I really enjoyed the content of the book, as well as how Frankel Structured it. While the book’s object of study is the 1952 award-winning film, High Noon, Frankel tells multiple intersecting narratives that extend well beyond the making of the movie. In addition to the production, Frankel tells the story of the film’s star, Gary Cooper, who by then was the quintessential, yet aging, American actor. The story also centers on the film’s screenwriter and uncredited producer, Carl Foreman, a prolific award-winning screenwriter who was also blacklisted during the production of High Noon due to his previous membership with the American Communist Party. Finally, the book is about the larger Hollywood blacklist, the history of the House Un-American Activities (HUAC), and their allies in Hollywood in the form of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals (MPA). Using High Noon as the exemplar of this historical period was no accident, not only because Foreman was forcibly removed from the film following his testimony in front of the HUAC but also because he wrote the film as an allegory to the Hollywood blacklist. Gary Cooper plays Marshal Will Kane, who is recently married and leaving his life as a lawman to start a new life running a general farm in another town. However, he soon learns that Frank Miller, an outlaw Kane sent to prison, just got out and will return to town on the twelve o’clock train to meet up with his gang and seek vengeance on Kane. Kane attempts to rally the townspeople to help him, but all of them refuse, and some even encourage Kane to leave before Miller gets to town. Kane is left alone to fight four outlaws, a venture he will most certainly lose. As noted, I really liked this book and think it provides a great history lesson on how ideological and political battles play out in politics and culture, the lives it impacts, and the artifacts it creates. I would definitely recommend this book not only to those interested in film history but history in general.

I read this for the JCC book festival. Here is the review I submitted to the book selection committee.

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If you like classic movies (such as the eponymous High Noon) or recent American history, you’ll find much of interest in this deeply researched, clearly written account. The movie portrays the struggle of Sheriff Kane who does the right (but dangerous) thing, though every friend – and even his new bride – deserts him when he most needs their support. Frankel’s brilliant insight is that the red scare in Hollywood tested moviemakers in the same way. Those who made the easy and popular decision “cooperated” with the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC): accused of being members of the Communist Party, they named other members, condemning friends and colleagues to a career-ending blacklist, but preserving their own livelihoods. Others, like Carl Foreman (the screenwriter and producer of High Noon), followed Sheriff Kane’s difficult path: they refused to betray others, lost their jobs and struggled to work in the industry they loved.

The book is full of fascinating details on the art of cinema, the business of moviemaking, and the outsize personalities that populate the industry.

Really well done. There are so many stories about people affected by the blacklist but this is a great effort to tell things from the perspective of making this one film. I highly recommend listening to Karina Longworth's podcast "You Must Remember This" and her 16-part series on the blacklist for a wider discussion.

Recommended by Nate. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search?formids=target&lang=eng&suite=def&reservedids=lang%2Csuite&submitmode=&submitname=&target=high+noon+frankel

The screenplay of this classic film was written by Carl Foreman who was one of those who had to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee and denounce Communism. He refused to name the names of others and, therefore, was “blacklisted” by former friends and associates. The film’s theme was left-wing, being about one man’s “courageous” stand (Carl Foreman) against the forces of evil (Congress) destroying his town when no one would stand with him. I’ll be honest, I always thought the film overrated but this book is well-written.

I’m glad we don’t have rampant paranoid politicians anymore...

Wait...

I never really knew much about the Hollywood blacklist, the Red Scare, and the House Un-American Activities Committee (fascist witch-hunt) of the 1940’s & 1950’s. I also never heard of this movie before but this was pretty interesting. 3/5ths of it was about the making of this movie and the lives & drama of the people involved in its making. The rest was a more over-arching story about the blacklist. Honestly, I wish I had just read a book about the black list because the story about the movie was not that enthralling.

I watched the movie halfway through reading the book because one chapter was just explaining the plot and I thought watching it myself might be better than having it completely spoiled. The movie was…fine. The movie’s clever style of making the entire movie real-time with no time skips was really neat. Someone quoted in the book described this movie as “the favorite Western for people who hate Westerns.” Which I can definitely understand. But trying to discern this as an allegory for the Hollywood blacklist and HUAC is very much not obvious in 2021.

I’m not big on biographical books, and this was about half biography of men I did not find very interesting. So I’d say this wasn’t my favorite book, but it wasn’t bad. If you’re interested in old Hollywood, Gary Cooper, Westerns, High Noon the movie, and/or the Hollywood blacklist, check it out. If you’re JUST interested in learning more about the fascistic Hollywood blacklist and HUAC witch-hunt, probably check out another book about it.

Excellent look at Hollywood during the House Unamerican Activities Committee meetings. Actually it starts before and shows the changes in Hollywood as the committee meetings went on. It also portrays the fall of the studio system. Carl Foreman, who wrote the script for High Noon and Stanley Kramer (whom he worked for/with) was the producer although Kramer was busy with other projects at the time of the filming of High Noon. Gary Cooper read the script and really wanted to do it. He had been getting some mediocre scripts from the studios lately and wanted a better script.He agreed to work for a fraction of his salary and a percentage of the profits of the movie. Kramer and Foreman weren't sure it would make much, but Cooper believed in it. Fred Zinneman wanted to direct it. But all this was done in an atmosphere of suspicion of anyone who might be a communist. The Communist Party was quite active in Hollywood in the early years and seemed to be one of the few organizations trying to help people. Many of the liberals in Hollywood had initially joined the party, although many had dropped out after a short time. The Committee wanted people to name names and Carl Foreman's name was mentioned by someone who "thought he'd seen him at a couple of meetings" - he hadn't - but that was enough for the committee. They constituted themselves judge, jury and executioners - totally against the Constitution. They prevented suspected people from leaving the country by confiscating or voiding their passports. Some got out and made it to England and other countries where they found work. Those who didn't were stuck where they were not allowed to work. Of course, someone suspected could go to the Committee in remorse and name names, the more the better, whether he was telling the truth or not no one bothered to check. The newspapers published all the committee names without doing any fact checking, because since it was a Congressional Committee they couldn't be sued for libel. So why bother?
Kramer and Foreman ended up parting ways and never spoke to each other again over the whole thing after they finished High Noon because Foreman refused to name anyone he "thought might be a member".
Quite a fascinating account of the era and Hollywood - and Congress.