Western / Drama
1952 / 85 min.
Rating: 9/10

In a contender for best Western of all time, Gary Cooper plays the newly married Marshal Will Kane. His old job and his new pacifist Quaker wife Amy aren’t a good fit, so the lawman plans to retire, move away, and have a new start in a new town as a shopkeeper.

But before the happy couple can get away, Kane learns that Frank Miller, a vicious criminal that Kane put in prison, has been released, and is set to arrive in town on the noon train. Miller is looking for revenge, and his gang of four outlaws is already in town waiting for his arrival. Kane’s friends urge him to get out of town quickly, and his wife pleads for him to listen.

But the replacement marshal won’t arrive until the next day, and Kane’s sense of duty won’t allow him to run. He decides to stay, and even his wife’s ultimatum – that she’s leaving on the noon train with or without him – doesn’t change his mind.

The noon train serves as a looming deadline, and the soundtrack to the film has a ticking clock cadence, counting down the seconds. This adds to the urgency as Kane tries to rally a posse from the townspeople, and gets only refusals. Even men who have helped him before turn their backs on their marshal, finding all sorts of excuses (it struck me as a bit Matt. 22:1-14-ish, though that passage’s banquet setting is quite different).

Cautions

The big caution would be the inevitable gunfight. It doesn’t revel in gore, so yes, men get shot, but blood doesn’t get splattered.

The other caution would concern Helen Ramirez, a secondary character who was, or still is, a prostitute. She had some sort of relationship with Kane (and before that with the outlaw Miller), which puts some taint on Kane’s otherwise honorable disposition. But the backstory isn’t filled in much.

Conclusion

There’s much to love here, from the pacing, which largely takes place in real-time, to the music, sparse and awesome. The theme song, Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling, is such a perfect match and is so popular that folks born 50 years after the film came out may well feel like it is familiar.

The best part is simply a hero we can cheer for – Kane’s courage and conviction, his willingness to risk his life for the town despite having every reason not to, is the very definition of a Christ figure. Of course, he also has a past, so he’s not a saint. But he is ready to die for townsfolk who don’t deserve his loyalty.

This is a classic with broad appeal, even for those who don’t like Westerns or black-and-white films. You should give it a chance.