#27 - High Noon

The existential Western. Now that's something you don't see a lot. This 1952 film is considered one of the greatest Westerns ever made, but it's certainly different from all the rest. No real action takes place until the last ten minutes (except for a couple of fistfights). But most differently of all is that the movie takes place in real time (this is different for movies in general, not just Westerns).

That's right, the movie depicts the 85 minutes between 10:35 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on a single day in a New Mexico town (population 400). Here is a rundown of everything that happens in those 85 minutes: Town Marshal Will Kane (played by Gary Cooper, the ultimate "strong and silent type") gets married to Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly in her first major role), he gets word that a man he had captured and who had been sentenced to death had gotten out of prison and is headed his way for revenge, he tries to assemble a band of deputies to help him in the final battle, and he faces off with the convicted murderer who has assembled his own ragtag group of lowlife criminals to face the Marshal.

While that seems like a lot of plot (I didn't even mention the angle that Kane and his assailant shared the same mistress and all of the complications it brings forth), but that makes for one of the busiest hours of our main character's life. I talk a lot about urgency in these reactions, and it is one of my favorite qualities a movie can have. But this movie has got it more than any film I've seen so far. This man's life could be ending in an hour, and he has to do everything in his power to stop it. At first he runs away, going on his honeymoon a little earlier than expected. And no one would begrudge him for it -- after the wedding he turned in his badge and gun, relinquishing his duty as sheriff (his new bride is a strict pacifist Quaker who wants him to open up a general store).

But, valiantly, he does return. And although his wife initially blames him for ruining their marriage, she comes around by high noon -- in a big way. The movie is a fast-paced examination of one man's will to survive and be a true man, stand up for what is right and protect the moral fiber of his town (even if he stands alone, as he does in one of the film's most memorable moments when the camera pans out to show that he is standing in the streets, a lonely, sitting duck). It's losing the Best Picture award to the circus epic "The Greatest Show on Earth" (I'd never heard of it either) is considered one of the greatest upsets in the award's history. No matter what, it is strongly advised to take a short hour-and-a-half out of your day at some point and truly enjoy this movie. You'll be glad you did.