History Film Forum presents: "High Noon" (1952)

The History Film Forum presents High Noon (1952) in a special screening followed by a panel discussion with experts and family members of the original cast and crew.

The iconic Western High Noon stars Gary Cooper as small-town marshal Will Kane, who faces a moral and ethical crisis when a violent outlaw from his past comes seeking revenge on the town's citizens. Setting aside plans for a peaceful retirement with his pacifist Quaker wife (Grace Kelly), Kane tries to rally the citizens. But, finding they lack the courage to defend themselves, he commits instead to making a final stand—alone—when the criminal gang arrives at high noon. Written by blacklisted screenwriter Carl Foreman, the film is a scathing indictment of a society unwilling to live up to its principles.

Before the screening, Maria Cooper Janis will be signing copies of her book Gary Cooper Off Camera: A Daughter Remembers.

After the screening, stay for a conversation with Maria Cooper Janis, Dr. Amanda Foreman, and Glenn Frankel, moderated by the National Museum of American History’s entertainment curator Ryan Lintelman.

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Panelists:

Maria Cooper Janis was born in Los Angeles, California, and lived there with her parents, actor Gary Cooper and his wife, Veronica. She followed a painting career having had exhibits in New York, Los Angeles, and Wildenstein Gallery in Buenos Aires. In 1966 she married the legendary American concert pianist, Byron Janis, and toured the world with him during his storied career. She has collaborated on four television specials as well as two books about her father, Gary Cooper: Enduring Style and Gary Cooper off Camera, which gives an inside look into the person of one of the greatest movie stars of all time. To honor her father’s respect and passion for Indigenous cultures she established the Gary Cooper Endowed Fund for Student Support for Indigenous Cultures at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Dr. Amanda Foreman is the author of the prize-winning best sellers, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and A World on Fire: An Epic History of Two Nations Divided. In 2016, Foreman served as chair of the Man Booker Prize. That same year, her BBC documentary series, The Ascent of Woman, was released. In 2019 she was invited to curate a special exhibition for Buckingham Palace as part of its summer opening. Foreman has been a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, The Sunday Times, and Smithsonian Magazine. Her next book, The World Made by Women: A New History of Humanity, is scheduled to be published by Penguin Random House in 2025. She is also a CBS News royal contributor. She is a co-founder of the literary charity, House of SpeakEasy; a trustee of the Whiting Foundation; and the board chair of the Feminist Institute. Foreman is the daughter of Carl Foreman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter and producer.

Glenn Frankel worked for many years at The Washington Post, serving as bureau chief in Southern Africa, London, and Jerusalem, where he won a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for his “sensitive and balanced reports” on Israel and the Palestinians. He taught journalism at Stanford University and the University of Texas at Austin, where he directed the School of Journalism. He has won the National Jewish Book Award and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His movie books on the making of The Searchers and High Noon were bestsellers that have won critical acclaim, and he was a Motion Picture Academy Film Scholar for his latest book, Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation, and the Making of a Dark Classic (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021). He recently was awarded a grant from the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the City University of New York to write a book about Beatles manager Brian Epstein. He and his wife live in Arlington, Virginia.

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The National Museum of American History welcomes visitors of all ages and abilities. This event is wheelchair accessible. ASL services, captioning, and assistive listening devices will be provided. Additional accommodations are available upon request; please email [email protected]. Two weeks’ notice is preferred.

Seating is limited and reservations are recommended. Seating will be opened first to Eventbrite-registered attendees and then to walk-in visitors. When we reach maximum capacity, the event will be closed to the public.

Event Venue

National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, United States