High Noon
Recommended. Age: 13+. A Catholic review of this movie for parents.
Our review
Marshal Will Kane has just gotten married when he learns a dangerous outlaw is coming to town on the noon train. He asks his neighbors for help, but they are all too afraid. Kane stays to do his duty alone. This old Western has a gunfight and is for teens and up. This is the classic film about doing your duty when everyone finds a reason not to. The churchgoers debate and go home. The friends hide. Greydanus admires the portrait of moral courage and sets it beside A Man for All Seasons. He also notes Kane's reasons are mixed, part duty and part pride. The Quaker bride must choose between her pacifism and her husband's life. Violence is brief. There is saloon drinking.
For parents
Not rated. No Catholic classification was retrieved. Common Sense Media says 11 and up. Greydanus says Teens & Up for tension, menace and romantic complications, and Lumen follows him. A steady child of 11 or 12 could watch with a parent. Things to frame: Kane has a past with another woman in town, which is the romantic complication the review mentions. The town's congregation talks itself out of helping. Ask why. Ask: is Kane staying out of duty or out of pride? Can it be both? The Church teaches that defending the innocent can be a grave duty for those responsible for others (CCC 2265). Amy believes all killing is wrong. What does she do in the end, and was she right? Why do good people leave one man to stand alone? When have you stayed quiet because others did?