HIGH NOON by Carl Foreman based on a story by John M. Cunningham PRODUCER: Stanley Kramer DIRECTOR: Pred Zinnemann40 High Noon SOME_NOTES Az0UT THIS sToRY THE TOG is about 1870 or 1875, ‘THE PLACE ts EADLEYVILLE, population around 100, lecated in a Western territory still to be determined, a town just old enough to have become pleasantly avare of its existence, and to begin thinking of its appearance. There {s one street, a rambling, crocked affair that begins av the railroad station, meanders along through the town, ends a little vay past the relatively nev Commercial Hotel, and Shen becomes a narrov and disappearing path into the prairie. Most of the people in tovu, particularly those in better circunstances, have tuilt houses avay from the street, and some of then even have swall lavas and flover patches, most of then rather pathetic. Betveen the station and the hotel are to be found th aajority of the settings for the action of the story: the Marsha: office and the courtreoa, the Ramirez Bar, the barber shop, the General store, the livery stable. Other establishzents that should be indicated but vill uot be used (as of this writing) will be ta ‘tune vith the place and period: « bank, restaurants, rooming houses, a millinery shop, a hand laundry, etc. ‘Almost all the buildings along the street have some kind of structures behind thea, such as outhouses or sheds or, in some cases, Living quarters. Not so long ago, Hadleyville, Like sany other frontier tovus that vere at the mercy of nearby fewal berons, had been terrorized by Gil Jordan and bis retainers. From his raneh, Gil Jordan bad ruled Hedleyrille, and ruled it ruthlessly and cruelly. There are still nen — and women, too =~ vho tear the prysical marks of Jordan's uantacal rages. Five years ago, hovaver, Marshal Will Doane, backed vy a talf a dozen hard-riding deputies, tad broken the Jordan gang ani arrested Jordan for gurder. At iis trial, he had been sentenced to bang, tut Jordan's influential friends in the territorial capital hed hed his sentence commuted to lite imprison- sent. Nov, five years later, Hadleyville is a safe place for vonen end children. Lav and order have been so firmly established thet Doane nov ba only tvo deputis ‘THE PEOPLE are MARSHAL WILL DOANE, EELEY 2aM0REZ, AMY DOANE, HARVEY PELL and others. WILL DOANE is in bis aiddle thirties. Adequately educated, he 1s a secomd-generation vesterner ina lant that is still spreading out. Like most of the other citizens of Zadleyville, be te not a native of the tom. He is direct, practical, aot tcc } 4 J wa = A a Ai n oo naa nn J ft)igh Noon 41 articulate, Eis approach to the job of peace officer is aatter-of- fact, unromantic, but in the five years that he hes been tovn marstal be tas alvays liked it. He has enjoyed the prestige it ba given bin, and the mnovieige that he 1s respected ant Liked by the tomnspecple. Nov that be is being married, be is leaving the job and the tovn vith sowe regret, but secure in the feeling that he ts doing the sensible thing in soving to another tovn, vhere a general store should do good busine: Be ta, certainly, not an average can, but a very human ome. Sone tvo years ago be tad 2 scaevbat lengthy affair vith: HELEN RAMIREZ. She is two or three years clder than Doane, « victim of an era and envircmment vith rigid social stani- axis.’ To begin with, Helen is belt Mexican, ant thus neither acceptable to the "pure" American voeen of the region, nor eligible for a “good” sarriage. Consequently, in addition to being intelli- gent, sBrewd and strong-villed, she is elso bard ani resentful. Physically, she ts bendsome, full-breasted, passionate. More, she has style, ‘perscoality. Soue years ego, Helen bad carried Rasirez, the local saloca-keeper. After bis death she had become Gil Jonlen's nistress. With Jordan in jail for Lite, Helen bad bersel? selected Will Doane as bis suscessor, and Helen still cannot forgive Doane for enting the liasen, for this 1s a priviledge abe reserves for berselz. Recently, she bas alloved herself to drift into an affair with Harvey Pell, Doene's frient end deputy. A good