Will Kane In 1952, Gary Cooper won a Golden Globe Award and his second Academy Award for his portrayal of Will Kane. While "The Washington Post" refers to the character as "A Classic Role," "Entertainment Weekly" ranked the character fourteenth on its list of the top twenty "All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture" in April 2009. The magazine included him on its list because in ""High Noon", Gary Cooper's retiring lawman faces down a killer and his goons despite being deserted by the rest of the town." "Entertainment Weekly" went on to cite his most heroic move as when "Kane's last ally
The Ballad of High Noon his new wife, Amy Fowler Kane (played by Grace Kelly), abandoning (or "forsaking") him because he chooses to stay and fight (and risk being killed) instead of running away with her after their wedding. The song refers to how he can't have a safe life with her until he has eliminated the threats that face him, and he wants her to stay with him just a while longer until it's all over and not give up on him for good. The song's lyrics significantly foreshadow the final set-piece of the film, in which Amy returns to help save Will, though