"High Noon": A Portrait in Courage

[tv star collector]

I just saw Gary Cooper again in arguably his finest role, Sheriff Will Kane in
the 1952 Western classic "High Noon" (for which he won his second Academy
Award). What a great movie and what a great supporting cast (Grace Kelly,
Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado, Lon Chaney, Harry Morgan, Thomas Mitchell). It's
a short film (only about 75 minutes) and what is unique is that the story moves along in real time (as the frequent image of the clock on the wall
reminds us). It's a straight, simple Western with a very ordinary plot but
proves to be a fascinating character study of the man Kane and a portrait of
a sorry town whose only people willing to join a posse to help Kane are a
14-year-old kid and a one-eyed old man. Oh, look for familiar character actor
Jack Elam in a brief role as a young drunk sleeping off a binge in the jail cell.
Oh, one sad post script: On Apr. 17, 1961, at the 1960 Oscars presentation,
James Stewart announced a special award for Cooper and then revealed that
"Coop" had less than a month to live. He died of cancer at age 60.

[catlover79]

It is indeed a terrific film - do you know who sang the theme, "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling"? It's none other than Tex Ritter, the father of John. :D

Another terrific Gary Cooper movie is Sergeant York. It would be quite an appropriate film for Veteran's Day!!

[tv star collector]

It is indeed a terrific film - do you know who sang the theme, "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling"? It's none other than Tex Ritter, the father of John. :D

Another terrific Gary Cooper movie is Sergeant York. It would be quite an appropriate film for Veteran's Day!!

Yes, I forgot to mention the riveting theme song sung by Tex Ritter. "Sergeant York" was the picture for which Coop won his first Oscar.

[catlover79]

They just don't make them like Gary Cooper anymore.

[ponytail]

I've never seen a Gary Cooper movie I didn't like.

[tv star collector]

While we're on the subject, here's a little Gary Cooper trivia for you fans:

Born Frank James Cooper in Helena, Montana, in 1901, he was the son of a
state supreme court justice. His ambition after college was to become a
political cartoonist. He got sidetracked when some friends introduced him to
a casting director. His first big break came in the 1927 film "Wings" (the very first movie to win an Oscar), in which he had a supporting role. The rest is
history.

[ponytail]

A big thank you to his friends! Actually he was quite the artist too. A man of many talents.