Fred Zinnemann the first 25 American films chosen in 1989 for the National Film Registry. With its psychological and moral examinations of its lawman hero Marshall Will Kane, played by Gary Cooper and its innovative chronology whereby screen time approximated the 80-minute countdown to the confrontational hour, the film broke the mold of the formulaic western. Working closely with cinematographer and longtime friend Floyd Crosby, he shot without filters, giving the landscape a harsh "newsreel" quality that clashed with the more painterly cinematography of John Ford's westerns. During production he established a strong rapport with Gary Cooper, photographing the aging actor in
Fred Zinnemann many tight close-ups which showed him sweating, and at one point, even crying on screen. Screenwriter Carl Foreman apparently intended "High Noon" to be an allegory of Senator Joseph McCarthy's vendetta against alleged Communists. However, Zinnemann disagreed, insisting, late in life, that the issues in the film, for him, were broader, and were more about conscience and independent, uncompromising fearlessness. He says, ""High Noon" is "not a Western, as far as I'm concerned; it just happens to be set in the Old West." Film critic Stephen Prince suggests that the character of Kane actually represents Zinnemann, who tried to create