Best movie of this year hands down!

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

As is the case with many of these movies, I had never heard of "Black Noon" and had it not been for you tube, chances are, I never would have. The movie takes place in the days of the old west and follows a reverend named John Keyes and his wife, Lorna, who find themselves at the mercy of the desert when, out of the blue it seems, they are rescued by folks from a small town. At first, everything seems fine until Lorna starts falling in and out of sickness, until the reverend is seemly bringing "good luck" to the town that had experienced misfortune, and until the wife begins hearing voices and seeing people dressed in strange garb with animal masks in the dead of night. Anyone who's seen enough horror movies probably knows where this is going: its a devil cult and a damn good one too! In fact, I would go as far as to say this probably one of the best devil cult themed movies I have ever seen due to the good acting from Roy Thinnes as the reverend, Ray Milland as the town's leader, the beautiful Yvette Mimieux as "Deliverance", and Hank Worden as old man Joseph. It also helps that the props for the town are very well done and the filmmakers know how to effectively film some creepy, dream like sequences. The only bad thing I can find with the movie is that its been allowed to be forgotten. Still, if you ever get the chance, "Black Noon" is a great way to catch some quality storytelling from an age in which they knew how to do it. P.S. If you should ever find yourself traveling in one of America's great deserts and you come across some people from a town called San Melas, don't accept their help; instead, RUN!!!

Like many people on this site, I saw this movie only once, when it was first televised in 1971. Certain scenes linger in my memory and an overall feeling of disquiet is how I remember being affected by it. I would be fascinated to see it again, if it was ever made available for home video.Possible spoiler: I wonder if anyone else would agree that the basic plot setup and characters might have been derived from a 1960 British movie, originally titled City of the Dead, retitled Horror Hotel for the American release? There are some similarities also to a later British film The Wicker Man.One detail remains with me years after seeing the film. It's a small but significant moment near the beginning of the film. As I recall, a minister and his wife have stopped to aid some people by the side of the road, circa 1870, somewhere out West. The friendly seeming Ray Milland introduces himself and his ( daughter?), Yvette Mimieux, a beautiful young mute woman. While the preacher is helping Ray Milland with the wagon, a rattlesnake slithers into view and coils menacingly, unobserved by any of the characters except Yvette Mimieux. She doesn't look scared at all, but stares at the snake with silent concentration, until it goes away. With this strange little moment, we already realize there's something highly unusual about these seemingly normal folks, though the possible danger to the minister and his wife remains vague and uncertain for a long time.That one little scene stays with me vividly after all these years, along with many others. The film has a haunting quality about it that won't let go, and it's not surprising that people remember it so vividly. Someone ought to make this available for home video!

I feel like I have some uber-rare disease that no one has heard of and I have finally come across a support group on the net! I finally found this title by asking for an answer on an "experts" site on the web. I too, saw this movie in my youth and was struck by the atmosphere and especially the ending. I have never forgotten it and have never seen it since. No one I know saw the film and I had almost given up on ever finding it's title. Alas, even knowing the name, I shall probably never see the film again as it is impossible to find commercially. Small steps...G

I too watched "Black Noon" as a ten-year-old in the States on ABC's "Movie of the Week". In particular, Hank Worden, as old Joseph, really scared the hell out of me as a kid.It's possible that if I were to view it now as an adult (having watched many creepy movies since then, like "Carnival of Souls", "Rosemary's Baby", and "The Shining", it may not stand up to the creepy memories I have of this movie. But I'd love to get the chance to see for myself!ABC produced a couple of high quality films for their "Movie of the Week" series. Some better than others. "Crowhaven Farm" was actually the scariest of them all. Hope Lange as an unwitting victim amongst a secret coven of witches was so chilling.Seared in my memory, though probably not as scary as the above two mentioned "Movies of the Week" would be "The House on Greenapple Road" (with a young Eve Plumb as the young daughter in a brutally bloody scene in the kitchen) and "The House That Wouldn't Die" with Barbara Stanwyck. Also, I vaguely remember another "Movie of the Week" with Lesley Ann Warren, Peter Haskill, and Ryan Hope. Pretty good, though not truly as scary as "Black Noon" or "Crowhaven Farm".One other last "Movie of the Week" I remember was "Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring" with Sally Field. Kind of hooky, not at all scary, but I do remember enjoying it as a young girl.