My biggest disappointment about the film "The Man Called Noon" is that it does so little justice to a fine L'Amour novel. Judged on its own merits, this movie is about a "4". When will a western film ever acknowledge that it is impossible to hit anything with accuracy while "fanning" a revolver? But with that critique, ninety percent of spaghetti westerns could be pitched. On the plus side, Crenna and Boyd's search for the truth has an epic quality. Crenna's early escape into the cloud of steam from the train locomotive is also effective. But the melodramatic cries of the dying villains, the bad acting (over or under) of Granger and the two women, the ridiculous shots from different angles of the same two horses falling down to make us think an army of outlaws has bitten the dust, and the ten ketchup bottle "death" scene of Henneker make "Noon" unintentionally funny.
Review of The Man Called Noon
