Editing High Noon (section)

==Production==
According to ''Darkness at High Noon: The Carl Foreman Documents''— a 2002 documentary based in part on a lengthy 1952 letter from screenwriter [[Carl Foreman]] to film critic [[Bosley Crowther]]— Foreman's role in the creation and production of ''High Noon'' has been unfairly downplayed over the years in favor of producer Stanley Kramer's. Foreman told Crowther that the film originated from a four-page plot outline he wrote that turned out to be very similar to "The Tin Star", a 1947 short story by [[John W. Cunningham]] about an aging sheriff taking on a dangerous murderer.

Foreman purchased the film rights to Cunningham's story and wrote the screenplay. By the time the documentary aired, most of the principals were dead, including Kramer, Foreman, Zinnemann, and Cooper. [[Victor Navasky]], author of ''Naming Names'', an authoritative account of the Hollywood blacklist, told a reporter that, based on his interviews with Kramer's widow and others, the documentary seemed "one-sided, and the problem is it makes a villain out of Stanley Kramer, when it was more complicated than that".<ref name="nytimes">{{cite web|title='High Noon,' High Dudgeon|author=Weinraub, Bernard|work=The New York Times|date=April 18, 2002|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/movies/high-noon-high-dudgeon.html}}</ref>

Years later, director [[Richard Fleischer]] claimed that he helped Foreman develop the story of ''High Noon'' over the course of eight weeks while driving to and from the set of the 1949 film ''[[The Clay Pigeon]]'', which they were making together. Fleischer said that his RKO contract prevented him from directing ''High Noon''.<ref name="richard">{{cite book |last=Fleischer |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Fleischer |title=Just Tell Me When to Cry: A Memoir |publisher=Carroll and Graf |year=1993 |pages=35–36}}</ref>

There is a description of an incident very similar to the central plotline of ''High Noon'' in Chapter XXXV of ''[[The Virginian (novel)|The Virginian]]'', by [[Owen Wister]], in which Trampas (a [[villain]]) calls out The Virginian, who has a new bride waiting whom he might lose if he engages in a gunfight. ''High Noon'' has even been described as a "straight [[remake]]" of the [[The Virginian (1929 film)|1929 film version of ''The Virginian'']], which also featured Gary Cooper in a starring role.<ref name="WayneAmerica">{{cite book|last1=Wills|first1=Garry|title=John Wayne's America|date=1998|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|isbn=9780684838830|page=274|edition=1st Touchstone |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wc_KHo_MWc0C&pg=PA274|access-date=February 15, 2016}}</ref>

===House Un-American Activities Committee controversy===
The production and release of ''High Noon'' intersected with the [[Red Scare#Second Red Scare (1947–1957)|Second Red Scare]] in the United States and the [[Korean War]]. In 1951, during production of the film, screenwriter [[Carl Foreman]] was summoned before the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] (HUAC) during its investigation of "Communist propaganda and influence" in the [[Film industry|motion picture industry]]. Foreman had once been a member of the [[Communist Party USA|Communist Party]], but he declined to identify fellow members or anyone he suspected of current membership. As a result, he was labeled an "uncooperative witness" by the committee, making him vulnerable to [[Hollywood blacklist|blacklisting by the movie industry]].<ref name="Byman">{{cite book |last=Byman |first=Jeremy |title=Showdown at High Noon: Witch-hunts, Critics, and the End of the Western |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WIp2PfC1Mm4C |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528111752/http://books.google.com/books?id=WIp2PfC1Mm4C |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 28, 2013 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-8108-4998-4 }}</ref>

After his refusal to name names was made public, Foreman's production partner [[Stanley Kramer]] demanded an immediate dissolution of their partnership. As a signatory to the production loan, Foreman remained with the ''High Noon'' project, but before the film's release, he sold his partnership share to Kramer and moved to Britain, knowing that he would not find further work in the United States.<ref name="Byman" />

