High Noon is regarded as one of the benchmarks of the early 20th century's Golden Age of Westerns. Yet the movie encompasses qualities characteristic of the revisionist Westerns that wouldn't come until the 1960s: a questioning of traditional morals, a cynical tone and a more realistic conception of the hero. It helped pave the way for the contemporary Western subgenres that exist today, where films like Brokeback Mountain and Serenity find a home.

The story, which begins at 10:35 in the morning in the small town of Hadleyville, Kansas, plays out in real time over the hour and twenty five minutes leading up to noon. This technique gives the movie a tense atmosphere, with the camera frequently panning to clocks showing less and less time remaining.

At noon, a bandit named Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) is set to arrive by train to seek revenge against the man who tried to put him away: retiring Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper). Kane decides to put off his retirement to defend the town once again from Miller, a decision that both upsets his pacifist wife Amy (Grace Kelly) and reveals the cowardly nature of the town Kane protects.

Most of the film consists of an increasingly terrified looking Kane trying to round up anyone in Hadleyville to help him against Miller and his gang. Any notions of honor disappear as the citizens refuse to help, instead wanting to play it smart and not get hurt. Kane becomes more disillusioned as he realized the sordid nature of the town he has protected for years, and the pain and disappointment play across Cooper's face beautifully as he walks around the deserted streets desperately seeking help.

High Noon sought to dispel many of the cliches about honor and bravery present in Western cinema at the time, and its relevance is no less important today. It represents a key turning point in Hollywood's evaluation of the classic hero and raised the bar for every Western to come after.