Howdy! For this here installment of ILTBTA, we watched the 1952 western High Noon. So grab your pistol and saddle up your steed before you read on, partner!12
Previews
What, if anything, did we know about this coming attraction before we watched?
Ellen: I am generally aware of western-y phrases like “high noon” and “shootout at the O.K. Corral” and “there’s a snake in my boot!” without really knowing the underlying context. I was probably more knowledgeable about the Jackie Chan/Owen Wilson vehicle Shanghai Noon, which is to say that I could name two actors in it. I also did not realize that the title was a play on High Noon until we searched it on Prime, so yeah, I’m a blank slate, giddyup!
Tyler: I was vaguely familiar with High Noon before we watched it, as in I had some recollection that it was a well-received western and … that’s about it. My knowledge of it lived somewhere in the deep recesses of my memory, along with what certain acronyms stand for, formulas from stat classes in college, and some of my new coworkers' names. It at least gave me a decent anchor point during my Pick Three, Choose One3 journey, so when I found out it also starred Grace Kelly (an Old Hollywood crush of mine), I knew it was worth watching.
Plots & Feelings
This one’s pretty self-explanatory.
Short Version (courtesy of IMDb): A town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at high noon when the gang leader, an outlaw he sent up years ago, arrives on the noon train.
Ellen: I don’t usually comment on this part, but, wow: that sentence is dense like a neutron star.
Long Version (modified from Wikipedia and formatted to fit your screen):
Harken back to an era where movie plots were ripped from magazine stories and the credits rolled right at the beginning of the film! We observe three generic outlaws puttering around on horses before heading through the New Mexico Territory into Hadleyville to the tune of Tex Ritter’s unforgettable titular ballad (unforgettable because we will hear it 284 more times before the movie is out). Such is this trio’s infamy that as they clip-clop into town, the roads clear, at least one person crosses themselves, and the gossips at the local saloon are all abuzz(ed). We learn from the man at the Train Depot that this is Frank Miller’s gang: Ben Miller, Pierce, and Colby.
Ellen: Colby joins the illustrious ranks of those characters whose entire outfits I would wear tomorrow. He’s the first person we see in the movie, so I thought he might get more to do. I was, as I often am, incorrect!
Tyler: Believe it or not this is actually explained in "Wiki-Wiki-Whaaat?" Spoiler: it involves his nose.
Meanwhile, town Marshal Will Kane is being wed in a tepid ceremony to Quaker Amy Fowler, whose devotion to her faith and pacifism means he retires immediately thereafter. The much-more-affectionate-in-private couple will soon depart for a new life to raise a family and run a store in another town. Hadleyville’s new Marshal won’t arrive until tomorrow, and as Will hands over his badge and gun, one of the waistcoated town bigwigs brings a curse down upon them by saying “this town will be safe until tomorrow!”
Ellen: I guess “Quaker” is too far out there for this town, because the wedding is at the Marshal Office, not the church.
Tyler: Maybe it's a reflection of him previously being "married to the job"? Or there were only so many set pieces, who's to say.
Naturally, word arrives that Frank Miller, a vicious, crazy, and all-around no good outlaw whom Kane sent to prison, has been released and will arrive on the noon train. The assembled townsfolk promptly lose their minds and run the newlyweds out of town for fear of Miller’s retribution. Whilst on the road towing all their possessions, Will stops and turns them around, feeling it’s his duty to go back and face Miller himself, believing the outlaw will hunt them down regardless. Amy feels it’s his duty to not to murder or be murdered 90 minutes after they were married, believing they could get away successfully. Will presumably does not explain his profound sense of honor more fully due to the thundering of hooves and rattle of their wagon. Amy declares that she is leaving on the noon train, with or without him, and settles at the hotel to wait.
Ellen: There’s a small scene here where the barber is telling his apprentice to get started on building some coffins, a taste of how the town in general thinks this is going to go down: poorly!
Will now has a little less than an hour to round up a proper posse, as one does in these situations. One man rolls up immediately to volunteer, and after dispatching a neighborhood kid to gather others, Will entreats a series of his “friends” and “allies.” The inglorious list includes:
Town Judge, who is seemingly so frightened by even the chair where Frank Miller sat4 when he was sentenced that he bolts on his horse
Harvey Pell, petulant deputy who’s bitter he wasn’t recommended for the Marshal job, turning in his “tin star” and going back to his lover Helen Ramírez, who used to be Will’s lover, and before that was with Frank Miller if you can believe it!