Kramer later asserted that he had ended their partnership because Foreman had threatened to falsely name him to HUAC as a Communist. Foreman said that Kramer feared damage to his own career due to "guilt by association". Foreman was indeed blacklisted by the Hollywood studios due to the "uncooperative witness" label along with pressure from [[Columbia Pictures]] president [[Harry Cohn]], [[Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals|MPA]] president [[John Wayne]], and ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' [[gossip columnist]] [[Hedda Hopper]].<ref name="Byman" />

===Casting===
[[File:Kelly-Cooper-Jurado.jpg|thumb|left|Gary Cooper holding Grace Kelly as Katy Jurado stares at them (promotional photo)]]
[[John Wayne]] was originally offered the lead role in the film, but refused it because he believed that Foreman's story was an obvious allegory against [[Hollywood blacklist|blacklisting]], which he actively supported. Later, he told an interviewer that he would "never regret having helped run Foreman out of the country".<ref>[https://pages.shanti.virginia.edu/Wild_Wild_Cold_War/files/2011/11/John_Wayne_Playboy_Int2.pdf John Wayne: ''Playboy'' Interview / MAY 1971] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823143806/http://pages.shanti.virginia.edu/Wild_Wild_Cold_War/files/2011/11/John_Wayne_Playboy_Int2.pdf |date=August 23, 2013}}. Retrieved May 11, 2015.</ref> Gary Cooper was Wayne's longtime friend and shared his conservative political views; Cooper had been a "friendly witness" before [[HUAC]] but did not implicate anyone as a suspected Communist, and he later became a vigorous opponent of blacklisting.<ref>Meyer, Jeffrey, ''Gary Cooper: American Hero'' (1998), p. 144.</ref> Cooper won an [[Academy Award]] for his performance, and since he was working in Europe at the time, he asked Wayne to accept the Oscar on his behalf. Although Wayne's contempt for the film and refusal of its lead role were well known, he said, "I'm glad to see they're giving this to a man who is not only most deserving, but has conducted himself throughout the years in our business in a manner that we can all be proud of ... Now that I'm through being such a good sport ... I'm going back to find my business manager and agent ... and find out why I didn't get ''High Noon'' instead of Cooper ..."<ref name="TCM">[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/24083/high-noon#articles-reviews ''High Noon''], retrieved October 13, 2022.</ref>

After Wayne refused the Will Kane role, Kramer offered it to [[Gregory Peck]], who declined because he felt it was too similar to his role in ''[[The Gunfighter]]'', the year before.  Peck later said he considered it the biggest mistake of his career.<ref>[http://www.destinationhollywood.com/celebrities/gregorypeck/funfeatures_content.shtml Gregory Peck], retrieved September 6, 2016.</ref> [[Marlon Brando]], [[Montgomery Clift]], and [[Charlton Heston]] also declined the role.<ref name="TCM"/>

Kramer saw [[Grace Kelly]] in an off-Broadway play and cast her as Kane's bride, despite Cooper and Kelly's substantial age disparity (50 and 21, respectively).  Rumors of an affair between Cooper and Kelly during filming remain unsubstantiated.  Kelly biographer Donald Spoto wrote that there was no evidence of a romance, aside from tabloid gossip.<ref>Spoto, D. ''High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly''. Crown Archetype (2009), pp. 67–9. {{ISBN|0307395618}}</ref> Biographer Gina McKinnon speculated that "there might well have been a roll or two in the hay bales", but cited no evidence, other than a remark by Kelly's sister Lizanne that Kelly was "infatuated" with Cooper.<ref>McKinnon, G. ''What Would Grace Do?: How to Live Life in Style Like the Princess of Hollywood''. Gotham (2013), p. 145. {{ISBN|1592408281}}</ref>

