hay bales", but cited no evidence, other than a remark by Kelly's sister Lizanne that Kelly was "infatuated" with Cooper. Lee Van Cleef made his film debut in High Noon. Kramer first offered Van Cleef the Harvey Pell role, after seeing him in a touring production of Mister Roberts, on the condition that Van Cleef have his nose surgically altered to appear less menacing. Van Cleef refused and was cast instead as Colby, the only role of his career without a single line of dialog. Filming High Noon was filmed in the late summer/early fall of 1951 in several locations in California. The opening scenes, under the credits, were shot at Iverson Movie Ranch near Los Angeles. A few town scenes were shot in Columbia State Historic Park, a preserved Gold Rush mining town near Sonora, but most of the street scenes were filmed on the Columbia Movie Ranch in Burbank. St. Joseph's Church in Tuolumne City was used for exterior shots of the Hadleyville church. The railroad was the old Sierra Railroad in Jamestown, a few miles south of Columbia, now known as Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, and often nicknamed "the movie railroad" due to its frequent use in films and television shows. The railroad station was built for the film alongside a water tower at Warnerville, about 15 miles to the southwest. Cooper was reluctant to film the fight scene with Bridges due to ongoing problems with his back, but eventually did so without the use of a stunt double. He wore no makeup to emphasize his character's anguish and fear, which was probably intensified by pain from recent surgery to remove a bleeding ulcer. The running time of the story almost precisely parallels the running time of the film—an effect heightened by frequent shots of clocks to remind the characters (and the audience) that the villain will be arriving on the noon train. Music The movie's theme song, "High Noon" (as it is credited in the film), also known by its opening lyric, "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling", became a major hit on the Country-Western charts for Tex Ritter, and later, a pop hit for Frankie Laine as well. Its popularity set a precedent for theme songs that were featured in many subsequent Western films. Composer Dimitri Tiomkin's score and song, with lyrics by Ned Washington, became popular for years afterwards and Tiomkin became