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With the making of High Noon, writer Carl Foreman, director Fred Zinneman, and actor Gary Cooper revolutonized the Western
High Noon on 2 Disc DVD"I didn't think this town could be so low," marvels one of the few volunteers willing to aid poor, beleaguered Gary Cooper in the Western classic, High Noon, issued this month (yes, once again!) in a handsome 2 DVD set. High Noon and HUACThe rest, those unwilling to face up to the trio of curt cutthroats arriving on the noon train, each have their reasons. In fact, that's almost all Carl Foreman's screenplay is: an inexhaustible catalogue of idiosyncratic bow-outs, a detailed metaphor for his experiences with the House of UnAmerican Activities, then in the process of blacklisting him for past communist ties. That and the bit with the clock; all of the story's action taking place precisely within the timeframe of the film (a device that's been copped endless times since.) So Much MoreBut the tasteful and precise direction of Fred Zinneman and the central performance by Gary Cooper, make High Noon so much more. Cooper In Close-upZinneman's diehard conviction that the heart of cinematic drama is the human face permeates the film, giving it a deep emotional resonance. In place of the scenic wides that are the bread and butter (or maybe that's the 'beans and rotgut') of the Western, there is Cooper's vulneraqble visage, as close as can be for every major turn in the story. Such is the premium on the close-up, in fact, that even the film's climax, the strike of the fateful hour signalling the once-and-for-all gun battle, is inaugurated solely through a parade of protruding faces: the turncoat townsfolk, the widow-in-waiting, the venomous villains, and of course, Coop. Cooper, in fact, was re-invented by the film. By emphasizing elements he had hitherto been cautious with - his vulnerability, his anger, his age - he, Zinneman and Foreman not only succeeded in broadening his range, but in adding colors to the palette of acceptable behaviour for the standard Western archetype. Marshall Will Kane is, yes, all he is supposed to be: stalwart, law-abiding, folksy and fierce. But beyond the trim dialogue exists a man capable of selfishness, unwarranted outbursts, even tears. Cooper's performance not only set the table for more interesting heroes, from Jimmy Stewart's performances in the Anthony Man films to Clint Eastwood's dark, contemporary knights, but for more interesting themes within the genre. A Fitting ClimaxHigh Noon would be nothing, however, without a fitting climax, and indeed the film delivers. Coop, with some surprise help from Grace Kelly, distinguishes himself against the bad guys solo, and then, with all that the film is charged with - disgust, duty, disappointment and defensiveness - flings his badge at the feet of those who would not stand up for him. He disappears, as the Fifth Amendment-clinging Foreman did, both triumphant and defeated.
The copyright of the article High Noon on DVD in Film Westerns is owned by Dan Lalande. Permission to republish High Noon on DVD in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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