John Wayne turned down the Part of the sheriff in High Noon, saying that the story was ridiculous. The town would have gotten together and blown the crooks away in about 15 seconds. Coop did a good job, but I agree with Duke.
As do I, especially in the light of the historic outlaw raid on Northfield MN by the James-Younger band(s) in 1876. When they tried to rob the bank there, the local population took up arms and pursuit that basically ended the these family gangs. Yes, High Noon is a good-to-great film but it was more a film about the zeitgeist of the 1950s disguised as a Western. My pick of a Western is still Shane!
What happened to the James-Younger Gang? The townspeople of Northfield, Mn shot holes in them that’s what. The cinematic conceit of the western townspeople being afraid of the nasty gunmen has been a staple of scriptwriters for sixty years. That conceit has little basis in fact given that many westerners were probably very tough, hardnosed types who fought in the civil war. Most likely what would happen to the gunmen trying to kill Cooper is what happened to the James-Younger Gang.