Here’s an Italian re-release poster for High Noon (1952). Note that Lee Van Cleef has achieved third billing, that John Wayne and Jeffrey Hunter (lifted from The Searchers) appear in the lower right corner, and that it plugs the theme song by Frankie Laine. Some of the other information is actually correct.
This is to mark Olive Films’ announcement of a 60th Anniversary Edition of High Noon on DVD and Blu-ray, scheduled for July 12. Gary Cooper won a Best Actor Oscar for this one, widely considered one of the greatest Westerns ever made. There are a thousand stories about this film, from its transformation in editing to it inspiring Howard Hawks and John Wayne to make Rio Bravo (1959). Its cast is one of the genre’s best: Cooper, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado, Grace Kelly, Otto Kruger, Lon Chaney, Henry Morgan, Robert J. Wilke, Jack Elam, John Ducette — and, of course, Lee Van Cleef.
Another announcement: Olive Films has a Blu-ray (and new DVD) of Don Siegel’s Invasion Of The Body Snatchers in the works.
I’m actually a bit more excited about the Blu-ray of Don Siegel’s Invasion Of The Body Snatchers in the works. Thanks for the heads up, Toby.
Body Snatchers is a favorite of mine, but I’m a bit scared of that one on video, since there’s always the SuperScope or no SuperScope debate.
To me, anything that Don Siegel touched is terrific.
That’s quite a jump for Lee Van Cleef. As most here know, HIGH NOON was his first film. He has not a single line of dialogue but is tremendously effective–the start of one of the best bad guy careers ever. And it must be said, it was probably felt he might make an impression. The opening image is of him.
Other than acknowledging its official reputation “(widely considered one of the greatest Westerns ever made”), I notice you don’t take a stand here, and I’m one who can understand that. There is a strong contrary view that it is one of the most overrated Westerns ever made, and many discerning aficionados reject it.
But isn’t there a middle ground here. I believe so. To me, it feels too self-conscious and overdeliberated to be a great Western, yet in its final editing, the momentum of the “real time” cutting, along with Tiomkin’s music, do make it play well, and Gary Cooper’s strong, convincing presence anchors it. I’ve seen it many times over the years, and even though I always see the same flaws, I always enjoy it too.
I was afraid somebody’d get this going — it’s what a blog like this is for, ain’t it? — and I shoulda known it’d be you, Blake. (Did we talk about this one before?)
I’ve always felt that if you could strip away the Oscar and all the talk of how important it is — and just watch it as a cowboy movie — things would go a lot better.
Love the cutting and the gritty, flat look Floyd Crosby gave it (which will be fun to study on Blu-ray). Cooper’s great, of course. And it’s very effective on the whole.
But I just can’t see it on all those lists. It seems the people that make up those lists have seen three Westerns: High Noon, Shane and The Searchers.
As we know, there are lots of others — and some of them are as good as filmmaking gets. At this particular time, I’ll hold up Day Of The Outlaw as an example.
The measure of a films ‘greatness’ is in how many times you watch it. That’s the definition of a Classic. If I was channel surfing and hit High Noon, I’m certain I’d watch it again – that would make at least 50 times.
No matter how we analyse things intellectually there’s a magic – a special something – in a great movie. It pulls us in, again and again. And holds us.
High Noon surely does that. For me, at least.
Aside from Van Cleef, we find Lloyd Bridges – who also immortalized himself here. Apart from this Bridges film career is fairly non-descript. He also appeared in The Rainmaker wth Burt Lancaster and Katherine Hepburn (though some may not consider it a Western). But in my eyes it’s another Classic.
They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
I’d pay good $$ for a Blu-ray of Charley Varrick
That’d be great. I hope whoever made the decision to go pan-and-scan with the DVD got a pink slip outta the deal. The letterboxed laserdisc is one of the prizes of my collection.
What a movie!
Agree that Siegel really knew how to make a movie (“Charley Varrick” and “The Beguiled” being two of my favourites) and that “High Noon”, for all its virtues, is still somehow lifeless. I love Coop, but I’ll take his performances in “The Westerner”, “Vera Cruz” or “Man of the West” over “High Noon” any day.
And you need to run, not walk to Amazon UK and pick up a copy of the UK version of “Charley Varrick”. It’s an excellent widescreen transfer and is also ridiculously cheap. No excuses, Toby.
I am really looking forward to some of those Republic titles promised by
Olive Films.They are I understand going to release the stunning Noir
CRY VENGEANCE at some point.Someone sent me a Netflix copy
recently and its a perfect companion piece to the very disturbing
JACK SLADE. (both were Allied-Artists films now owned by Republic/
Paramount) In JACK SLADE Lee Van Cleef has a small but excellent bit;
you can tell; here is a future star.
CRY VENGEANCE is as harsh and brutal as a Noir can be……and then
some!Underrated Mark Stevens taut direction is worthy of Siegel or Joseph
H Lewis!Joan Vohs was very impressive as psycho-sadist hitman Skip
Homiers alcoholic girlfriend. Skip has been pretty nasty in other films,
but Ive never seen him like this.
