Reagan was a master story teller. It's for a good reason he was known as the great communicator. However, his reference to High Noon in the video above wasn't lost on Bill Clinton, another artful communicator.
Peter Guber once studio chief at Columbia Pictures, CEO of Polygram Records and CEO of Sony Entertainment, recalls a pivotal moment in the election of Bill Clinton to the Whitehouse in his excellent book Tell to Win
In 1992 Bill Clinton was Governor of Arkansas and Democratic Presidential hopeful. Pounded by allegations of draft dodging and sexual shenanigans he lost the New Hamshire Primary. Not since 1952 had a candidate won the presidency without first winning New Hampshire and since the golden rule is that money flows where the money goes – this loss put Clinton’s organization in fiscal crises.
One of Clintons chiefs, called Guber the morning after the primary and said that for Clinton to move on to the next key primary state, they needed to raise $90,000 by the end of the day. The amount requested was a red flag to Guber as he reckoned that the campaign needed at least $500,000 to make the finish line. $90,000 smacked of desparation. To add to Grubers discomfort, campaign rules meant that individual donations couldn’t exceed $1,000. This meant that Guber had to put his reputation on the line with 90 close friends and associates, all before the sun set. He needed Clinton to persuade him that he had a real chance.
Clinton called him up and said “Hello Peter, this is Bill”
Then there was a long pause............. Clinton spoke and asked Guber “Have you ever seen the picture High Noon?”
High Noon is the classic 1952 Fred Zinneman western staring Gary Cooper as the heroic sheriff Will Kane, who spends most of his time preparing to face off against a notorious gang that’s due to arrive on the noon train. Kane expects the community to back him up in his fight, but only one young boy has the nerve to stand by him as he nervously waits for his moment of truth.
Clinton didn’t need to explain the story to Guber, he just said “Peter, this is High Noon”
Those words transported Guber into the broader narrative of the movie. Here was the hero Clinton facing down the bad guys and he needed Guber at his side.
After Guber and Clinton had hung up, Guber went to meet Sid Ganis, head of marketing at Sony. Over a coffee he told him about the call and asked his advice on how he could persuade 90 people to cough up $1,000 each. “Simple”, said Ganis, call everyone we know and tell them that story…
“You know High Noon the movie they asked each person. Of course they did, this was in Hollywood – “well this is “High Noon” for Bill Clinton We need you and your wife to each give $1,000 and we need it now before the noon whistle blows. In our case High Noon is 4pm.
At 4pm Guber called Clinton’s chief of staff. “It’s High Noon, and you’ve got your money. Now go take on the bad guys and win”
The rest they say is history
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