High Noon (1952) High Noon
A Western directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by Carl Foreman, starring Gary Cooper as a small-town marshal who must face a gang of killers alone when the entire town refuses to help him. Shot in near-real-time over its 85-minute running time, the film is both a taut genre exercise and a political allegory about the Hollywood blacklist — Foreman wrote it while being investigated by HUAC.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Director | Fred Zinnemann |
| Writer | Carl Foreman |
| Stars | Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado, Thomas Mitchell, Lee Van Cleef |
| Composer | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Cinematographer | Floyd Crosby |
| Editor | Elmo Williams, Harry W. Gerstad |
| Production Company | Stanley Kramer Productions |
| Distributor | United Artists |
| Budget | ~$750,000 |
| Box Office | ~$18 million |
| Release Date | July 24, 1952 |
| Running Time | 85 minutes |
| Academy Awards | Best Actor (Gary Cooper), Best Film Editing, Best Music Score, Best Song ("Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'") |
Key Pages
- Plot Summary (High Noon)
- 40 Beats (High Noon)
- Cast and Characters (High Noon)
- Production History (High Noon)
- Themes and Analysis (High Noon)
- Critical Reception and Legacy (High Noon)
- Physical Media Releases (High Noon)
- Structure Graphics (High Noon)
Cast & Crew Pages
- Gary Cooper (High Noon)
- Grace Kelly (High Noon)
- Katy Jurado (High Noon)
- Lloyd Bridges (High Noon)
- Fred Zinnemann (High Noon)
- Carl Foreman (High Noon)
- Floyd Crosby (High Noon)
- Dimitri Tiomkin (High Noon)
Key Sequences
Analysis & Context
Tagline
"The story of a man who was too proud to run."