3:10 to Yuma (1957)

Broke small-time rancher Dan Evans is hired by the stagecoach line to put big-time captured outlaw leader Ben Wade on the 3:10 train to Yuma but Wade's gang tries to free him.

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers:

Halsted Welles (screenplay), Elmore Leonard (story)

Stars:

Glenn Ford, Van Heflin, Felicia Farr

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Glenn Ford	...	Ben Wade
Van Heflin	...	Dan Evans
Felicia Farr	...	Emmy
Leora Dana	...	Mrs. Alice Evans
Henry Jones	...	Alex Potter
Richard Jaeckel	...	Charlie Prince
Robert Emhardt	...	Mr. Butterfield
Sheridan Comerate	...	Bob Moons
George Mitchell	...	Bartender
Robert Ellenstein	...	Ernie Collins
Ford Rainey	...	Bisbee Marshal

Storyline

After outlaw leader Ben Wade is captured in a small town, his gang continue to threaten. Small-time rancher Dan Evans is persuaded to take Wade in secret to the nearest town with a railway station to await the train to the court at Yuma. Once the two are holed up in the hotel to wait it becomes apparent the secret is out, and a battle of wills starts.

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Plot Keywords:

yuma arizona | arizona | yuma territorial prison | benson arizona | arizona desert | 

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Taglines:

Drink the whisky... Love the woman... Try to stay alive till the 3:10 pulls out of town!

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Three Ten to Yuma

Filming Locations:

Yuma, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,850,000, 31 December 1957

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In casting the film, Delmer Daves first hired actors from his previous two movies, Glenn Ford and Felicia Farr. Due to their work on these movies, Ford and Farr were quite used to the complex characters and themes that Daves brought to the genre.

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Goofs

In the opening sequence the stagecoach is following tracks, presumably made by earlier takes, but during a shot from the driver's viewpoint, the ground is unmarked.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mr. Butterfield, Stage Line Owner: Let me warn you - I am Mr. Butterfield; this is my line, these are my passengers. You bother any of them, I'll hound you from here to kingdom come.
Ben Wade: Mr. Butterfield, we don't mean to bother anybody - we just mean to get what's under that tarpaulin up there, that's all

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Western Movies (2014)

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Soundtracks

3:10 to Yuma
by Ned Washington and George Duning
Sung by Frankie Laine
A Columbia Recording Artist
also performed by Norma Zimmer (uncredited)

User Reviews

Room 207 and the 3:10 To Yuma.

Van Heflin plays rancher Dan Evans whose family and livelihood is at breaking point due to a devastating drought. Needing money fast, Evans gets thrown a financial lifeline when a reward is offered to escort a recently captured outlaw, Ben Wade (Glenn Ford), on to the 3:10 train to Yuma prison. But as Wade's gang closes in to free the shackled outlaw, and the clock starts to tick down, Evans finds himself torn between a sense of social duty and an easy option courtesy of Wade's mind game offer.

Based on a story by Elmore Leonard, this is a tight and tense Western that harks to the wonderful High Noon five years earlier. Directed by Delmer Daves, 3:10 to Yuma sees two of the Western genre's most undervalued performers come together in perfect contrast. Heflin's Evans is honest, almost saintly; but ultimately filling out his life with dullness and too much of a safe approach. Ford's Wade is the other side of the coin, ruthless (the opening sequence sets it up), handsome and very self-confident. This coupling makes for an interesting story-one that thankfully delivers royally on its set-up. As Wade's gang closes in, led by a sleek and mean Richard Jaeckel, Wade toys with Evans, offering him financial gain and gnawing away at him about his abilities as a husband, the tension is palpable in the extreme. Nothing is ever certain until the credits role, and that is something that is never to be sniffed at in the Western genre.

The comparison with High Noon is a fair one because 3:10 to Yuma also deals with the man alone scenario. A man left alone to deal with his adversaries and his own conscience; money or pride indeed. Daves' direction is gritty and suitably claustrophobic, with close ups either being erotically charged {watch out for Felicia Farr's scenes with Ford in the saloon} or tightly wound in room 207 of the hotel; where Heflin & Ford positively excel. His outdoor work, aided by Charles Lawton Jr's photography, also hits the spot, particularly the barren land desperate for water to invigorate it. While the piece also has a tremendous George Duning theme song warbled (and whistled by Ford in the film) by Frankie Laine. Great acting, great direction and a great involving story; essential for fans of character driven Westerns. 8.5/10

Footnote: The film was very well remade in 2007 with two of the modern era's finest leading men, Russell Crowe & Christian Bale, in the dual roles of Ben & Dan respectively. One hopes, and likes to think, that they remade it purely because it was such a great premise to work from. Because Daves' film didn't need improving, it was, and still is, a great film showcasing how great this often maligned genre can sometimes be.