Yuma (1971)

A tough marshal is sent to clean up a lawless western town.

Director:

Ted Post

Writer:

Charles A. Wallace (as Charles Wallace)

Stars:

Clint Walker, Barry Sullivan, Kathryn Hays

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Clint Walker	...	Marshal Dave Harmon
Barry Sullivan	...	Nels Decker
Kathryn Hays	...	Julie Williams
Edgar Buchanan	...	Mules McNeil
Morgan Woodward	...	Arch King
Peter Mark Richman	...	Maj. Lucas
John Kerr	...	Capt. White
Bing Russell	...	Rol King (as Neil Russell)
Bruce Glover	...	Sam King
Robert Phillips	...	Sanders
Miguel Alejandro	...	Andres
Rudy Diaz	...	Caballo
Bill McLean	...	Storekeeper
Napoleon Whiting	...	Orderly

Storyline

Dave Harmon is a United States Marshall, who has been sent by the governor to the territory of Yuma. It seems that the law is not welcomed there; every marshall that's been sent has been chased out. But Harmon is a different story, upon arriving, he encounters two drunks and asks them to come with him to cool off, one of them pulls a gun on him and shoots, Harmon with no other choice shoots him. He is told that the man he killed is the brother of Arch King, a powerful man, who adheres to only one law, his. Later that evening someone breaks into the jail and lets the other man out and shoots him with Harmon's gun. It seems that the other man is also King's brother. Most people think that Harmon shot him but a Mexican boy whom Harmon allowed to sleep on the floor of the jail said that it was two men and that one of them's a soldier. Harmon is then visited by King and is told that unless he can prove that he was not the one who killed his brother, King will be back and will deal with him...

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Plot Keywords:

unsold tv series pilot | yuma arizona | arizona territory | reservation | yuman indian | 

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Taglines:

A U.S. Marshal's life is threatened when he tries to clean up a lawless town ...

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was a proposed television pilot that never got picked up by the networks.

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Goofs

When the marshal orders the two brothers to drop their gunbelts in the saloon, Rol unbuckles and drops his, but his brother Sam doesn't and the marshal shoots and kills Sam. As the marshal is walking Rol to the jail, his gun belt is clearly visible, but when he gets in the office he is not wearing it.

User Reviews

Bringing Law And Order To Yuma

Clint Walker would have been a great movie cowboy had he born twenty years earlier. As it was he made his mark on television playing that most stoic of western characters in the title role of Cheyenne. In this film Yuma he brings his Cheyenne Bodie persona to the role of Dave Harmon, US Marshal sent to cleanup the lawless town of Yuma.

No sooner does he arrive in town than he's forced to kill the hotheaded brother of cattle baron Morgan Woodward. He arrests another brother, but later two men break him out of prison and then shoot him in the back. Unfortunately for them there was a witness, a young Mexican kid played by Miguel Alejandro who Walker has taken in.

Woodward is not a man given to calm discourse and that's what the people who shot him are counting on, that he will rid them of their new Marshal so that a nice little racket they have will go on unmolested. But Walker's witness leads to a nicely paced unraveling of the whole affair and a surprise ending, kind of tacked on, but still interesting.

Such players as Kathryn Hays, Peter Mark Richman, John Kerr, Barry Sullivan and Edgar Buchanan round out a cast of professionals that are comfortable in a sagebrush setting. Director Ted Post best known for Clint Eastwood classics Magnum Force and Hang 'Em High directed many a television western and he knew what he wanted and got it out of his cast.

Fifteen or even ten years earlier Paramount would have released Yuma to the big screen as a second feature in a double bill. Yuma will satisfy any western fan's appetite.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 March 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

La ley de Yuma

Filming Locations:

Sonoran Desert, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

ABC Circle Films, Aaron Spelling Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Glen Glenn Sound) Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1