“WATCH THE CLOCK”

By Raymond Benson

Whether he was acting as a producer or as a director, Stanley Kramer was always at the forefront of social issues embedded within motion pictures that were ultimately entertaining and popular. He was producer of many outstanding movies during the early half of his career, and then went on to direct more high-profile Hollywood “message pictures.”

The esteemed and beloved High Noon, an “anti-western” released in 1952, was a production Kramer oversaw with his then associate Carl Foreman, who penned the screenplay. In a much publicized and analyzed split, the two men “divorced” during production of the film, mainly because Foreman was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee, admitted he had once been a member of the Communist Party, and refused to name names. Before he could be blacklisted, Foreman left the United States and moved to Britain. He agreed to have his name removed from High Noon as Associate Producer; but he still received credit for the screenplay, which may or may not have been based on a short story called “The Tin Star,” by John W. Cunningham. (Kramer had purchased the rights to the story because it had a similar premise, and he was likely covering his bases.) Astonishingly, Foreman still received an Academy Award nomination for his script, even when many of his writing colleagues in Hollywood had to use “fronts” on their work, or they couldn’t get jobs at all.

Setting aside all that drama, perhaps the real credit for the success of High Noon should go to director Fred Zinnemann, who was the up and coming talent and future two-time Oscar winner, and star Gary Cooper, who won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance as Will Kane, the retiring marshal of the small New Mexico town of Hadleyville. The film also won for its dynamic and extremely important editing (by Elmo Williams and Harry W. Gerstad) that gave audiences the sense that they were viewing the suspenseful action in real time, and two trophies for music—the score by Dimitri Tiomkin, and for the song by Tiomkin and Ned Washington (“High Noon,” performed by Tex Ritter, although it is known in popular circles as “Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin’”). High Noon received nominations not only for the Screenplay, but for Director Zinnemann and for Best Picture.

Most of you know the story. Marshal Kane (Cooper) has just gotten married to Amy (Grace Kelly; never mind that she’s about 30 years younger than Cooper), when he learns that bad man Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) has been paroled and is on his way to town to kill Kane. He will arrive on the noon train, and his three equally-bad cohorts (Lee Van Cleef in his first screen appearance; Sheb Wooley, who years later gave us the novelty song, “The Purple People Eater”; and Robert J. Wilke) are at the station waiting for him. Kane desperately attempts to round up supporters to help him fight Miller and his gang, but no one in the town will step up to support their marshal (the outstanding supporting cast includes Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges, Lon Chaney, Katy Jurado, Otto Kruger, and Harry Morgan). Cowards all. Even Amy leaves her new husband because he won’t run out on his responsibility. Meanwhile, we are made aware of every clock in the town as the ticking progresses closer to high noon. The pendulums swing, the big hands move closer to 12, and the tension mounts. Kane is left alone to face the killers…

Of course, we all know now that High Noon is an allegory for the Hollywood blacklist. It was Carl Foreman’s treatise on what was happening in Tinsel Town at the time. The townspeople, who were the marshal’s friends, turn their backs on him and leave him to “face the music” alone. John Wayne famously rejected the role of Kane when it was first offered to him, and he went on the record, along with director Howard Hawks, calling High Noon a “Commie picture.” Ironically, Gary Cooper was not in town when he was awarded his Oscar—and Wayne accepted the trophy for his pal on the night of the ceremony.

Olive Films’ spectacular Blu-ray is absolutely gorgeous in its glorious black and white. It is a new 4K restoration that is crystal clear, giving one the impression that the movie was made yesterday.

There are nice supplements included. A piece on the editing of the film illustrates how the ticking clocks are so important for the pace of the picture. Film historian Michael Schlesinger enthusiastically presents a featurette on producer Kramer. Blacklisted screenwriter Walter Bernstein and film historian Larry Ceplair talk about the Hollywood blacklist and its relation to High Noon. Anton Yelchin narrates a visual essay of rarely seen archival elements on the production history of the film. Finally, there is an original essay (on screen and in the enclosed booklet) by Sight & Sound editor Nick James, along with the theatrical trailer.

High Noon exists on Blu-ray distributed by other companies, but the Olive Films presentation is top-notch. A classic masterpiece is always worth an upgrade.

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