3:10 to Yuma (1957 film)
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| 3:10 to Yuma | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Delmer Daves |
| Produced by | David Heilweil |
| Written by | Elmore Leonard (story) Halsted Welles (screenplay) |
| Starring | Glenn Ford Van Heflin |
| Music by | George Duning |
| Cinematography | Charles Lawton, Jr. |
| Editing by | Al Clark |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 7, 1957 |
| Running time | 92 min |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
3:10 to Yuma is a 1957 western film starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin and directed by Delmer Daves. The film was based on the short story by Elmore Leonard. The film was well received on release and is still highly regarded today. In 2007 there was a remake of the film starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, and directed by James Mangold.
The film follows the capture of outlaw leader Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) in a small town. A local rancher, Dan Evans (Van Heflin), is talked into taking him in secret to a neighboring town to avoid Wade's reckless gang. While waiting in a hotel there for the 3:10 train to Yuma, a battle of wills (and guns) develops when it is discovered that Wade's gang knows about the secret move.
The title song was sung by Frankie Laine, see "The 3:10 to Yuma".
Contents |
[edit] Plot
[edit] The Coach Robbery
Frankie Laine sings the theme song as a stagecoach makes its way across the desert. It's the Arizona Territory of the 1880s. A band of thieves herd cattle to block the trail. Dan Evans (Van Heflin) and his young sons, Mark and Mathew, look for their errant cattle and come upon the robbery in progress. They watch helplessly as outlaw Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) and his gang rob the stage and kill its driver, Bill Moons (Boyd Stockman).
At home, Dan's devoted wife Alice (Leora Dana) is shocked at her husband's lack of outrage over the crime. Dan is distracted by the three-year drought that threatens his ranch. He doesn't have the $200 a neighboring rancher charges for six months' access to a stream running through his land. Dan agrees to try to borrow the money in town.
At the saloon in nearby Bisbee, Wade and his men, posing as cowhands, tell the pretty barmaid, Emmy (Felicia Farr), that they just witnessed the stage being robbed and its driver killed. The marshal (Ford Rainey) organizes a posse to go after the outlaws. Wade's men scatter into the countryside, while Wade remains behind to romance Emmy.
[edit] Ben Wade under arrest
The posse encounters Dan and the stage-line owner, Mr. Butterfield (Robert Emhardt), along the trail. Butterfield says the perpetrators went into Bisbee, and Dan describes and identifies them. The marshal realizes he was duped. Alex Potter (Henry Jones), the town drunk, catches up and reveals that one of them is still back at the saloon. Surmising it must be Wade himself, they ride back to town to capture him. As Dan distracts him by asking payment for lost time, the marshal sneaks up behind Wade and arrests him. Witnessing the arrest is Wade's main henchman, Charlie Prince (Richard Jaeckel), who doubled back to check on the boss. He rides out to notify the others. Aware that the outlaws will return to free their leader, the marshal wants to get Wade out of town quickly.
The marshal tries to deputize Dan, but he declines; he came into town on business, and he has dying cattle to take care of. Dan asks small-time banker Mac (George Mitchell) for a $200 loan, but Mac can't help him. (The drought has made ranchers a bad lending risk.) Outside, the marshal asks for two volunteers to ride ahead with Dave Keene (Bill Hale). Butterfield offers $200 to each man. The others are reluctant, but Dan, just arriving from the saloon, jumps at the opportunity. The only other taker is the inept Alex. The rest will follow with the prisoner in the coach.
The coach transporting Wade gets stuck when the driver (in a staged mishap) runs a wheel off into a ditch. The marshal makes a show of enlisting help from the nearby ranch house (Dan's), thereby replacing Wade with imposter Dave Keene. Charlie Prince and a cohort, watching from above the trail, apparently fall for the ruse.
Wade is then held at Dan's ranch, and Alice serves a fine supper to the family and their "guest." Dan explains the plan to her. The two who were tricked by the transfer will have to round up their men before catching up with the coach and discovering that their leader isn't on it. By then it should be noon the following day, and they won't have time to reach Contention City before the train to Yuma (and the territorial prison). Meanwhile, Dan and Alex will take Wade to Contention and wait there to put him on the 3:10 to Yuma.
[edit] Waiting for the train in Contention
Dan and Alex escort Wade under cover of darkness, reaching Contention City at daybreak. Butterfield has reserved a room at the hotel, where a drunk is sleeping under a newspaper in the lobby. When the clock strikes eleven, Wade offers Dan $400 to let him escape. Out the window they see Moons' funeral procession pass below, prompting Wade to assert that he shot the driver in self-defense. The driver drew first, he says, leaving out that it was during the armed robbery already in progress.
The man sleeping in the lobby wakes and it's revealed to be Charlie Prince. Wade offers to be Dan's silent partner with money for $7,000. The funeral procession returns and breaks up outside the hotel. The men enter for drinks. Moons' brother Bob (Sheridan Comerate) denounces Butterfield for not attending the funeral. Wade increases his offer to $10,000. There's a knock and Butterfield says he's brought coffee. When Dan unlocks the door, Bob barges in with his gun drawn. He threatens to kill Wade and Dan too if he tries to stop him. Dan protects Wade, but Bob's gun goes off in the scuffle, alerting Charlie Prince in the street below. Wade and Charlie see each other through the window, and Charlie gallops off to get the others.
