The Message of "High Noon" ....

Edmund Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

On the one hand this is "just" a classic Western where the good guy eventually triumps over the baddies after a thrilling shootout, but on another level it is a morality story about human social psychology. Not all Germans were Nazis, but MILLIONS shrugged their shoulders in the face of the obvious evil being perpetrated. The same is clear from images of crowds standing in the background watching ISIS decapitate innocent victims. The apparent indifference of normally decent, honest folk or Muslim "moderates" is a combination of moral cowardice and pure fear - for FEAR is the greatest weapon of dictatorships. Proportionally few stood up to the Nazis, thereby risking hideous torture and death, but those who did were among the most heroic humans who ever lived. The people of Hadleyville also kept well out of harm's way, so that Will Kane and his new bride had to fend for themselves - which they did rather than run. They movingly put duty and honour before personal safety - and the depiction of this makes the film truly great rather than just another (albeit very good) Western. And the morale of the story? "moderates" who do not stand up to evil do not deserve protection from the latter - symbolised by Kane and his wife leaving the town at the end of the story. He could have fled BEFORE Frank Miller's gang arrived as his wife Amy begged him to - and perhaps remained as the town's folk hero AFTER the shootout, but clearly could no longer bring himself to defend those unwilling to defend themselves. President Trump threatening to leave NATO is perhaps another more modern example: Europe having failed to pay its way for decades, but nevertheless relying on the USA as the ultimate backstop to freedom.

The message is powerful and Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly are magnificent in their roles: arguably the best they ever acieved in films.