Writer-Director John Mulholland's Documentary INSIDE HIGH NOON REVISTED Premieres In Los Angles on Public Television February 17th, 2023 Narrated By Matthew Rhys
The documentary INSIDE HIGH NOON REVISTED explores both the landmark 1952 film High Noon starring Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Lloyd Bridges, and Katy Jurado, and the gripping story behind its troubled production. Written & directed by John Mulholland, Edited & Produced by Richard Zampella, Executive Produced by Craig Gilbert.
- Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (1888PressRelease) February 09, 2023 - John Mulholland’s INSIDE HIGH NOON Revisited explores both the landmark 1952 film High Noon starring Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Lloyd Bridges, and Katy Jurado, and the gripping story behind its troubled production. Written and directed by John Mulholland, Edited and Produced by Richard Zampella, Executive Produced by Craig Gilbert, and presented and distributed nationally by American Public Television. It makes its premier screening on November 17th, 2023 primetime in Los Angles on KCET (check local listings).
INSIDE HIGH NOON goes behind the scenes to reveal how many of the studios passed on the project and major Hollywood actors turned it down before Gary Cooper accepted the lead role. When it was ultimately released, High Noon was seen by some as an attack on the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) -- the US government's investigation into subversive activities by citizens who were accused of having fascist or communist ties. At least half-a-dozen people involved in the production were blacklisted; among them, screenwriter Carl Foreman and cinematographer Floyd Crosby. Gary Cooper put his career on the line for Foreman during and after production, hailing him as "The finest kind of American." INSIDE HIGH NOON delves into that history, and explores the film itself: why it has aroused controversy among critics, how its treatment of women and masculinity was ahead of its time, and why High Noon has come to be seen as a masterpiece of American cinema.
"High Noon was an independent, low budget, black and white movie that became engulfed in the blacklist," Mulholland says about what interested him in making the documentary. "I found it fascinating that this conservative movie star Gary Cooper publicly stood up for the blacklisted screenwriter Carl Foreman. He refused to cave to John Wayne and the other anti-Communists."
The film also touches on the parallels between High Noon and modern American politics. "I find that America has a civic complacency going on," writer-director Mulholland says. "Democracy is so fragile. It's merely words on paper unless people stand up to defend it. To me, so many Republicans in the House and Senate are like the citizens of Hadleyville. They are looking the other way, backing away, refusing to acknowledge the dangers of the moment."
Narrated by award-winning actor Matthew Rhys (The Americans), the documentary weaves together clips from High Noon and analysis and commentary from Tim Zinneman (son of director Fred Zinneman), Jonathan Foreman (son of screenwriter Carl Foreman), Crown Prince Albert of Monaco (Grace Kelly's son), Maria Cooper (Gary Cooper's daughter), President Bill Clinton, and many film critics and historians.
2022 marked the 70th anniversary of the release of High Noon. Learn more about the film at insidehighnoon.com
About John Mulholland
JOHN MULHOLLAND is a filmmaker, writer and film historian. His latest documentaries, Elmore Leonard: But don’t try to write (narrated by Campbell Scott) and Inside High Noon (narrated by Matthew Rhys), aired on PBS. An extended version of Elmore Leonard: But don’t try to write, will appear on Amazon Prime. Mulholland is also the author of Classic Film Chatter, a book series about notable film genres published by Cine Monde Classique. Politics in Film will be the first released. Colossal New York is publishing several of Mulholland’s graphic novels; among which: Tenderloin, which takes place during the Gilded Age of New York; Checkmate, a battle of the sexes thriller; and High Riviera, a romantic chase through the South of France.
Among some of Mulholland’s other documentaries: Cooper & Hemingway: The True Gen, which explores the 20-year friendship between Gary Cooper and Ernest Hemingway; Sergeant York: Of God And Country; The Letters Of Vincent and Theo Van Gogh; On Macbeth; Eastern European Composers; and Liza Minnelli Reflecting. He has worked with such award-winning actors as Liam Neeson, Angela Lansbury, Morgan Freeman, Kirk Douglas, Frank Langella, Len Cariou, Leonard Nimoy, Estelle Parsons, Sam Waterston, Patricia Neal, and Charlton Heston; and such authors as Jim Harrison, George Plimpton, Elmore Leonard, Bridgett Davis, Stephen Prince, Jim Born, Rachel Howzell Hall, and Otto Penzler. Mulholland also served as host for the popular podcast, Icons Radio Hour, which covered Classic Hollywood.
Along with such notables as Ian McKellen, Mark Rylance, Derek Jacobi, Sandra Day O’Connor, John Paul Stevens, and a host of others, Mulholland is a signatory to the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt, which questions that the man known as William Shakespeare actually wrote the plays attributed to him.
Mulholland lives in New York City. He is in the early stages of research for his next documentary, on author Graham Greene. More at johnmulhollandnyc.com
About Richard Zampella
RICHARD ZAMPELLA is a documentary film producer. Zampella has created content for American Public Television, Warner Home Video and Paramount Pictures. Most notably, he has produced films with Writer & Director John Mulholland. Their collaboration documentaries include:
Elmore Leonard: But Don’t Try to Write,” a film that premiered on Public Television in July of 2022. It explores the life and works of one of America’s favorite authors, with narration by Campbell Scott.
Cooper & Hemingway: The True Gen, written and directed by Mulholland and with narration by Sam Waterson and voicing by Len Cariou, a film that explores the 20-year friendship between two-time Academy Award-winning actor Gary Cooper and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway. That documentary received a New York Times Critics Pick
Sergeant York: Of God and Country, narrated by Liam Neeson, a film that explores the challenges of making and marketing the film, including anti-Semitism, America’s isolationist fervor, and the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee
Another Zampella-Mulholland collaboration was Icons Radio Hour, a 2007 to 2010 online podcast that featured interviews with artists and Hollywood insiders and commentary by film historian and author Meir Ribalow.
Other Zampella production credits include Duke Ellington, a documentary tribute released on April 29, 2009, the 110th birthday of the jazz great and a date designated as “Duke Ellington Day” by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Zampella is also a photographer and writer and received a CNN “Editor’s Pic” In 2015 for his photo essay and article on the September 11th terrorist bombing of the Twin Towers in New York City.
Zampella is the managing partner of Transmultimedia, Entertainment, a New York City-based creative services agency that creates websites, motion graphics, and media for small businesses. As a preservationist, Zampella is the owner of Idylease Inn in Newfoundland, New Jersey, that is a Historic Landmark that was built in 1902. The building is a historically significant example of early 20th century resort architecture.
Zampella credits his father, Dr. Arthur Zampella, for instilling his interest in the arts and history. He currently splits his time between New York City, Long Island and New Jersey. Richard Zampella is an U.S, Army veteran having served four years as an Intelligence Analyst for ten years as an army reservist. More at richardzampella.com
About American Public Television
American Public Television (APT) is the leading syndicator of high-quality, top-rated programming to the nation’s public television stations. Founded in 1961, APT distributes 250 new program titles per year and more than one-third of the top 100 highest-rated public television titles in the U.S. APT’s diverse catalog includes prominent documentaries, performances, dramas, how-to programs, classic movies, children’s series, news, and current affairs programs.
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