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High Noon

High Noon

Western · 1952

Will Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, learns a notorious outlaw he put in jail has been freed, and will be arriving on the noon train. Knowing the outlaw and his gang are coming to kill him, Kane is determined to stand his ground, so he attempts to gather a posse from among the local townspeople.

Movie details

High Noon

“The story of a man who was too proud to run!”

1952 Western 1h 25m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.7 / 10

Community rating

Will Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, learns a notorious outlaw he put in jail has been freed, and will be arriving on the noon train. Knowing the outlaw and his gang are coming to kill him, Kane is determined to stand his ground, so he attempts to gather a posse from among the local townspeople.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over High Noon?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Fastest Gun Alive

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Fred Zinnemann

Written by

Carl Foreman

Gary Cooper

Gary Cooper

Marshal Will Kane

Thomas Mitchell

Thomas Mitchell

Mayor Jonas Henderson

Lloyd Bridges

Lloyd Bridges

Deputy Marshal Harvey Pell

Katy Jurado

Katy Jurado

Helen Ramírez

Grace Kelly

Grace Kelly

Amy Fowler Kane

Otto Kruger

Otto Kruger

Judge Percy Mettrick

Lon Chaney Jr.

Lon Chaney Jr.

Martin Howe

Court is in session

Put High Noon on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.