[[Lee Van Cleef]] made his film debut in ''High Noon''.  Kramer first offered Van Cleef the Harvey Pell role, after seeing him in a touring production of ''[[Mister Roberts (play)|Mister Roberts]]'', on the condition that Van Cleef have his nose surgically altered to appear less menacing. Van Cleef refused and was cast instead as Colby, the only role of his career without a single line of dialog.<ref>[http://www.westernclippings.com/heavies/leevancleef_charactersheavies.shtml Lee Van Cleef], retrieved September 6, 2016.</ref>

===Filming===
''High Noon'' was filmed in the late summer/early fall of 1951 in several locations in California. The opening scenes, under the [[Film credits|credits]], were shot at [[Iverson Movie Ranch]] near Los Angeles.  A few town scenes were shot in [[Columbia State Historic Park]], a preserved [[Gold Rush of 1849|Gold Rush]] mining town near [[Sonora, California|Sonora]], but most of the street scenes were filmed on the [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]] Movie Ranch in [[Burbank, California|Burbank]].  St. Joseph's Church in [[Tuolumne City, California|Tuolumne City]] was used for exterior shots of the Hadleyville church.  The railroad was the old [[Sierra Railroad]] in [[Jamestown, California|Jamestown]], a few miles south of Columbia, now known as [[Railtown 1897 State Historic Park]], and often nicknamed "the movie railroad" due to its frequent use in films and television shows. The railroad station was built for the film alongside a water tower at Warnerville, about 15 miles to the southwest.<ref>
*{{cite web |url=http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/h/highnoon.html |title=Film locations for High Noon |website=www.movie-locations.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620210003/http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/h/highnoon.html |archive-date=June 20, 2008}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.movie-locations.com//movies/h/High-Noon.php |website=Movie-Locations.com|title=High Noon}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last =Jensen | first =Larry | authorlink = | title =Hollywood's Railroads: Sierra Railroad | publisher =Cochetopa Press | series = | volume = Two| edition = | date =2018 | location =Sequim, Washington | pages =30 | language = | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=c-RNswEACAAJ&q=Hollywood%27s+Railroads | doi = | id = | isbn =9780692064726 | mr = | zbl = | jfm = }}</ref>

Cooper was reluctant to film the fight scene with Bridges due to ongoing problems with his back, but eventually did so without the use of a stunt double.  He wore no makeup to emphasize his character's anguish and fear, which was probably intensified by pain from recent surgery to remove a bleeding [[Gastric ulcer|ulcer]].<ref>Hyams, J. ''The Life and Times of the Western Movie.'' Gallery Books (1984), pp. 113–5.</ref>

The running time of the story almost precisely [[real time (media)|parallels]] the running time of the film—an effect heightened by frequent shots of clocks to remind the characters (and the audience) that the villain will be arriving on the noon train.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/830-high-noon |title=High Noon|author=Howard Suber|date=December 15, 1986|publisher=[[The Criterion Collection]]}}</ref>

===Music===
The movie's theme song, "[[The Ballad of High Noon|High Noon]]" (as it is credited in the film), also known by its opening lyric, "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling", became a major hit on the [[Country music|country-and-western]] charts for [[Tex Ritter]], and later, a pop hit for [[Frankie Laine]] as well.<ref name="TCM"/>  Its popularity set a precedent for theme songs that were featured in many subsequent Western films.<ref>[http://www.destinationhollywood.com/movies/highnoon/funfeatures_content.shtml ''High Noon''], retrieved September 6, 2016.</ref> Composer [[Dimitri Tiomkin]]'s score and song, with lyrics by [[Ned Washington]], became popular for years afterwards and Tiomkin became in demand for future westerns in the 1950s like ''[[Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (film)|Gunfight at the O.K. Corral]]'' and ''[[Last Train from Gun Hill]].''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/HighNoon.htm|title=Film In Focus – HIGH NOON and Dimitri Tiomkin's film score|website=americanmusicpreservation.com|access-date=May 8, 2018|archive-date=August 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819021833/http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/HighNoon.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The song, along with its various instrumental arrangements, is heard 36 times throughout the film, functioning as a recurring musical motif.