Fred Zinnemann’s High Noon

Abstract

This chapter focuses on what is often considered the paradigmatic Western, Fred Zinnemann’s 1952 High Noon, beginning with its complicated reception, its varied allegorical readings, its political uses, and its profound influence. The discussion then turns to parallels with Homer’s Iliad: in both, the hero’s initial faith in the justice of the social system gives way to radical isolation when the men who should provide the backbone of this system fail them, and in both, the final showdown functions as a psychological confrontation as much as a physical one. Next, like Homer’s Odyssey, High Noon centers on the threat the hero’s wife poses to his identity through her uncertain fidelity; in the end, however, her loyalty is confirmed, thereby validating masculine goals and values. Finally, like the protagonist of Virgil’s Aeneid, Gary Cooper’s Will Kane is a reluctant hero compelled to defend the community; though both are temporarily distracted by personal desires, they are ultimately moved to resume the heroic mantle by a strong sense of duty anchored to notions of a higher purpose. And like the Aeneid, High Noon is shown to contain a de-mythologizing strain that complicates national identity even as it celebrates it.