Will Kane

Will Kane
Gary Cooper as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon
First appearance	High Noon
Portrayed by	Gary Cooper Lee Majors Tom Skerritt
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Police officer
Title	Town Marshal
Religion	Episcopalian
Nationality	American

William "Will" Kane is the protagonist of the film High Noon (1952). He is first played by Gary Cooper, then by Lee Majors in a made-for-TV sequel, High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane (1980), and by Tom Skerritt in 2000's High Noon, which was a complete re-working for cable television.

In High Noon, Will Kane is a town marshal of the fictional Hadleyville. It is both his wedding day and his last day as a marshal. He is about to leave town with his bride, Amy, to start a new life as a store clerk when the clerk of the telegraph office brings bad news: a man he sent to prison some years earlier, Frank Miller, has been released from prison and is arriving on the noon train. Kane, and the townsfolk who remember Miller, know Miller's visit is for one reason: revenge. Upon his conviction years earlier, Miller swore he would kill Will Kane. Kane's friends tell him to leave town, which he does briefly, but he feels that running away is not a solution, so he returns to face Miller and the gang. Will tries to find support from his friends and others, but none wants to help - they all tell him to leave town or offer reasons why they can't (or won't) help. Will chooses to stand up against this gang alone, even though it could result in his own death. After a brief gun fight in town, Kane kills the four men. Amy also saves his life by giving up her pacifist religion to kill one of the men. As townspeople come out to offer congratulations, Kane takes off his tin star and throws it in the dirt. Contrary to popular myth, he does not step on it. The movie ends with Kane and his bride driving out of town to destinations unknown. Throughout the movie we see Kane's emotions range from the joy of his wedding, to concern, disappointment, anger, fear and even his own mortality as he writes out his will before the noon train arrives.

Despite the iconic portrayal of the character by Gary Cooper (see below), "Cooper was not producer Stanley Kramer's first choice to play Marshal Will Kane." Nevertheless, Will Kane is "one of Cooper's most famous roles." Lee Majors explained that he accepted the role in the sequel, because "I've always admired Gary Cooper. And I wanted to do a Western again."Ron Hardy, who directed the recent remake, argued that Tom Skerrit was an ideal actor to take over the role in the remake. Hardy explained that like "Cooper, he is Mr. Everyday. People know who Tom Skerritt is. They don't treat him like a superstar. They feel he's approachable."