High Noon was a classic Western movie made in 1952 by Stanley Kramer and directed by Fred Zinnemann. It was one of the best Western movies made, in my opinion. Gary Cooper played Marshall Will Kane. He did a fine job portraying a respected and law-abiding Marshall of the town. It was a typical town of the early West, with the local saloon, barber shop, hotel, and Marshall?s office.
The story begins with Will marrying Amy Fowler, Grace Kelly in the town where he has lived and worked. She has wanted to leave and start a business of their own so he would not be in so much danger all of the time. An enemy of Will, Frank Miller, played by Ian MacDonald, has come back into town with his friends looking for him. Will is supposed to be leaving with his new wife to start their new life the day that his enemy has returned. So Will decides to stay and fight his enemy with dignity and respect. He is not going to back down. He goes throughout the city to try and find people to help him, but no one comes to the challenge. The one man who does volunteer his time backs down when he learns that it would only be he and Kane fighting the outlaws.
In the end, Kane himself has fought the outlaws. This was disheartening to me because Kane is not even supposed to be there. He had given up his title to start his new life with his wife, but he felt he had to do this for himself and his town that he helped build. It was also disappointing that not one person in his community capable of fighting would stand up with him and fight for the rights of the citizens. Everyone was too scared to confront the bad guys. In the end, he has killed the men, and his wife has killed one as well. The ungrateful town most assuredly has owed him and his wife their lives.