High Noon (1952)
When John Wayne was offered the role of the protagonist, he declined on the basis that there were many political connotations in its storyline. It was at the heights of McCarthyism and witch-hunt against card-carrying members of the Red Communist Party was ongoing. The screenwriter and producer, Carl Foreman, was involved in this; he subsequently migrated the UK after the film completion. Many iconic figures, including Charlie Chaplin, were blacklisted and lost their source of income during this time.
For a Malaysian who is watching this movie after GE14, it resonates at a different level. I see a lot of parallelism in the storyline with the occurrences around the country. It does not need much imagination; a retired law enforcer returning to do one last unfinished business of a duty related to his tenure before he rides into the sunset.
Marshall Kane marries a Quaker lady, a pacifist, just before turning in the badge to lead a civilian life away from the town he serves. He hears the news that a murderer, whom he had apprehended five years previously, is out of jail. He is apparently arriving at that town at noon by train. The killer had vowed to return to kill the Marshall.
The dilemma now is whether Kane should just leave everything as he has resigned or tame the monster that only he can leash. Can he just throw in the towel as he had done his dues and is his time to enjoy the fruits of his labour or should he complete the job that only has the know-how?
I remember listening to an interview with Tun Mahathir's wife, Tun Hasmah, soon after his party's victory. In that emotional outpouring, she expressed her apprehensions when the nonagenarian announced his intentions to lead the nation again in the general elections. Despite his two previous heart surgeries and advancing age, he thought that his dharmic duty to right the wrong in the country. Tun Hasmah reiterated that there must be a reason for their long lives. As they have completed all their worldly duties, in this borrowed times, this must be the reason for their long existence on Earth.
When John Wayne was offered the role of the protagonist, he declined on the basis that there were many political connotations in its storyline. It was at the heights of McCarthyism and witch-hunt against card-carrying members of the Red Communist Party was ongoing. The screenwriter and producer, Carl Foreman, was involved in this; he subsequently migrated the UK after the film completion. Many iconic figures, including Charlie Chaplin, were blacklisted and lost their source of income during this time.
For a Malaysian who is watching this movie after GE14, it resonates at a different level. I see a lot of parallelism in the storyline with the occurrences around the country. It does not need much imagination; a retired law enforcer returning to do one last unfinished business of a duty related to his tenure before he rides into the sunset.
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| Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly |
The dilemma now is whether Kane should just leave everything as he has resigned or tame the monster that only he can leash. Can he just throw in the towel as he had done his dues and is his time to enjoy the fruits of his labour or should he complete the job that only has the know-how?
I remember listening to an interview with Tun Mahathir's wife, Tun Hasmah, soon after his party's victory. In that emotional outpouring, she expressed her apprehensions when the nonagenarian announced his intentions to lead the nation again in the general elections. Despite his two previous heart surgeries and advancing age, he thought that his dharmic duty to right the wrong in the country. Tun Hasmah reiterated that there must be a reason for their long lives. As they have completed all their worldly duties, in this borrowed times, this must be the reason for their long existence on Earth.
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