3:10 to Yuma (1957)

Why so much hype?

Crappy film

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

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Really well shot western about a Rancher and the bad guy he promises to put on a train to jail. Good chemistry in the acting, but it's a bit slow. A little tighter editing (which might have hurt the beautiful shots) would have helped.

RELEASED IN 1957 and directed by Delmer Daves, "3:10 to Yuma" is a Western about a struggling Arizona rancher, Dan Evans (Van Heflin), who has no choice but to hire-on as an escort of dangerous, but charismatic outlaw, Ben Wade (Glenn Ford). Wade proceeds to employ psychological manipulation in order to corrupt the righteous family man and escape.This is a quality psychological Western from the 50s, only held back by the B&W photography. The Arizona landscapes are spectacular but they're all for naught due to this flat B&W presentation. Nevertheless, the story & characters are great. The mind games Wade plays with Evans keeps things interesting. Felicia Farr, the hottie from Glenn Ford's excellent "Jubal" (1956) is on hand as a bartender who has a thang for bad boys. I'm not complaining about her role, but it's a tad unlikely that such a smoking hot woman would be alone for too long in the Old West where there were twenty times more men than women. Most old Western theme songs are hopelessly hokey, e.g. "North to Alaska" (1960) (a great Western), but the one here sung by Frankie Laine is very good. I like it when words that don't rhyme are made to rhyme in a song: "There's a legend and a ruma', when you take the 3:10 to Yuma."The 2007 remake with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe in the Evans/Wade roles takes the template of this film and makes a superior Western with more action and deeper themes, not to mention IN COLOR.THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 32 minutes and was shot in Arizona (Old Tucson,, Contention City, Sedona, etc.) and the studio ranch in Burbank, California. WRITERS: Halsted Welles (screenplay) and Elmore Leonard (story). GRADE: B

Van Heflin is a hard-up small-time cattleman hired to take outlaw Glen Ford to the town of Contention and see that he boards the train to Yuma Territorial Prison, but never mind all that.Heflin's character carries one of those bland workable names like Dan Evans, but Glenn Ford, the prisoner, is called Ben Wade. My own scholarly research shows inarguably that no cowboy, outlaw, or gunslinger has ever carried the name of Wade, Clay, Matt, Yancey, or Ringo. As a matter of fact, the most common names among cowboys were Governeur, Montmorency, Noble. The details are in my manuscript, "Onomastics of the Post Civil War West", never published and never will be.Back to less important matters. It's a nicely structured narrative. Can the upright Heflin get the smirking Ford to Contention before Ford's gang of goons sees to his release? Heflin takes the job out of desperation. He needs the money badly because the draught is starving his stalwart wife and two brashly honest young sons. The viewer can relax as the clichés follow one another. The comic sidekick is murdered. Heflin's horde of enthusiastic supports drop out one by one as the odds against them become more clear.It's one of those westerns in which you have to admire the attentions of the studio barber and his team. Heflin: down at the hells rancher. Ford: gang leader on the lam. Yet -- even in choker close ups -- not a single whisker shows up, so that they look like Hollywood movie stars freshly groomed rather than dusty residents of the Wild West. It is, as I said, entertaining, enlivened by Ford's taunts and wisecracks. Some reviewers claim it's too slow. I would agree, but only in comparison to today's films, all of which resemble the inside of a whirling kaleidoscope.

Everything about this film is great. One of maybe half a dozen great westerns. Delmer Daves direction and Charles Lawton Jr.'s cinematography bring a perfect screenplay to life. My favorite part might be the interlude with Ben Wade (Glenn Ford at his best)and Emmy (Felicia Farr) in the saloon. Their chemistry is perfect. Then there is beautiful long shot of Emmy standing looking forlorn in the middle of the empty dusty street watching the stage coach taking Wade away. In the distance behind her and off to the left, Mr. Butterfield watches. Later there is a nice contrasting scene involving Dan Evens (Van Heflin) wife. A pleasure to watch solid straight forward film making.