tusiness vonen, hes long since disposed of her interest in the Rentre: saloon, ent fs a silent partner in the tovn's general stare. ‘AME DOAE is, without koowing it, one of the av vouen of the period, vooen vio are beginning to rebel against the Linit- ations and restrictions of the Victorian epee. Young, attractive, imtelligest, strong-willed, Auy is determined oot to bea sheltered toy-wite but @ fall permer in ber aerriage, ant it ts she vio bt planed their future. More, Any has strong enotional ani intellectual convictions against any fora of violecce, because her father ani wrothars vere killed vbile taking part in Vigilante actica, end abe bas since enbraced the Quaker faith. Marriage te Doane vould have been unthinkable had he reaained a peace officer, HARVEY PELL 1s younger than Doane, bis deputy ani friend. ‘But beneath that friendahip is a nagging sense of inferiority ant an ana eavy of Doane. ‘Thus, although be bas secretly taken Doane's place & as Helen's lover, he bat « feeling that be bas oot really replaced Deane. In addition, Harvey is ambitious, amricus to prove his manhood & ani importance. He bas hoped to be appointed Marshal in Doane's L place, and be tas expected that Doane vould secure the position for 7 Bim. “Since the proaction kes not taken place, he is resentrul tovards ee Doane for this as vell. Yet, vith all this, there is a rement of = the old Liking. Doane, hovever, is unavare of the change in Harvey's e feelings tovard bin.42 High Noon OTHERS ARE: PERCY METYRICK, Justice of the Pea: JONAS HENDERSON, WILLIAM FULLER and MARTIN ZOWE, welectmen; MILT JORDAN, PIERCE and COLSY, remants of the Jordan gang; SAM, Helen's elderly retainer; TOBY, Doane's other deputy; and sursrising munber ef other bits. MEVTRICK ts urbane, cultured, cynical, unnarried, aiddle-sged. ENDERSCH AND FULLER, and their WIVES, are in the same jory, and very solid citizens: MART HOWE 1s about sixty, a dachelor. He has been a peace officer all bis life, but age and the arthritis that bas crippled bis hands have caused his retirenent some years before. MILT JORDAN, Gil's younger brocher, JAMES PIERCE and JACK COLBY are all that’ remain of the Jordan bunch. Milt is handsene, wild, with cruel eyes and a quick, seaningless smile. Colby ts dour, remote, inirava, Pierce, the oldest ami the leader, is a chronically sour-tenpered nan, nervous and irritable, SM ia 4 thin, leathery, taciturn aan about Martin Hove's age. He looks ag if he hus knovn a considerable amount of violence and hard-Living (and probably laviesmness) in his tise, fron vhich <= Like Mart Hove <= be bas retired, but in bis ova vay. Helen Ramirez ia the only person in tova ~~ ani perhaps the world -- for viom be hes any feeling. You sense that be is intensely loyal and devoted, that he understands ent admires her, and chat he is content to be her warch-dog. DR. MARIN, the ainister, is a sincere, devout, umoridly man, vto bas bis share of bunan vesiness. TORE, Deane’s other Deputy, is about Harvey Pell’s age. Lacking Harvey's tense drive, he is gocd-natured, easy-yoing, dependable in « fight. Other characters vill be described as ve go along. Eov- aver, while ve are here, ve say es vell describe the settings for voce’ of the scenes to follov. ‘These are: (1) the Comercial Hotel, (2) Helen Ramirez’ eons, (3) the courtroca, (1+) the Marshal's office, (5) the Ramirez Bar, (6) the Barbershop, (7) the Livery stable, (8) the Churen, (3)' the raitzead station, (10) Martin Hove's heme, (IL) Willian Paller's hove, (12) the general store, ant (13) Mendosa's place. The COMERCIAL HOTEL vould seen to be abour atx years old. It ts a two-story building. The desk is in the center hall, om one side of vnich ta the small lobby, and on the other, cut off from view by curtains or svinging doors, the dining room.’ Fron the ball, a atairvey Leads up to the secon! floor, where all rooms are entered from the ball. ELEN RUGREZ occupt second floor of the hotel, tovard and the other has bees furnished ‘vo connecting roons on the the front. One ia her bedroon Sa kind of sitting room or vaat re EN ede aed A A DW | FI ft)