The Big Picture
- Gary Cooper's iconic role in High Noon almost never happened, but his performance as Will Kane earned him his second Academy Award and solidified his status as a Hollywood legend.
- Cooper's career spanned generations in the American film industry, and his naturalism and restraint as an actor made him a highly sought-after talent.
- The making of High Noon was marked by controversy, with screenwriter Carl Foreman being blacklisted due to his refusal to indict fellow communists in Hollywood. John Wayne turned down the lead role due to the film's allegorical ties, but Cooper's performance as Kane became a defining role in his career and a triumph for the film.