MovieChat Forums > From Noon Till Three Discussion > (SPOILERS!) 1st and 2nd acts great, but ...

(SPOILERS!) 1st and 2nd acts great, but that 3rd act... ugh...

posted 17 years ago by LASmoak
22 replies | jump to latest

This was a great idea for a comedy-western, and I thoroughly enjoyed the first hour and 15 mins., but the sap in me was so terribly disappointed that we didn't get a "Hollywood" ending. I understand that it was supposed to be a comedy, and I'd normally admire a film that wasn't so stereotypical, having both of the main characters end up stark-raving loony, but this story just BEGGED for a happier ending. I really don't think having the hero and his girl ride off into the proverbial sunset together would've diminished this story one iota.

Maybe with the recent success of 3:10 to Yuma, the Western genre will get back in vogue enough that somebody will take it upon themselves to do a rewrite/remake of this one. One can hope...

[–] Cinema180 16 years ago

I have to agree with you. The ending is just heartbreaking. I look back on this movie as one of the saddest I have ever seen. The song they dance to will always haunt me.

[–] karchad 16 years ago

I so disagree. The ending makes the movie even better. No cliche ending here! Come on, there's a million movies with the ending you expect. This one stands out as the one that isn't!

[–] gerard-21 9 years ago

Just because it wasn't the predictable ending doesn't make it the appropriate ending. A lot of times being different just to be different doesn't work and that's what happened here.

[–] deedeemv 15 years ago

The 3rd act is the BEST part of the film. The beginning works fine but the ending is great and is what makes the film memorable. It's also saying something about Society and their Sheep mentality of believing whatever their told. The ending is GREAT.

[–] txkitten-1 15 years ago

I have to agree with you deedemv...and somebody else up on the list is with us too. :-)
The ending was PERFECT...and honestly it couldn't be any other way and be true to the story. Heartbreaking indeed...but necessary. So true as to what people will believe...and how stories must have been back in that time period. It's how legends were born.

Can you imagine some of the things our society believes and clings to, and then think of this story...could be a little scary. :-)
I couldn't get the movie out of my head for a couple days...Bronson did a great job, as did Jill Ireland. Very fun movie! Can't believe I've never come across it before.

[–] karchad 15 years ago

I agree with you. If it had been the normal "Hollywood" ending, then this movie would be ordinary.

To me, it's Bronson's best work, totally out of his usual character (I cant say more without spoiling things).

[–] grizzledgeezer 15 years ago

This film is not a comedy. It is a satire. And satires need not have happy endings.

I agree... "From Noon Till Three" is ripe for a modestly budgeted remake. Though I doubt the average movie-goer has the intelligence to appreciate such a film. Perhaps some cable network will do it.

[–] jimrobbins 15 years ago

If they ever did do a remake of this wonderful movie, it wouldn't even be close.
Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland were married to each other in real life when this movie was filmed. What makes this film so poignant is that the actor and actress playing Graham and Amanda really were in love ( in real life ). Some years later Ms. Ireland was diagnosed with cancer, which eventually claimed her life. Although this is truly one of the great love stories in the movies, the ending has always seemed a bit sad. Mr. Bronson had outstanding performances in The Dirty Dozen and the Death Wish series of movies, and starred in a classic Twilight Zone episode with Elizabeth Montgomery. Ms. Ireland is remembered by Star Trek fans as a botanist who falls in love with Mr. Spock ( the half-Vulcan, half human brilliantly played by Leonard Nimoy ) and subsequently Spock falls in love with her ( even though Vulcans supposedly have no emotions ). Both Mr. Bronson and Ms. Ireland were great actors.

jimrobbins

[–] Jpebony123 14 years ago

I was a bit disappointed in the ending. However, being a satire lessened the blow. I was disappointed that Amanda bought in to the popularity and exploitation of her story and lost her true identity -- But I was saddened (by liked the irony) that Graham had to rediscover his true identity in an insane asylum!

It is certainly a cautionary tale if you think of it. After all, people bought so much into the fiction of Graham that they forgot about the real person whom they all knew before the novel was written.

[–] Jpebony123 14 years ago

I thought that the "Twilight Zone" episode with Charles Bronson and Elizabeth Montgomery was one of the best!

[–] jimrobbins 14 years ago

I do too.

jimrobbins

[–] jones8557-1 14 years ago

I caught the 3rd act on the This channel and was so intrigued that I had to watch the whole thing. If you just watch the third act you would think that Graham is really not Amanda's Graham and that's he's really crazy. One thing that bothered me. It had only been a year and Amanda couldn't recognize him when he returned?

[–] ireone3 10 years ago

I put that down to her being a bit of a nut. She kept her ex-husbands stuff like a museum, perhaps she had already become a bit unhinged during that time.

[–] grizzledgeezer 14 years ago

This isn't a comedy-western. It's a satire, and a thoroughly botched one. Though Frank Gilroy's direction is way off-key (and he's the author!), it's Bronson's atrocious performance that sinks the film. This is unfortunate, because "From Noon till Three" could and should have been a real classic.

"Having the hero and heroine ride off into the sunset" has nothing whatever to do with what the story is about.

A remake would be good. No rewrite is needed, just first-rate acting and the appropriate direction.

[–] homeimp 13 years ago

Gotta disagree, Geezer. This is Bronson's finest performance. Perhaps you wanted the Bronson of The Great Escape, etc, and he surprised you by giving you this tender, ruefully ironic portrayal. He and Jill Ireland can be proud of this film.

[–] bmanacles 13 years ago

Sometimes the happy ending can be more 'satisfying', but when the sad ending has to happen...as it did with this story...that is what makes the difference between a good story and a great one.

[–] elena-28 13 years ago

"One think that bothered me. It had only been a year and Amanda couldn't recognize him when he returned?"

But in a way, much more than a year has passed: Amanda has absorbed her story and the Grahame Dorsey she remembers is the one she created in the book and the legend: she's made him taller and handsomer; and she is sure he is dead. There is no way a person like Amanda in these circumstances would recognize the real-life Dorsey. And this perspective follows him even after Amanda's gone the prostitute who chases him away almost echoes what Amanda remembers about Dorsey.

This,incidentally, was the movie that convinced me to like Charles Bronson.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] 9 years ago

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