I agree with the previous comment that the dialogue was too contemporary. My late father, Daniel B. Ullman, was the screenwriter and I recognize his personal style very clearly when MacMurray says to Ruth Granger, "Don't talk like an idiot." Much too modern a turn-of-phrase and exactly what my dad would say to any of us during a heated argument! It's nice for me, personally, to hear such lines. They keep Dad alive for me. He wrote nine of "The Fugitive" TV series and borrowed heavily from our family life for names and places. In this picture, MacMurray's character is Ben Cutler. That was my maternal grandfather's name. Other movies of Dad's included "Badlands of Montana", whose main character is Steve Brewster. My brother's name is Steve. In "Kansas-Pacific," there is a Mr. Bruce featured.
The parallels to "High Noon" are quite flattering. I confess I didn't pick up on that.
I agree that the characters and sentiments are broadly drawn, but that is a comforting respite from much of today's fare. Give me stories about people over machines anytime.
So nice to know that folks are still watching Dad's movies 25yrs after his passing.