# High Noon: Harrison Ford emulating Cooper, seminal theme song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [October 8, 2021, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-noon-harrison-ford-emulating-cooper-seminal-theme-song/952130 "2021-10-08T10:10:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-noon-harrison-ford-emulating-cooper-seminal-theme-song/952130/1 "2021-10-08T10:10:18Z")
I’ve noticed a couple of things about the 1952 film **High Noon** and am wondering what all of you have to say about this: Some of Harrison Ford’s onscreen facial gestures are very similar to those of Gary Cooper. There’s a scene toward the beginning of _High Noon_ in which Gary Cooper’s character, while talking to others, glances at the floor and does something with his eyebrows. It’s sort of a slightly self-conscious “_um, okay_” kind of look that transmits goodwill and shows us he’s a nice guy. It reminded me very much of something Harrison Ford does throughout _Regarding Henry_ and other films. I’ve seen [online](https://twitter.com/noonanjo/status/994232043172069376?lang=en) that much has been made of the similar clothing worn by Will Kane and Han Solo, but I haven’t read anything about the actors’ facial expressions, which, at times, seem to me to be strikingly similar. _High Noon_ is probably the only Cooper film I’ve seen, so I’m guessing I’m very late to the game with this observation. I wouldn’t say Ford has been trying hard to copy him, although I can imagine studio execs pointing him in that direction early on. The High Noon theme song _Do Not Foresake Me, Oh My Darlin’_ starts with an odd switching (lashing) sound that I think may have loosely inspired other intros: from Ennio Morricone’s main theme for _The Good, the Bad and the Ugly_ to Hendrix’s _Voodoo Chile_ (and a few more rock-pop songs that I’ve been trying to remember for the last few days). [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hsDyrZVqipA/hqdefault.jpg "Do not forsake me, oh, my darling - Tex Ritter original soundtrack High Noon") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsDyrZVqipA) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-noon-harrison-ford-emulating-cooper-seminal-theme-song/952130/2 "2021-10-08T11:42:49Z")
[“I don’t know what the big deal is, everybody steals from everybody, that’s movies.”](https://youtu.be/wwr5BCGC6Ao&t=126s) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-noon-harrison-ford-emulating-cooper-seminal-theme-song/952130/3 "2021-10-08T12:39:49Z")
Facial expressions are pretty universal, as part of a whole non-verbal means of expression we humans have. So it very well could just be coincidence. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like Harrison Ford in most of the stuff he’s done, and I could be very wrong about this, but I have the impression that Ford is more of an actor who skates by on rugged good looks and a natural charisma, rather than a serious cinephile who’s studied and borrowed from the past greats to improve his acting chops. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2021, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-noon-harrison-ford-emulating-cooper-seminal-theme-song/952130/4 "2021-10-09T12:15:05Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Facial expressions are pretty universal, as part of a whole non-verbal means of expression we humans have. So it very well could just be coincidence. Yes, of course. If I posted like I did, it’s because it seemed more than coincidental. Unfortunately for me, I seem to have misinterpreted whatever it was I saw. I’ve had another look at the film and, although there are a few gestures similar to what I described, I haven’t found a match. So, while I don’t think I imagined it, it seems that it made an exaggerated impression on me when I first saw the film the other day. However, I did find another detail that I’d noticed on first viewing. There’s one line of dialgoue toward the beginning that looks dubbed (sound and image are clearly different). After the wedding, Kane (Cooper) and his bride (Grace Kelly) leave town, he stops because he wants to go back and she tries to convince him otherwise. And here’s the line: > Kane: I’m not trying to be a hero. If you think I like this, you’re crazy! On my copy, it’s heard at 14:13, although I started recording within a minute of the start of the film, so it should be just before the 15-minute mark. I’ve given it some scruntiny and am sure that (this time) it’s not my imagination. Anyone want to have a look and confirm?