High Noon

This is the story of a western town and its sometimes stout-hearted citizenry, the most prominent of whom is the heroic Sheriff Will Kane, a lawman surrounded by friends and admirers at the start, deserted and doomed at the finish. On his wedding - and retirement - day, Kane learns that a gunman is coming to town seeking revenge. Though he has good excuses for leaving, he feels responsible to stay and face the gunman - but no one in town is willing to help. Not a frame is wasted in this superbly directed, masterfully acted film, the first so-called <<adult western,>> in which the traditional and predictable elements of action, song, and minimal romance give way to a swift, intense unravelling of a situation and to complex character development.