This is the film that put director Fred Zinnemann on the Hollywood A-list, revived the career of Gary Cooper and made Grace Kelly a star. If that's not enough, this multiple Oscar winner was also one of the first psychological westerns, breaking the mould of the gun-toting tales that had dominated the genre since the early silent era. It was also a highly controversial film, being seen as an attack on those who deserted their colleagues during the Communist witch-hunts that turned Hollywood into a place of fear between 1947 and 1951. Screenwriter Carl Foreman always denied the allegory, though John Wayne was chief among the film's critics, denouncing it as "un-American". Whatever the truth about the story's origins, High Noon remains a classic thanks to its sterling performances and marvellously suspenseful "real time" structure.

Will Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, learns a notorious outlaw he put in jail has been freed, and will be arriving on the noon train. Knowing the outlaw and his gang are coming to kill him, Kane is determined to stand his ground, so he attempts to gather a posse from among the local townspeople.