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.
More than a half-century later, Foreman was right after all: High Noon is a scorching and sour portrait of American complacence and capacity for collaborationism.
– Michael Atkinson,
Village Voice,
27 Apr 2004
fresh:
High Noon won a fistful of Oscars, but in these days of pasteboard screen machismo, it's worth seeing simply as the anatomy of what it took to make a man before the myth turned sour.
– Derek Adams,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
fresh:
Some of the results ring false, but the memorable theme song and some equally memorable character acting (by Thomas Mitchell and Lon Chaney Jr. more than Lloyd Bridges and Katy Jurado) help things along.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
4 Sep 2007
fresh:
Zinnemann carefully and deliberately makes the most of the mood cast by the threat of impending violence.