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On July 24, 1952, "High Noon" was released.
High Noon
Theatrical release poster
Directed by: Fred Zinnemann
Screenplay by: Carl Foreman
Based on: "The Tin Star," 1947 short story in Collier's, by John W. Cunningham
Produced by: Stanley Kramer
Release date: July 24, 1952
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in real time, centers on a town marshal whose sense of duty is tested when he must decide to either face a gang of killers alone, or leave town with his new wife.
Though mired in controversy at the time of its release due to its political themes, the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four (Actor, Editing, Score and Song) as well as four Golden Globe Awards (Actor, Supporting Actress, Score, and Black and White Cinematography). The award-winning score was written by Russian-born composer Dimitri Tiomkin.
High Noon was selected by the Library of Congress as one of the first 25 films for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 1989, the NFR's first year of existence. An iconic film whose story has been partly or completely repeated in later film productions, its ending in particular has inspired numerous later films, including but not just limited to westerns.
{snip}
Theatrical release poster
Directed by: Fred Zinnemann
Screenplay by: Carl Foreman
Based on: "The Tin Star," 1947 short story in Collier's, by John W. Cunningham
Produced by: Stanley Kramer
Release date: July 24, 1952
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in real time, centers on a town marshal whose sense of duty is tested when he must decide to either face a gang of killers alone, or leave town with his new wife.
Though mired in controversy at the time of its release due to its political themes, the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four (Actor, Editing, Score and Song) as well as four Golden Globe Awards (Actor, Supporting Actress, Score, and Black and White Cinematography). The award-winning score was written by Russian-born composer Dimitri Tiomkin.
High Noon was selected by the Library of Congress as one of the first 25 films for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 1989, the NFR's first year of existence. An iconic film whose story has been partly or completely repeated in later film productions, its ending in particular has inspired numerous later films, including but not just limited to westerns.
{snip}
Hat tip, a link at a site that is about something else entirely. Rio Bravo was John Wayne's rebuttal to High Noon.
ARTS
Rio Bravo Delivers a Feel-Good Vibe and Values We Can All Agree On
The John Wayne and Howard Hawks western was made in response to another film that critiqued McCarthyism, but it puts politics aside for movie-watching bliss.
by NOAH GITTELL
JULY 21ST, 2023
John Wayne, Ricky Nelson, and Angie Dickinson in Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo
John Wayne made Rio Bravo in 1959 as a response to High Noon, the 1952 western about a small-town sheriff who asks his townspeople for help in fighting off a trio of bandits with a grudge. The earlier film was understood as a critique of McCarthyism and the culture of betrayal engendered by the investigations of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Wayne, a staunch Republican, called it the “most un-American thing” he had ever seen, not just for its blacklisting metaphor but also for its gall in portraying an American lawman as weak and the citizenry as cowardly. So Wayne and director Howard Hawks, who had previously collaborated on Red River, teamed up to make a film about a sheriff who, when faced with a similar threat, refuses to ask anyone for help and only accepts support when the civilians decide on their own to join the fight.
It’s a neat backstory, but the great thing about Rio Bravo is how little any of that ends up mattering. Its politics are present, but it thrives on its feel-good vibe and nonpartisan values of friendship, love, and the power of redemption. Wayne plays John T. Chance, an aging sheriff who, in the film’s bravura, wordless opening sequence, locks up the brother of a local cattle baron for murder. When the baron catches wind of the arrest, he and his henchmen set about trying to break the killer out of jail. Initially, Chance’s only backup is a disabled deputy, played by the reliable Walter Brennan. But friends old and new show up: his drunken former deputy Dude (Dean Martin), young gunslinger Colorado (Ricky Nelson), and a fast-talking lass (Angie Dickinson) whose stagecoach has broken down. They all want to help. Chance turns them down until they each refuse to take no for an answer.
That’s the plot, but the pleasures of Rio Bravo are in watching its characters unfold to each other like desert flowers. In between the well-staged shoot-outs, there are long, beautiful stretches that hinge on these people simply enjoying each other’s company and, in one case, falling in love. It’s a hangout movie as much as a western. Dickinson brings the energy of a screwball comedy to her scenes with Wayne, who, instead of trying to keep up the pace, mostly grins sheepishly at her. We can’t blame him. Dickinson is radiant, and Hawks’ camera captures her brilliance.
