Ralph Fiennes’ 4 favourite films – One so controversial John Wayne turned down | Films | Entertainment

High Noon (1952)

This Oscar-winning Western stars Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly in a tale about a marshal who must decide to either leave town with his wife or face a gang of murderers alone. Incredibly controversial at the time, John Wayne was initially set to star until he realised the script about a lawman abandoned by a local community was an analogy for the Hollywood blacklisting of suspected Communist sympathisers. Calling it “un-American” for what he perceived to be a portrayal of cowardice, Duke went on to make 1959’s Rio Bravo as a rebuttal, in a Western about a hero supported by his loyal friends. A stage adaptation of High Noon, which is now considered one of the best movies of all time, is currently being performed in London’s West End, starring Billy Crudup.

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