Number 100 on IMDb's Top 250
Will Kane is a town marshall. It's his wedding day and his last day as a lawman. He was about to leave town with his new bride to start a new life when some men come to town who tell him that a man he sent to prison some years ago has just been released and is arriving on the noon train. Kane and any of the townsfolk who remember him, know that he's coming to town for one thing; to get Will. Will's friends tell him to leave town which he does but Will, feeling that running away is not a solution, returns and intends to face him. Will tries to find support from his friends but none of them want to help him or are too afraid and all that they tell him is to leave, even his wife feels the same way. And as the train comes closer, Will is all alone. Hilarity ensues.
Trivia: This film has been screened more times at the White House than any other. Director Fred Zinnemann said that the black smoke billowing from the train is a sign that the brakes were failing. He and the cameraman didn't know it at the time, and barely got out of the way. The camera tripod snagged itself on the track and fell over, smashing the camera, but the film survived and is in the movie. Lee Van Cleef does not have a word of dialogue. The picture takes place between 10:35 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. slightly longer than the 84 minute running time. "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh, My Darlin'" was the first Oscar-winning song from a non-musical film.
It is kind of ironic how such a timeless film is so concerned with time. The constant presence of the clocks, each getting bigger and slower as we approach noon, really creates the tension in the movie. Really good movie, besides, it contains absolutely the best, most important character ever in any movie anywhere anytime, hands down, in the character of Will Kane.
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