Fred Zinnemann

Fred Zinnemann




RANKED:


1. High Noon (1952)


Fred Zinnemann's insanely successful 1952 Western "High Noon" is a hugely impactful film in American culture. The film itself is rather simple, Cary Cooper's town marshal must decide if he should stay and fight a nasty villain or leave town with his Quaker wife and retire. The villain in question arrives at the strike of noon and everyone in town in anticipating his arrival. However, what's even more engaging is the external elements of the film that provoke discussion. For one thing, the film was viewed as an anti-McCarthyism piece as the film's writer was blacklisted. Secondly, its emotional resonance to Cold War anxieties made it a remarkably timely film. All of these elements created hostility within the filmmaking community as many felt the film was 'unpatriotic' or 'un-American.' However, the film still garnished immense success with audiences, as well as winning 4 Academy Awards, including Gary Cooper's Best Actor prize. It is a film of its moment and has been referenced, mimicked, and paid homage to since. 


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