High Noon

In High Noon, one of the themes focused on in the movie is following your instinct no matter the repercussions. In the movie, the main character Marshall Kane gets married but as soon as he says "I do," he learns that his old arch enemy is coming into town on the noon train. All of the people at the wedding convince him to leave town and he does, but midway out of town, Kane decides to go back and face Frank Miller.

Despite his wife's disapproval, Kane decides to save his town from Miller and the men that are helping him. Mrs. Kane pleads, begs, and even threatens to leave town with him if he chooses to stay in town and fight Miller. Even though Kane doesn't want to leave his wife, his gut is telling him to what he feels is right. When Kane tries to gather men in the church to help defeat Miller he gets shut down again and again, but that doesn't stop him and he continues to try to find a way to beat Miller and his gang.

In the movie, when Kane and the town are waiting for Kane to arrive on the noon train, the music is daunting and suspenseful, the pace of the shots are fast, and the certain shots of this scene reflect all of the emotions of the town, Kane, and Miller. The certain shots of this scene that stuck out and that reflect the scene's emotions and suspense are when Mrs. Kane and Mrs. Ramirez board the train, Kane's emotional expressions, and the chair that Frank Miller was sitting in when he threatened to kill Kane.

High Noon displays several themes, but one theme that really leaves an impression is the fact that Kane didn't let anyone, even his wife, change his mind about what he wanted to do about the Frank Miller situation. He followed his heart and came out on top in the end.

Another theme in the movie is the good versus bad theme which is showcased in almost every movie in American history from Batman and Robin to Westerns in the 1950s. This theme is obvious to spot with Kane as the good guy and Frank Miller was the bad guy.

Throughout the movie, Kane tries to find way to defeat Miller and his boys from asking men in the church to help to asking the town's sheriff for help as well. Eventually, Kane realizes that he has to do what he has to do on his own, without the help from anyone, even his wife. Miller is obviously the bad guy in the movie with references from Kane that Miller threatened to kill him when he got out of jail and the way that the town was terrified when they learned that Miller was coming into town. Cinematically, there wasn't really anything that separated the two men except the fact that Kane was the Marshall and Kane was known for being the bad man in the town.