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 Crane (actor) hospital stay, and he contracted a pulmonary embolism a few days later, passing away at 12:10 p.m. Eastern Time on August 21, 2008. He was the last male surviving actor who played an adult role in the film, leaving the two remaining males Mickey Kuhn, who played Beau Wilkes as a child, and Patrick Curtis, who was one of several infants who played Melanie's baby in "GWTW". "I am but a small shard in a grand mosaic." – Fred Crane Fred Crane (actor) Fred Crane, Herman Frederick Crane, (March 22, 1918 – August 21, 2008) was an American film and