Review // High Noon (1952)

Filmed in real time, from its first frame, High Noon is the definition of epic. The themes are deeply thought-provoking. The visuals are stunning. Every moment of every shot is so carefully, deliberately crafted. The acting across the board is legendary. The theme song is one of the most stirring ever composed. In short, this is justly considered one of the greatest films of all time. It should be mandatory watching for all high school students.

Torn between love and duty, Marshal Will Kane is determined not to desert his post. From the opening scenes, so many people are trying to control him. He even says at one point that he’s “tired of being shoved.” And throughout the betrayals from all his friends and neighbors, with everyone pushing him to run, he responds with a quiet stubbornness, digging in his heels – ultimately determined to stop and turn and face the monster at his heels.

Before discussing the themes, it’s imperative we delve a little into the controversial backstory of the film itself.

Background

I did quite a bit of reading on this and in the end came round to thinking the google summary did a pretty good job and there’s no real need for me to rehash the general take:

“The 1952 Western High Noon is considered a communist allegory because its screenwriter, Carl Foreman, was a former member of the Communist Party who intentionally wrote the script as a protest against the Hollywood blacklist and... McCarthy-era [politics].

“The film’s plot, in which a marshal is abandoned by his cowardly townspeople while facing a criminal threat, was widely interpreted as a metaphor for suspected communists being ostracized by friends and colleagues who refused to stand up for them during the Red Scare.

“Despite this interpretation, the film’s reception was polarized:

• Critics of the film, such as actor John Wayne and director Howard Hawks, condemned it as "un-American" because they believed it portrayed ordinary Americans as cowardly and encouraged dissent against authority. (Editing to note that apparently John Wayne also disliked the marshal discarding his badge at the end. I have more thoughts on this / hoping to share when I review Rio Bravo, but for right now just trying to stick to High Noon.)
• Supporters and international audiences viewed the film as a story of individualism and moral courage. Ironically, the Soviet Union’s state newspaper, Pravda, also attacked the film, calling it a "glorification of the individual," which contradicted collectivist communist ideology.
• The film remains a complex political parable that allows for multiple interpretations, ranging from a critique of McCarthyism to a conservative fantasy about standing alone against evil.”

And from google again, because I think it’s frightfully interesting: 

“The historical consensus is that the "cowardly town" trope is largely a Hollywood myth derived from Dime Novels rather than reality. Most Old West towns were peaceful, and the few prone to violence, such as mining camps, were not as lawless as movies portrayed.

• High Noon Fiction: The classic scenario of a marshal facing a gang alone because the town is cowed is fictional. In reality, townsfolk were generally experienced with guns post-Civil War, and entire towns would not be intimidated by just a few outlaws.
• Actual Violence Stats: Violence was often lower than expected; for example, major cowtowns like Abilene, Dodge City, and Wichita saw only 45 violent deaths combined between 1870 and 1875.
• Law Enforcement: Marshals often refused offers of help from vigilance committees (as Virgil Earp did in Tombstone) to avoid risking innocent lives, and towns like Dodge City were kept in check by numerous skilled gunmen who were wary of starting trouble with one another.
• Exceptions: Some frontier towns like Fort Griffin (Texas) or Deadwood (South Dakota) did experience breakdowns in law enforcement due to influxes of outlaws, but even these were not universally "cowardly" as residents often fought back or relied on hired guns like Bat Masterson or Wyatt Earp.”

So. One could absolutely say that the conflict / overarching narrative in High Noon is indeed un-American in a very real sense. In the ethos of sturdy American culture, these things were unthinkable, and in the Old West… well… most every citizen was armed and civic duty was taken very seriously. It was integral, especially to those building an entire town.

Ok, so we have the backdrop surrounding production and some facts re historical accuracy. Now here’s where I want to take this.

The truth is, all literature, art, etc. is the product of a certain time and place and pressure, and springs from certain joys and fears. Often culture wide. But what makes certain works – certain stories – into great stories, into art, resonating so deeply, is their ability to transcend their own time, to tap into the universal themes with which mankind has wrestled since the fall and will wrestle till Resurrection Day. Great stories that tap into the realm of myth and legend + being evaluations of the state of man’s soul.

Mart (Will Kane’s predecessor and mentor) says, “People got to talk themselves into law and order before they do anything. Maybe because down deep they don't care. They just don't care.” And we have too the running thread of it all being for nothing. Mart again, “You risk your skin catching killers, and the juries turn them loose, so they can come back and shoot at you again. If you're honest, you're poor your whole life. In the end you wind up dying all alone on some dirty street. For what? For nothing. For a tin star.” These are prescient questions. 

Along these lines, Kane discarding his badge into the dust at the end can be seen as a straightforward act of embittered disillusionment. But I would like to submit that – especially in a story this multi-layered – one defeatist character or moment is not the sum total that we’re supposed to walk away with. That would be too simplistic.

As the story has taken pains to remind us over and over and over and over, the problem lies with higher authorities (including juries of the common man) not taking justice seriously. And the major, main, underlying problem to that, is that mankind is often undependable, changeable, cowardly, and disloyal. And I think we should know our Bibles well enough to not be greatly surprised. 

We have, here, brought forward into the stark light of day, the truth that people are fickle and ungrateful and will naturally spiral into degeneracy. It’s not a good state of affairs. But it’s the way it often is.

As to Will Kane throwing down his badge... On the personal level, sometimes you just have to get out. Be done. You can't save people from themselves. As a Christian, you can forgive. You can pray for their souls. You can hope they change. But there are some things from which there’s no coming back. You can never pretend that those things didn’t happen. The relationship can never be the same.

On another level... what else might be going on here? Is it saying that there's nothing even left there to guard? At least one character has already said that the town itself is teetering on the brink of death. And yes, on the one hand, it is the honorable thing to carry on, to fight no matter what (which *spoilers* Will Kane very much already did do -- it must be remembered that he's walking away from this after having seen the show down through).... But Psalm 11:3 springs to mind: "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

In verses 4-5 of Psalm 11 we get the concluding thought: "The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous, but the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates."

I'm not trying to turn this into a different kind of allegory. It just made me think of the big perspective on these things. On the one hand, sometimes we are called to take a stand, to have courage, to faithfully withstand the testing. At other times, the wise man knows that if the very foundations are destroyed, what indeed can the righteous do? The ultimate answer is that when we turn to our Maker, we are reminded that He, and He alone, is the Supreme Judge of mankind, and that He alone sees clearly. 

At the end of High Noon there’s satisfying completion, but it also resists giving us a nice tidy tie off, complete with bow. It highlights the fact that it’s not supposed to be this way. It wants the viewer to be uncomfortable. It’s throwing the question in our face… forcing you to think through where you stand and what you would do.

This is high story.

The heart of this entire saga could have been told in a fantasy, but, in this particular case, it plays out in a western setting – the perfect setting indeed, if I may say so, for a tale of lofty myth and legend.

So yes, absolutely one of the greatest, not just westerns, but films of all time.

Thank you for reading!