Martin Howe, Will’s now-arthritic predecessor, who is so clearly jaded you’d think this movie wasn’t in black and white5
An old friend who straight up hides in his closet and sends his wife to say he can’t come out and play
Almost every person Will talks to tries to convince him to flee rather than face the crazed Frank Miller, including Helen (who owns the saloon and is selling so that she too may skippeth town) and the whole bar full of ne’er-do-wells, a large portion of whom think Hadleyville was a better place before Will cleaned it up (as evidenced by the fact that Ben Miller receives a hearty welcome when he stops in for liquor). The Marshal’s attempts at the church are met with healthy and unproductive debate, culminating in Waistcoat McGee saying that thanks to Will, this is becoming a proper American town in which people would invest, but a gunfight won’t be a cute look, and Will had better leave for the sake of the ~eCoNoMy~.
Tyler: Will’s pleading in the saloon involves him punching someone out and then immediately apologizing and offering to help him up. They just don’t make police brutality the way they used to.
Ellen: Westerns and parodies thereof had trained me to think the saloon would fall silent when a baddie walked in, so the cheers were a surprise! Also, even though many of the bar patrons were absolute jerks, those scenes are such a welcome relief from hearing “High Noon” over and over again in favor of some jaunty piano music.
Tyler: The cheers could've also been another way to show how the townsfolk thought the ensuing showdown would go: they might have well have said “Remember who cheered for you when you’re lawlessly pillaging in about an hour!”
Back at the hotel, Helen kicks Harvey to the curb, deservedly reaming him out for abandoning Will and needing to grow up. There’s then a surprise knock on her door from Amy, who found out her room number from the sleazy innkeeper. After a brief tiff vis-à-vis Will and why he won’t leave town, the two very different women end up bonding, Helen sharing her struggles being a Mexican-American woman in a town like this, and Amy revealing she became a Quaker after she lost both her father and brother to guns. They decide to ride together to the noon train.
Ellen: I love the scene between these two, because what starts as a seemingly cliché current-vs-former lover argument evolves into us getting more backstory on these two women than we do any other characters.
At good ole Todd’s Stables, best stables in town, Will himself considers running for it. Harvey shows up and tries to convince him of it, and the argument turns into a scuffle that leaves Harvy unconscious and Will more resolved than ever. After a brief moment of levity regarding the barber and the poor etiquette of building coffins in front of Will, we endure a series of absolute bummers, from the first man who volunteered turning tail when he finds out he’s the only one to Will penning his Will and tearing up. The train finally arrives (on time), and Will goes out into the street to face the gang alone.
Shots are fired the second the two old foes clap eyes on each other, and Amy bolts from the train, unable to leave Will alone. The gunfight winds through town, claiming Ben Miller, Colby, and a poor innocent now-immolated stable (Will’s a hero so he frees the horses of courses!). Amy’s holed up in the Marshal office and chooses to take the opportunity to help Will and shoot the remaining crony in the back! Predictably, Miller drags her out to use as a human shield. Unpredictably, she claws at his face and provides Will with the opportunity to shoot him dead.
Ellen: They have gone on and on for this whole movie about what a wild and crazy guy Frank Miller is. I expected something more than “guy with a gun.” That describes every dude in Hadleyville age 14 and up!
The newlyweds embrace as the townsfolk emerge and cluster around them. Will tosses his Marshal’s star in the dirt, gives every one of them the stink eye, and he and Amy depart on their wagon.
Ellen: What Will and Amy say: nothing. What they mean:
Intermission
Even though ILTBTA is free, please indulge us further and enjoy this quick “advertisement.”
This installment of ILTBTA is brought to you by … Ramírez Saloon!
Looking for a place to talk trash and get trashed6? Trying to find a convenient central location to welcome the outlaws back into town because you’re a degenerate? Seeking to support Mexican-American, female-owned businesses?
Whether you’re looking to rot your teeth with sarsaparilla, hide from the Marshal as he attempts to rustle up a posse, or just watch those iconic doors flap in the wind, the Ramírez Saloon is the place for you!
Mention ILTBTA on your next visit to the Hadleyville location of Ramírez Saloon for a guaranteed fresh spittoon during your stay. Rotgut shooters half-price if the train is late!
Wiki-Wiki-Whaaat?
Love a good Wikipedia rabbit hole in search of some fun facts? Us too.
High Noon’s Wikipedia page has some interesting facts and anecdotes that we recommend you read through, but here are a few of our favorites:
Production and release of High Noon took place during the second Red Scare, during which essentially the entire film industry was investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) for potential Communist connections. Screenwriter Carl Foreman, a former member of the Communist Party, was called before HUAC and was later blacklisted after refusing to name names.
