3:10 to Yuma (1957)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers:

Elmore Leonard (story)
Halsted Welles (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 August 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller | Western

Tagline:

The Lonesome Whistle of a Train... bringing the gallows closer to a desperado--the showdown nearer to his captor!

Plot:

After outlaw leader Ben Wade is captured in a small town, his gang continue to threaten. Small-time...

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Outlaw | Rancher | Small Town | Train

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Glenn Ford	...	Ben Wade
Van Heflin	...	Dan Evans
Felicia Farr	...	Emmy
Leora Dana	...	Mrs. Alice Evans
Henry Jones	...	Alex Potter, town drunk
Richard Jaeckel	...	Charlie Prince
Robert Emhardt	...	Mr. Butterfield, Stage Line Owner
Sheridan Comerate	...	Bob Moons (Stagedriver's Brother)
George Mitchell	...	Bartender
Robert Ellenstein	...	Ernie Collins
Ford Rainey	...	Bisbee Marshal

Also Known As:

Three Ten to Yuma (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | South Africa:PG | Australia:G (DVD rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #18496) | West Germany:12 | Argentina:Atp | UK:A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Amerind Foundation - 2100 N. Amerind Road, Dragoon, Arizona, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Average Shot Length = ~6.4 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~6.6 seconds.

Goofs:

Continuity: Inside the hotel room, when Wade fights with Dan trying to disarm him, Wade falls with his back on the bed and his hat rolls a little ways from him. When they take a close up shot of Wade, his hat is almost completely on his head. When Dan orders Wade to get up, they cut to a medium shot and once again, his hat is way over on bed again.

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.: No Man's Land (#1.3)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

3:10 To Yuma

Tense little thriller that stands out for it's simplicity and it's strong characterisation

Farmer Evans looks to avoid conflict and work his farm in peace, when he witnesses a stage coach being held up he doesn't get involved. However due to drought and debt threatening his farm, he takes the job of escorting the leader of the gang to Yuma and prison when he is caught. The sheriffs fool the gang into thinking that Wade has been taken by coach and Evans and Wade stay in a hotel room until the train to Yuma. However with Wade's gang getting closer, the clock ticking and Evans' posse deserting him man by man the stakes rise.

It's a western but it could easily have been in any setting if it was done this well. The story is clever but really picks up once Wade is captured – in both Evans' home and in the hotel room, the dialogue becomes clever and meaningful. The story is kept tense (with Evans getting increasingly sweaty) despite being very talky. Wade works Evans in a Machiavellian flow of dialogue that visually gets to him throughout. However once it is clear that honour is important over money the countdown to the tense walk to the train station is on.

Heflin is great as the farmer who takes a stand only to see pride swell up in his family, in a way he respects the criminal for taking risk and being brave in contrast to his middle road lifestyle. Ford is effortlessly brilliant as the criminal blessed with charisma and charm with a dangerous streak underneath – in one key scene he sets out Heflin's character when he easily casts a spell charming Heflin's wife and sons. However beneath the dialogue he is slightly jealous of the farmer's settled life and this adds spice to the relationship between the two.

Overall this is a fantastic western, but if it was set in the modern day it would be a brilliant cop thriller, or in space, a brilliant sci-fi. The key is the central relationship between the two men – here it is perfect and the tension that builds towards the fateful walk to the station is gripping.