Will Kane
Encyclopedia
Will Kane is a fictional character
and the main hero of the famous film, High Noon
. He is played by Gary Cooper
in the 1952 film, by Lee Majors
in a made-for-TV sequel, High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane
(produced in 1980, 28 years after the original movie was released), and by Tom Skerritt
in 2000's High Noon, which was entirely re-worked for cable television.
's first choice to play Marshal Will Kane." Nevertheless, Will Kane is "one of Cooper's most famous roles." Lee Majors explained that he accepted the role in the sequel, because "I've always admired Gary Cooper. And I wanted to do a Western again." Ron Hardy
, who directed the recent remake, argued that Tom Skerrit was an ideal actor to take over the role in the remake. Hardy explained that like "Cooper, he is Mr. Everyday. People know who Tom Skerritt is. They don't treat him like a superstar. They feel he's approachable."
While The Washington Post refers to the character as "A Classic Role," Entertainment Weekly
ranked the character fourteenth on its list of the top twenty "All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture" in April 2009. The magazine included him on its list because in "High Noon, Gary Cooper's retiring lawman faces down a killer and his goons despite being deserted by the rest of the town." Entertainment Weekly went on to cite his most heroic move as when "Kane's last ally gets cold feet, he tells him to go to his family, and then refuses the help of a teenager." Kane was also ranked by the American Film Institute
as the 5th greatest movie hero of all time
.
Nevertheless, although Cooper's performance has received considerable praise as indicated above, Majors and Skerritt's performances have not been so positively received. The New York Daily News referred to Lee Majors as "sadly miscast" as Kane in the sequel. Entertainment Weekly also contrasted Cooper with Skerritt to Skerritt's disadvantage. Reviewer Ken Tucker reminisces upon "the all-purpose image of Cooper that's taken hold in the popular imagination: the gaunt, chiseled stone face, a stoic deadpan that rendered Cooper the leading-man, romantic-actor equivalent of Buster Keaton
....By contrast, Skerritt saunters through the new Noon as if he were still the easygoing, ironic lawman of Picket Fences
."
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and the main hero of the famous film, High Noon
High Noon
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
. He is played by Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
in the 1952 film, by Lee Majors
Lee Majors
Lee Majors is an American television, film and voice actor, best known for his starring role as Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man and as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy ....
in a made-for-TV sequel, High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane
High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane
High Noon part II: The Return of Will Kane, is the 1980 remake of the Western Television Film High Noon. It starred Lee Majors David Carradine and Pernell Roberts.-Plot:...
(produced in 1980, 28 years after the original movie was released), and by Tom Skerritt
Tom Skerritt
Thomas Roy "Tom" Skerritt is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962.-Early life:...
in 2000's High Noon, which was entirely re-worked for cable television.
Fictional biography
In High Noon, Will Kane is a town marshal. It is his wedding day and his last day as a lawman. He is about to leave town with his bride to start a new life when some men come to town and tell him that a man he sent to prison some years earlier has just been released and is arriving on the noon train. Kane and the townsfolk who remember him, know that he is coming to town for one reason: to kill Will. Will's friends tell him to leave town which he does but Will feels that running away is not a solution and returns to face him. Will tries to find support from his friends but none wants to help. They all tell him to leave. Will is all alone to face his old foe. He chose to stand up and face a gang of four notorious killers alone.Development
Despite the iconic portrayal of the character by Gary Cooper (see below), "Cooper was not producer Stanley KramerStanley Kramer
Stanley Earl Kramer was an American film director and producer. Kramer was responsible for some of Hollywood's most famous "message" movies...
's first choice to play Marshal Will Kane." Nevertheless, Will Kane is "one of Cooper's most famous roles." Lee Majors explained that he accepted the role in the sequel, because "I've always admired Gary Cooper. And I wanted to do a Western again." Ron Hardy
Ron Hardy
Ron Hardy was an instrumental DJ in the development of house music. An innovator and originator of the genre, he is highly regarded not only for his iconic performances at the Muzic Box, a Chicago house music club, but for his pioneering edits and mixes of disco, soul music, funk and early house...
, who directed the recent remake, argued that Tom Skerrit was an ideal actor to take over the role in the remake. Hardy explained that like "Cooper, he is Mr. Everyday. People know who Tom Skerritt is. They don't treat him like a superstar. They feel he's approachable."
Reception
In 1952, Gary Cooper won a Golden Globe Award and his second Academy Award for his portrayal of Will Kane.While The Washington Post refers to the character as "A Classic Role," Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
ranked the character fourteenth on its list of the top twenty "All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture" in April 2009. The magazine included him on its list because in "High Noon, Gary Cooper's retiring lawman faces down a killer and his goons despite being deserted by the rest of the town." Entertainment Weekly went on to cite his most heroic move as when "Kane's last ally gets cold feet, he tells him to go to his family, and then refuses the help of a teenager." Kane was also ranked by the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
as the 5th greatest movie hero of all time
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains is a list of the 100 greatest screen characters chosen by American Film Institute in June 2003. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series. The series was first presented in a CBS special hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger...
.
Nevertheless, although Cooper's performance has received considerable praise as indicated above, Majors and Skerritt's performances have not been so positively received. The New York Daily News referred to Lee Majors as "sadly miscast" as Kane in the sequel. Entertainment Weekly also contrasted Cooper with Skerritt to Skerritt's disadvantage. Reviewer Ken Tucker reminisces upon "the all-purpose image of Cooper that's taken hold in the popular imagination: the gaunt, chiseled stone face, a stoic deadpan that rendered Cooper the leading-man, romantic-actor equivalent of Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
....By contrast, Skerritt saunters through the new Noon as if he were still the easygoing, ironic lawman of Picket Fences
Picket Fences
Picket Fences is a 60-minute American television drama about the residents of the fictional town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS television network in the United States...
."
External links
- "Marshal Will Kane (Character) from High Noon (1952)," The Internet Movie Database