Wade claims the same thing would have happened in Benson or Huachuca as his men are in all the places they might have taken him. Dan tells Butterfield to have the sheriff get as many deputies as he can, but Bob tells them the sheriff is out of town. Bob refuses to get involved and bails out. Butterfield goes to look for any five men to help. He returns at 2:30 and says he has five men in the lobby for a total of eight. Wade rambles on about Dan's wife: "I wouldn't make her work so hard. I bet she was a real beautiful girl before she met you."
[edit] Under siege
Wade's gang rides into town at a full gallop. When they reach the hotel, Wade asks Dan, "When shall I tell 'em you're gonna let me go?" Dan replies testily, "Tell them you'll write 'em a letter every day from Yuma." Wade calls down from the window: "Charlie, go buy the boys a drink. We'll be down soon." The outlaws spread out. Wade makes another pitch for Dan to let him go, and Dan considers it for a moment. But when Wade asks why he's squeezing the watch, Dan throws it across the room in a rage.
The recruits counted seven riders. They didn't figure on a big shootout, and they disperse. Butterfield offers them $50 each to stay, to no avail. He tells Alex to watch from the street. When Alex sees a sniper on the roof opposite, he draws his gun, but Charlie sneaks up behind and forces him to drop it. Alex shouts, "Dan, the roof!" The sniper shoots twice at Dan in the hotel window but misses. Dan fires once with precision and the sniper falls into the street below. Charlie shoots Alex in the back and has his partners drag him inside. Hearing Alex cry out to him in his death throes, Dan says if there's one more shot he'll shoot Wade. Wade calls down, "Hey Charlie, you've got one more shot; make it good." Butterfield sees Alex's body hanging from the lobby chandelier and releases Dan from his obligation.
A thunderclap is heard as Alice drives her carriage up to the hotel. She passes Alex's hanging corpse and implores Dan not to continue. Butterfield says he'll pay the $200 anyway. But Dan is committed: "The town drunk gave his life because he believed that people should be able to live in decency and peace together. You think I can do less?"
The clock strikes three. Dan escorts Wade out the back door, and there's more thunder. Another sniper on the roof fires and misses. "Tell him one more shot and I'll cut you in two," Dan reiterates. Wade calls: "I told you you had just one more shot. Next time you better make it good."
[edit] 3:10
The train whistle blows at 3:10, right on time. Cattle come by, and Dan uses them as cover to cross the street. The train arrives. Dan unhitches a horse and uses it as cover to cross the last open stretch to the station. The whistle blows again and spooks the horse--they run the rest of the way. The train starts to pull out, and Dan walks Wade to the moving train under cover of the steam from the locomotive. The gang emerges on the other side of the steam. Charlie shouts for Wade to drop down to allow him a clear shot at Dan. Instead, Wade follows Dan's order to jump into the passing baggage car, and they make the jump together. The others run alongside, and Charlie shoots at Dan but misses. Dan shoots back and hits Charlie.
Wade explains that he doesn't like owing favors, and Dan saved his life back at the hotel. The train passes Alice outside of town as she waits in her carriage with Butterfield. Dan waves to her and it begins to rain; Alice and Butterfield wave back through the downpour.
[edit] Reception
When first released in the summer of 1957, the film became popular among audiences and critics alike for its suspenseful nature and sharp black-and-white cinematography. Ford received particular notice for his against-type villainous performance. The following year, 3:10 to Yuma was nominated for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for Best Film.
Since its release, the film has become a staple of cable television and has gained an audience of several generations. A critically successful remake was released in 2007.
The film caused "Yuma" to enter the lexicon of Cuban slang: Yumas is a term for American visitors, while La Yuma is the United States.[1]
[edit] Cast
| Actor/Actress | Role |
|---|---|
| Glenn Ford | Ben Wade |
| Van Heflin | Dan Evans |
| Felicia Farr | Emmy |
| Leora Dana | Alice Evans |
| Robert Emhardt | Mr. Butterfield |
| Henry Jones | Alex Potter |
| Richard Jaeckel | Charlie Prince |
| Ford Rainey | Marshal of Bisbee |
| George Mitchell | Mac |
[edit] References
- ^ Sokol, Brett (2007-10-08). 3:10 to Yuma in Cuba: How a Western changed the way Cubans speak. Slate.
[edit] See also
- Three-Ten to Yuma, the 1953 Western short story by Elmore Leonard on which the film was based
- 3:10 to Yuma (2007 film), a remake of the 1957 film, directed by James Mangold and starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale
- The 3:10 to Yuma (song), the title song to the film by George Duning with lyrics by Ned Washington, also recorded by Sandy Denny.
- Yuma Territorial Prison
