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Why did John Wayne criticize High Noon?
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Fred Zinnemann
(From left to right) Marlon Brando, Fred Zinnemann, and Montgomery Clift on the set of From Here to Eternity (1953).
John Wayne was critical of the 1952 film High Noon because he viewed it as "un-American."1
His dissatisfaction stemmed from the film's portrayal of the citizens of a western community, whom he and director Howard Hawks considered to be depicted as weak-willed and cowardly for failing to assist their sheriff when he requested help forming a posse. In contrast to the protagonist of High Noon, who is left to face a gang of outlaws alone, the sheriff in the film Rio Bravo—which Wayne and Hawks created as a direct response to High Noon—is portrayed as a man determined to fulfill his duty regardless of whether he receives help from others.21