High Noon: That Thing We Call Courage

When the movie High Noon was released in 1952, it was an immediate blockbuster, with the New York Times calling it a “rare achievement.” It is consistently ranked as one of the top 5 Westerns of all time and has been the film most requested for private viewing by American presidents. But it’s also a movie that has been “read” and “re-read” in a variety of ways, often reflecting changing political environments. What about High Noon is both timeless and timely? Why are American statesmen drawn to it? What are the tensions between “great men” and the polities they are asked to defend?

To examine this and other questions, please join us in a viewing and discussion of the movie with Dr. Gary Schmitt, resident scholar and director of the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and the director of AEI’s Program on American Citizenship. Mr. Schmitt is a former staff director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He was executive director of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board during President Ronald Reagan’s second term. Mr. Schmitt’s security work focuses on longer-term strategic issues that will affect America’s security at home and its ability to lead abroad, while his work in the area of citizenship focuses on challenges to maintaining and sustaining a strong civic culture. His recent books include The Professions and Civic Life (Lexington Books, 2016), A Hard Look at Hard Power: Assessing the Defense Capabilities of Key US Allies and Security Partners (Strategic Studies Institute, 2015) and Trendsetting Charter Schools: Raising the Bar for Civic Education (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015). He also authored, edited, or contributed to Safety, Liberty and Islamist Terrorism: American and European Approaches to Domestic Counterterrorism (AEI Press, 2010); The Rise of China: Essays on the Future Competition (Encounter Books, May 2009); Of Men and Materiel: The Crisis in Military Resources (AEI Press, 2007);  Silent Warfare: Understanding the World of Intelligence (Brassey’s, 2002); and U.S. Intelligence at the Crossroads: Agendas for Reform (Brassey’s, 1995).