548. HIGH NOON

Peter Josyph

Although it won 16 awards, including an Oscar for Gary Cooper, High Noon is one of the most controversial films ever made. Directed by Fred Zinnemann, co-starring a very young Grace Kelly, this story of a small-town sheriff in search of support against a gang that is set on revenge was perceived as a leftist fable that John Wayne called "the most un-American thing I've ever seen in my whole life," and was denounced in the Soviet Union for glorifying the individual over the state. When screenwriter Carl Foreman was blacklisted, Wayne said that he never regretted helping "run Foreman out of the country." The film has been a favorite of Presidents Eisenhower, Reagan, and Clinton; of Polish Solidarity chief Lech Walęsa; and of mobster Tony Soprano. A showdown discussion will follow the film.

1:00 – 3:30 p.m.

1 Session

Thursday, April 30

Fee:  $50