High Noon (1952)
(Fred Zinneman, US 1952, 85 min., 35mm)
One of the finest westerns ever produced, Zinneman’s taut film plays out in real time. Will Kane (Gary Cooper) has just been married and is on the verge of resigning his position as marshal when he is told that Frank Miller, whom he sent to prison five years earlier, has received a pardon and is arriving on the noon train. Kane considers fleeing, but realizes Miller will hunt him down, and he returns to face his responsibility. Kane appeals to the townspeople, but is turned away by everyone, leaving him alone to face the prisoner and his three outlaws. Gary Cooper won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a beloved and admired small town lawman who is ultimately abandoned to fight four deadly outlaws. A film famous for its suspenseful use of real time, for Grace Kelly's first major role, and for Tex Ritter's "Do Not Foresake Me, Oh My Darlin'."
Introduction by and post-screening Q&A with Charity Lofthouse, Professor of Music at Hobart and William Smith Colleges
The Art of Music in Movies is supported by the Rodney Hatch Family at the Rochester Area Community Foundation.