“From Noon till Three”
Movie Review
An
American Western movie called From Noon Till Three was released in 1976.
Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland play the two main characters. Based on his
book, Frank D. Gilroy wrote and directed the film.
A
group of bank robbers in the late 19th century American West, led by Charles
Bronson's Graham Dorsey, are planning to attack a small-town bank. However,
Graham is having second thoughts because he recently had a nightmare in which
the gang was destroyed during the robbery attempt. Even worse, the gang members
need to get another horse because Graham's horse fractured a leg. At the ranch
owned by Jill Ireland's character Amanda Starbuck, a widow, they attempt to
steal a horse. Amanda denies owning a horse because she is wary of the males.
Graham investigates the stable and discovers a horse, but because of his
continued fear of the worst, he lies to his men and offers to remain at the
ranch for three hours until they return. But it turns out he has another
motivation for staying behind—he wants to compel Mrs. Starbuck to accept him.
Amanda shows some creative resistance by lying still while fully dressed.
Graham gets irritated by this and tries to pull a trick. In an effort to win
Amanda over, he poses as being impotent. They make love three times after the
trick works.
Graham
and Amanda converse about their prior lives, as well as their dreams and
ambitions, as time goes on. Graham even expresses a desire to quit his job and
move straight into the banking industry. They even dance while Graham is
dressed in Mr. Starbuck's previous tuxedo and playing Amanda's music box. Amanda
is informed of an attempted bank heist by a visiting neighborhood youngster.
The Graham gang's bank robbers had been apprehended and were scheduled to be
hanged that afternoon in the city. Graham, in her opinion, ought to ride out
and assist them. Graham believes that by doing this, he will be able to stay
with her while avoiding the group. He finally agrees to go along after much
prodding and rides away with the intention of taking a lengthy nap. But this is
destroyed when Graham is spotted by the posse as they approach, who then pursue
him. After exchanging clothes with a traveling dentist under threat of violence
and robbing him of his horse and wagon, Graham manages to avoid them. Dr.
Finger, who is unfortunate, is mistaken for Graham and killed. The posse
returns the body to the Starbuck ranch after spotting Mr. Starbuck's horse and
suit. Amanda collapses upon viewing what she believes to be Graham's body.
Graham does not escape unscathed, though; it turns out that Dr. Finger was a
fraud, and the first person, Graham meets after making his getaway was one of
Dr. Finger's disgruntled patients. He receives a one-year prison term for the
offenses committed by Dr. Finger.
Amanda
is initially shunned by the locals. But after making a passionate speech about
how much she truly loves him, the villagers not only forgive her but also
recognize Graham and Amanda's story as an amazing one. This tale served as the
inspiration for the legend that gave rise to the best-selling novel From Noon
to Three, dime novels, a stage play, and even the hit song "Hello and
Goodbye," which was set to the melody of Amanda's music box. The
reputation of Graham and Amanda grows to be more famous than the reality of the
two, and Amanda becomes rich thanks to her book's success. Graham, who reads
the book while incarcerated, finds the inaccuracies amusing: Graham is not
represented as being 6'3", from the South, or particularly attractive. He
is anxious to restart his relationship with Amanda after serving his sentence.
A
cloaked Graham sticks behind to take one of Amanda's ranch tours while planning
to come clean. When he does, Amanda is startled since she does not recognize
him. She keeps saying, "It's in the book," whenever he talks about
specifics of their time together. Amanda doesn't believe Graham until he shows
her "something that's not in the book". But rather than being happy,
Amanda feels uncertain and concerned. If Graham's existence were known, the
Graham and Amanda legend would be extinguished. Even Graham's idea that he live
with her secretly is useless because the tale would still be ruined if Amanda
moved in with another man. At the conclusion of the session, Amanda is about to
shoot Graham when she suddenly decides to shoot herself.
Graham
is devastated. He not only lost Amanda, but he also permanently lost the secret
of his true identity. He makes an effort to forget what happened, but there are
constant reminders. He enters a nearby saloon after hearing "their
song" and discovers a stage version of From Noon to Three. Even worse, he
gets a small chuckle from acquaintances when he claims to be Graham because he
doesn't resemble the character at all. In the end, he is taken into custody and
placed in a mental hospital, where he encounters the only individuals who
accept his claims: his fellow patients. He seems to be at ease.
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