3:10 to Yuma (1957): A Review

3:10 TO YUMA (1957)

This review is for the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Glenn Ford.

The American West had its ruffians who rode roughshod over the law. The American West also had settlers who worked hard to keep to the law. What then, when those sides come into conflict? 3:10 to Yuma builds up its tense story of this battle of wills to a climactic finish. With excellent performances and a surprisingly brief runtime, 3:10 to Yuma will appeal to both Western fans and those not particularly interested in the genre.

Struggling rancher Dan Evans (Van Heflin) and his two young sons come across a surprising sight while attempting to keep tabs on their small cattle group. A Butterfield Stagecoach is being held up by bandits. The gang is led by Ben Wade (Glenn Ford), who generally abhors violence. He, however, will use it if needed. Wade calmly shoots the stagecoach driver and one of his own gang members when the former attempts to use the latter as a potential hostage. Wade, however, coolly tells Evans to mosey on down. Dan's wife Alice (Leora Dana) fears that her husband will not be able to hold onto the ranch. The drought is endangering their cattle, and they have no money to buy water rights from a nearby ranch that has water.

The Wade gang goes to Bisbee, Arizona to get drinks and make their eventual getaway out of the territory. Wade takes a shining to bar wench Emmy (Felicia Farr), who returns his affections. The gang splits up to avoid capture. However, they also have alerted the Bisbee sheriff about the holdup. It is not long before the sheriff and his posse find that they have been duped by the "cowhands" that just left town. Well, almost all of them have left.

Wade is captured in town. Evans, coincidentally, is in Bisbee to see if he can get a $200 loan to buy those water rights. Evans does not get the loan. However, he volunteers for a mission to get Wade on the 3:10 to Yuma for trial. It will pay the $200. It also requires him and Alex Potter (Henry Jones) to escort Wade to nearby Contention City where the train passes. Potter is the town drunk, but he is determined to do right by his mission.

Wade stays overnight at the Evans' ranch. He is pleasant, even charming to his host family. He also knows that he will not get on that train. Wade trusts that his gang will get him. Evans, determined to see justice done and to get that reward offered by Mr. Butterfield himself (Robert Emhardt). In Contention City, time keeps on slipping into the future. Bob Moons (Sheridan Comerate), the vengeful brother of the stagecoach driver, has a crack at Wade. Charlie Prince (Richard Jaeckel), Wade's right-hand man, has a crack at Evans. Wade attempts to tempt Evans to let him go. Will Evans get Wade on the 3:10 to Yuma? Will Alice end up a widow? Not everyone will survive, but there are good clouds coming.

3:10 to Yuma runs a brisk 92 minutes. It may be a relatively short runtime, but there is much within it that makes for excellent viewing. The climactic race to make the train is a thrilling sequence that builds up tension and suspense. One watches with intense attention, wondering how this will all turn out. 

Director Delmer Daves and Hallstead Wells (adapting the Elmore Leonard short story) give us a lot of suggestion and clever dialogue. Daves has a nice double close-up of Glenn Ford and Felicia Farr when Wade is softly flirting with Emmy. This comes after we see them emerge from the back room. I think it is understood that Wade and Emmy had a tryst while both his gang and the posse searching for them were out of town. It is subtle but I think clear enough what had happened.

The film leaves enough bits for people to follow and even predict what will happen. For example, the hotel where Wade is temporarily being held has a snoring man in the lobby, his face covered up with a newspaper. Immediately upon seeing him, I thought to myself that the snoring man's presence worried me. Later on, the sad fate of another man is shown in shadow. Again, we need not see the full effect to know what happened. That fact that we are shown only the shadow makes the scene all the more shocking. 

3:10 to Yuma is almost universally well-acted. Glenn Ford is distinct among Western armed bandits. Ford makes Wade into a cool and polite figure. He is not urbane or sophisticated. Rather, Ford portrays Wade as a methodical figure, cool and calm under pressure. Ford does show that Wade can be malevolent. He tempts Evans with promises of more cash than Butterfield offers if he lets Wade escape. He attempts to wrestle the rifle from Evans. However, we also see that Wade has a code of honor which he will not break. The conclusion shows that Wade will stick by it while still finding a way out.

Ford is matched by Van Heflin as Dan Evans. You see that mix of sadness and wounded pride in Helfin's performance. Evans is a proud man brought low by circumstances. The scene where he asks for the loan shows the blend of desperation and regret at having to do such a thing. Van Helfin also shows Evans to be a man of principles and caring husband and father. His scenes with his sons are excellent, showing how he wants to be a role model to them but also protect them against rash actions.

The other actors also do good work. Henry Jones will move you as Potter, the town drunk. Robert Emhardt's Mr. Butterfield shows how he wants to do right but will crumble in the end. I would say that Leora Dana might have gone a bit broad as Alice, particularly in her final shot. I also think that said final shot of the rain coming down might have been a bit too symbolic, a case of gilding the lily.

Those are small matters overall. 3:10 to Yuma will impress the viewer with its quick tale of desperate men living out their own sense of right and wrong. It is well-paced, acted and directed, with sparse cinematography that enhances the look. 3:10 to Yuma is a great film to catch.

DECISION: A+