Thursday, May 11, 2023

High Noon Part II: The Return of Will Kane (Made for TV, 1980)


Lee Majors was no Gary Cooper. No reason why he should have been, really. If they wanted to make a sequel, much of the original cast was still alive and working, Katy Jurado, Lloyd Bridges and Harry Morgan among them. They were 28 years older, so the sequel would have to be 28 years later. The original was set in 1898, so it would be 1926. It could have been a western with submachine guns.

I remember when Part II was first shown on TV. I didn't watch it. I only heard about it because a friend made fun of Lee Majors. He had given an interview complaining about the negative reaction to it.

High Noon took place entirely in town. Some of the men were simply afraid to help Gary Cooper, others were happy to see him lose. They liked the place better when Frank Miller was there. It took place in real time, (sort of) and ended with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly leaving, clearly with no intention of ever returning.

In High Noon Part II, everyone is happy to see Will Kane. He comes back to town to buy horses. The town looks terrible, much more primitive, filmed in Old Tuscon studios that looks nothing like the town in the real movie.  Most of it takes place out in the desert anyway.

There was just nothing connecting it in any way to the original movie except that Lee Majors plays someone named "Will Kane". 

It could have at least had a lady Quaker kill a man. Maybe Farrah Fawcett should have played Grace Kelly's role.

Written by Elmore Leonard.

Available on Tubi.

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