Zwölf Uhr mittags (1952)

Zwölf Uhr mittags: Directed by Fred Zinnemann. With Gary Cooper, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado. A town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at high noon when the gang leader, an outlaw he sent up years ago, arrives on the noon train.

“On the day of his wedding with Amy (Grace Kelly) and simultaneous retirement of the position of Marshal, Will Kane (Gary Cooper) receives a telegram advising that the criminal Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) had been released from the prison. Now he is coming to the town in the noon train to kill Kane, as he promised in the judgment. Kane arrested Frank five years ago and he was sent to North to be hanged. However he was sentenced to life and for some unexplained reason, Frank was pardoned and released. Three other gunmen are in the station waiting for Frank. Having less one hour and half to organize his defense, Kane tries to organize a posse but sees every citizen turns back to him, in a cowardly way and he stands alone against the killers.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;High Noonu0026quot; is a low-budget western with a tense and suspenseful storyline. The tension is built in real time and Gary Cooper has an outstanding performance in the role of a Marshal moved by his duty to protect the town that does not deserve him. It is sad to see his former friends finding excuses to turn down his request for helping. The performances are top notch and the viewer gets tense while the clocks show the fatidic noon coming. Grace Kelly is astonishing beautiful and finds redemption in the conclusion when she saves Kane. The final scene when Kane drops his badge on the dirty floor is memorable. u0026quot;High Noonu0026quot; is certainly one of the most credible westerns of the cinema history and might be one of the best. My vote is ten.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTitle (Brazil): u0026#39;Matar ou Morreru0026#39; (u0026#39;To Kill or To Dieu0026#39;)”