Veteran character actor Jack Elam was supposed to have a prominent role in the classic “High Noon.” He was a town drunk, guzzling booze in a bar while the climactic gunfight took place—the filmmakers were going to bounce between the shootout and the saloon as a counterpoint.
But director Fred Zinneman decided the fight worked just fine by itself. So one shot shows Elam entering the bar; the rest was cut and he’s not listed in the credits. Elam was okay with that: “I got to work two days.”
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