Wayne smirks, Brennan squeals, and Nelson bats his eyes for the teenage girls in the audience, but it’s Martin, as the anguished alcoholic trying to kick his habit, who carries the film’s emotional heft. With his twitches and shallow breathing, Martin, a formidable boozer in real life, captures the frayed nerves of a man in withdrawal, but he also finds the nuances of a man trying to build a new life while still burying his old one. It’s a classic redemption arc, but Martin’s performance feels fresh and alive, while serving as a steep revision of the western genre. In the dusty towns of cinema’s Old West, the cowboys throw back tequila like it’s water, but Rio Bravo uncovers a little more reality in those saloons than the genre typically allows.
{snip}
Rio Bravo screens daily from July 22 through 27 at AFI Silver. Times vary. silver.afi.com. $10–$13.
Rio Bravo Delivers a Feel-Good Vibe and Values We Can All Agree On
The John Wayne and Howard Hawks western was made in response to another film that critiqued McCarthyism, but it puts politics aside for movie-watching bliss.
by NOAH GITTELL
JULY 21ST, 2023
John Wayne, Ricky Nelson, and Angie Dickinson in Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo
John Wayne made Rio Bravo in 1959 as a response to High Noon, the 1952 western about a small-town sheriff who asks his townspeople for help in fighting off a trio of bandits with a grudge. The earlier film was understood as a critique of McCarthyism and the culture of betrayal engendered by the investigations of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Wayne, a staunch Republican, called it the “most un-American thing” he had ever seen, not just for its blacklisting metaphor but also for its gall in portraying an American lawman as weak and the citizenry as cowardly. So Wayne and director Howard Hawks, who had previously collaborated on Red River, teamed up to make a film about a sheriff who, when faced with a similar threat, refuses to ask anyone for help and only accepts support when the civilians decide on their own to join the fight.
It’s a neat backstory, but the great thing about Rio Bravo is how little any of that ends up mattering. Its politics are present, but it thrives on its feel-good vibe and nonpartisan values of friendship, love, and the power of redemption. Wayne plays John T. Chance, an aging sheriff who, in the film’s bravura, wordless opening sequence, locks up the brother of a local cattle baron for murder. When the baron catches wind of the arrest, he and his henchmen set about trying to break the killer out of jail. Initially, Chance’s only backup is a disabled deputy, played by the reliable Walter Brennan. But friends old and new show up: his drunken former deputy Dude (Dean Martin), young gunslinger Colorado (Ricky Nelson), and a fast-talking lass (Angie Dickinson) whose stagecoach has broken down. They all want to help. Chance turns them down until they each refuse to take no for an answer.
That’s the plot, but the pleasures of Rio Bravo are in watching its characters unfold to each other like desert flowers. In between the well-staged shoot-outs, there are long, beautiful stretches that hinge on these people simply enjoying each other’s company and, in one case, falling in love. It’s a hangout movie as much as a western. Dickinson brings the energy of a screwball comedy to her scenes with Wayne, who, instead of trying to keep up the pace, mostly grins sheepishly at her. We can’t blame him. Dickinson is radiant, and Hawks’ camera captures her brilliance.
Wayne smirks, Brennan squeals, and Nelson bats his eyes for the teenage girls in the audience, but it’s Martin, as the anguished alcoholic trying to kick his habit, who carries the film’s emotional heft. With his twitches and shallow breathing, Martin, a formidable boozer in real life, captures the frayed nerves of a man in withdrawal, but he also finds the nuances of a man trying to build a new life while still burying his old one. It’s a classic redemption arc, but Martin’s performance feels fresh and alive, while serving as a steep revision of the western genre. In the dusty towns of cinema’s Old West, the cowboys throw back tequila like it’s water, but Rio Bravo uncovers a little more reality in those saloons than the genre typically allows.
{snip}
Rio Bravo screens daily from July 22 through 27 at AFI Silver. Times vary. silver.afi.com. $10–$13.
Tue Jul 25, 2023: On July 24, 1952, "High Noon" was released.