As JACK SLADE was made by the same people (writer,producer,star)
I am hoping Olive will release this wonderful unheralded (apart from Boyd
Magers) Western at some point.
John, I went and found Jack Slade a while back, largely on your recommendation. I was shocked at how brutal and mean it was for its time.
Plus, anything with both Dorothy Malone, Barton MacLane and Lee Van Cleef is worth seeking out. You’re right, it was obvious from very early on that Van Cleef was a star.
Haven’t seen Cry Vengeance.
With Olive’s commitment to Blu-ray, I love the very thought of this type of film making their way to high-definition.
I never quite understood the popularity of High Noon mostly because it’s such a strange piece of work–knotty and ungainly, and the music works better as a parody of a theme than an actual theme. I guess the heroic elements keep the steam stoked, but to my mind it works more like an experimental Western television drama from the late 50′s-early ’60′s–almost Rod Serling-ish.
You just hit the nail on the head, Henry. You have a tendency to come along and do that every once in a while!
The experimental/TV thing is perfect — it has a gritty, smallish feel similar to what Hitchcock gave Psycho. And in both cases, that feel added to the tension.
Hoooo !!! If Coop saw that poster I’m sure he’d put the nix on it pretty quick. Terrible image of him. Looks more like Stuart Granger … or somebody. ?
Yeah ! Charley Varrick – another Classic.
Cooper is barely recognizable in that history-revisionist poster. Count me as a non-fan of this movie. Other than for the stars Coop, Grace, &, yes, Lon Chaney Jr. I wouldn’t bother watching this movie a 2nd time. Why didn’t they paint up a picture of Lon’s handsome face and plaster that over the blown up picture of Lee? Certainly Lon has more to do in this movie, for that matter why not a giant pic. of Llyod Bridges front and center over the small pic’s of Coop & Kelly. I can think of plenty of ways to revise history.
Speaking of experimental Western television. There were several really great episodes of Rawhide from Season 7 where each one was a highly stylized film-like stereotype of a classic western movie. Dean Martin’s episode “Canliss” comes to mind, “Lost Herd” a dramatic and even film noirish episode with cows yet, that’s a real trick, “Enormous Fist” with Lee Van Cleef, by the way, is a very filmy and dramatic episode, well, there are more, but I don’t recall them. But I can tell you that season 7 had some very classic western themes and lines and even great and unusual camera shots that you only found in some highly stylized western movies.
Forgot to mention, Grace Kelly in this poster looks more like Lupe Valez with a blonde fright wig, really awful likeness. The only one who looks like who he’s supposed to be is the artist’s obvious favorite Lee V.C.
“Being born with a pair of beady eyes was the best thing that ever happened to me.” – Lee Van Cleef.
Lee would definitely chuckle at the irony of it all.
Van Cleef still has a huge box office draw overseas due to all the Spaghetti Westerns he did. His image and ‘box office draw’ over there may well be equal to (or greater) than Eastwoods. Thus we find this rather arcane marketing.
Trivia:
- Lee made two guest appearances on Rawhide with future spaghetti western co-star Clint Eastwood.
- Clint Eastwood recommended Lee to director Sergio Leone for the role of Colonel Mortimer in For a Few Dollars More after Jack Palance pulled out of the movie at the last minute.
The rest is history …
or revisionist thereof …
High Noon … like it or not – when you surf around the net pretty well everybody has this movie in their Top Ten. At the very least in their Top 20.
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Amazing ! You wonder what’s coming next?! I’m half expect Lee to leap off the screen and yell; “Who’s this Cooper guy anyway?”
GRACIAS AMIGO POR TU AMABLE Y ESTIMULANTE MENSAJE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. HASTA LA PROXIMA . MANON KUBLER
I have to say..jcalberta’s comments in his first post here about the definition of a classic, greatness in a film, etc and how it pulls you in, over and over…that is what makes a classic. Maybe this is common belief and obvious..but I like so much how you wrote that and defined greatness in a film and what makes a classic. For example..one that affects me that way is THE MAN FROM LARAMIE. I just have to watch it every so often…it is just darn, darn enjoyable and great. Of course, I now know every character and know everything that happens but I still like to watch it. Anyway, very well said, jcalberta.
Thanks for your compliments Moe. i was doing a features on 3 of Brando’s Westerns: “The Appaloosa”; “One Eyed Jacks”; and “Missouri Breaks”.(Quite a few folks like One Eyed Jacks as one of their favorites). I saw these films initially when I was a kid and some of the scenes for shocking for me at that time – like the bull whipping scene in “One Eyed Jacks”. I just mention this because “The Man from Laramie” (you mention) also has a couple of powerful scenes – where Stewart gets dragged through the campfire and in particular the scene where they shoot him through the hand. Mild stuff by today’s standards, but in it’s time it was very powerful. Yeah, I like that film too – may be Stewart’s best Western.