3:10 to Yuma (1957)

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)
Zähl bis drei und bete (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
15.10 do Yumy (Poland) [pl]
3 H 10 pour Yuma (France) [fr]
3.10 till Yuma (Sweden) [sv]
3:10 til Yuma (Denmark) [da]
Armoton ase (Finland) [fi]
Ben Wade és a farmer (Hungary) [hu]
El tren de las 3,10 (Spain) [es]
El tren de las 3,10 a Yuma (Argentina) [es]
Gönüllü katil (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Galante E Sanguinário (Brazil) [pt]
O Comboio das 3 e 10 (Portugal) [pt]
Oi gigantes sygrouontai (Greece) [el]
Quel treno per Yuma (Italy) [it]
To teleftaio traino gia tin Yuma (Greece) (reissue title) [el]

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:

Revealing mistakes: As the bad guy posse rides into Contention City, in a couple of scenes you'll note seven men on horseback. However, when Ben Wade looks out the window to talk to his gang, there are eight men present. At the same time, one of the men in the hotel states to Butterfield that he counted seven men, while Wade remarks to Evans after one of his men is shot, 'it's now one against seven'.

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 Cop Land (1997)

Soundtrack:

3:10 To Yuma

Original Still The Greatest

Long before it was re-made, I treasured this modest gem of a western.

From the first notes of its mournful, affecting theme to to the poignant finale it draws you in and keeps you riveted as the tension mounts. It accomplishes this by keeping to the Aristotelian unities: a single theme about a single protagonist on a single day. Yes, there is an obvious parallel to **High Noon**.

Though cast as a villain for the only time in his career, Glen Ford's natural likability shines through in the role of gang boss Ben Wade. Van Heflin's Dan Evans is Everyman--no hero but spurred to heroism by desperate circumstances and devotion to family. In contrast to Heflin's homeliness is the godlike physical perfection of the young Richard Jaeckel as the outlaw gang's second-in-command, smart, dangerous, utterly amoral yet loyal unto death to his boss.

There is not a bad performance anywhere. But I must single out Felicia Farr as the lonely barmaid who gives Ford a last, quick good time, and craggy-faced Ford Rainey as a town Marshal with a plan.

With its mix of deep focus shots and closeups of the actors' faces, the cinematography was the obvious inspiration to Sergio Leone in his spaghetti western series.