John Wayne, who as president of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals (MPA) pressured Columbia Pictures to blacklist Foreman, was originally offered the role of Will Kane, but declined since he thought it was an obvious allegory to blacklisting. Gary Cooper, a friend of Wayne’s, actually had him accept his Academy Award for Best Actor while Cooper was working in Europe. This was later added to the dictionary under the word “karma.”
Lee Van Cleef, who made his film debut as Jack Colby, was first offered the role of Harvey Pell by producer Stanley Kramer under one condition: he get his nose surgically altered to appear less menacing. Van Cleef (rightly) refused and acted in the only role of his career without any dialogue.
Tyler: A true inspiration for those of us with menacing noses.
Cooper was reluctant to film the fight scene with Bridges due to ongoing problems with his back, but did, without the use of a stunt double. He wore no makeup, to emphasize his character's anguish and fear, which was probably intensified by pain from recent surgery to remove a bleeding ulcer.
Ellen: He looks pretty busted throughout, so at least it achieved the desired effect!
The High Noon movie poster was altered and used as an election poster for the Solidarity movement during the first partially free elections in communist Poland in 1989. Former Solidarity leader Lech Walesa later wrote of the poster: “Cowboys in Western clothes had become a powerful symbol for Poles. Cowboys fight for justice, fight against evil, and fight for freedom, both physical and spiritual. Solidarity trounced the Communists in that election, paving the way for a democratic government in Poland.”
Oscar NomNomNomz
Since we all know a movie is nothing without the food it incorporates.
Unfortunately, Will Kane and his fellow townspeople were planning on a late lunch, so there wasn’t much food or drink in High Noon (unnamed liquor notwithstanding). Out of the goodness of our hearts, we decided to give our friends at Ernst and Yum™ a break for this installment.
Fill In The Blank
How did we really feel about The Academy nominating this?
Ellen: I’d like to give the Academy about as tepid a “yee-haw” as Will and Amy’s first kiss as a married couple. There were things to enjoy about this movie, including and especially the way it deals with Western tropes (go visit Tyler below) and how its pacing seemed to be nearly real-time in waiting for noon to come around. I came away mostly bummed that everyone basically gave Will the Little Red Hen treatment, but at least Amy got to be a badass!
Tyler: I’d like to congratulate the Academy for recognizing a film that largely subverts its genre, but also question how they were able to stay awake during a largely boring movie. It was a breath of fresh air to see the female characters actually have some depth (gasp!) and not fall into stereotypes of the time as worthless props. The “lone ranger, macho do-it-all lawman” stereotype also had a clever twist on it, considering Kane was begging people for help (he interrupted church for Christ’s sake!).
On the other hand, while I recognize the tension-building they were going for with the clocks and the countdown to the titular noon, it just didn’t hit for me. I guess I give the filmmakers props for daring to do a different kind of western movie, and apparently a politically contentious one at that. So while my impression of it certainly improved as time passed, I ultimately found it very … whelming.
Let The Credits Roll
Thanks for reading! Some quick housekeeping as you exit the theatre:
If you have plots and feelings of your own (on the movie or ILTBTA in general), feel free to comment on the post or simply reply to the email. If you liked reading this: tell your friends! If you hated reading this: tell your friends how much you hated it by forwarding it to them!
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If you’d like to start a wild Best Picture journey of your own, feel free to download a copy of The Spreadsheet. Bonus: checking off the boxes is oddly satisfying.
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Post-Credits Scene
Get a sneak peek at the next ILTBTA installment.
Our next Spreadsheet selection will be 1953’s From Here to Eternity. Ellen only knows it from an oblique reference in Gilmore Girls, and Tyler doesn’t know it at all. A wonderful time will be had by all! From Here to Eternity is available for a small fee from the usual suspects (Google, Prime, Apple TV) or on DVD from Ellen’s parents’ Netflix queue, which yes is still a thing.
With that, we’re turning in our tin stars and hitching the next train out of Hadleyville. See ya!
Tyler: We promise to stop talking like this.
Ellen: I promise nothing.
If you’ve ever wondered how we pick which Best Picture nominee to watch next, one of us will usually pick three options from The Spreadsheet and the other one chooses from just those three. “Pick Three, Choose One” has helped us immeasurably in our relationship, especially given our lack of decisiveness when faced with too many options. All credit goes to our NEWLY ENGAGED friends Clara and Alex for first telling us about it.
A scene that clearly inspired Clint Eastwood in 2012
Ellen: It’s a stretch and I stand by it
Sounds like my ex-wife!