85 mins., Rated PG)