Better Late Then Never

A Masterpiece!

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

RELEASED IN 1957 and directed by Delmer Daves, "3:10 to Yuma" is a Western about a struggling Arizona rancher, Dan Evans (Van Heflin), who has no choice but to hire-on as an escort of dangerous, but charismatic outlaw, Ben Wade (Glenn Ford). Wade proceeds to employ psychological manipulation in order to corrupt the righteous family man and escape.This is a quality psychological Western from the 50s, only held back by the B&W photography. The Arizona landscapes are spectacular but they're all for naught due to this flat B&W presentation. Nevertheless, the story & characters are great. The mind games Wade plays with Evans keeps things interesting. Felicia Farr, the hottie from Glenn Ford's excellent "Jubal" (1956) is on hand as a bartender who has a thang for bad boys. I'm not complaining about her role, but it's a tad unlikely that such a smoking hot woman would be alone for too long in the Old West where there were twenty times more men than women. Most old Western theme songs are hopelessly hokey, e.g. "North to Alaska" (1960) (a great Western), but the one here sung by Frankie Laine is very good. I like it when words that don't rhyme are made to rhyme in a song: "There's a legend and a ruma', when you take the 3:10 to Yuma."The 2007 remake with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe in the Evans/Wade roles takes the template of this film and makes a superior Western with more action and deeper themes, not to mention IN COLOR.THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 32 minutes and was shot in Arizona (Old Tucson,, Contention City, Sedona, etc.) and the studio ranch in Burbank, California. WRITERS: Halsted Welles (screenplay) and Elmore Leonard (story). GRADE: B

3:10 to Yuma (1957) *** 1/2 (out of 4)Tense and extremely well-acted Western about a farmer (Van Heflin) who finds himself in desperate need of cash so he volunteers to transport a notorious criminal (Glenn Ford) to a train station. 3:10 TO YUMA is one of the best known Westerns from this era and it's easy to see why. Sure, there are those old-school moments about the good guy versus the bad one but it has an added touch of psychological drama and this here is where the film really stands on its own. There's no doubt that there are many great scenes in the picture but things really start to pick up when Heflin and Ford are inside a hotel room where they do nothing but talk about what's going to happen when the farmer goes to transport him to the station. This is when the super editing kicks into high gear as the farmer slowly starts to become panicked over what he's gotten himself into. There are some really striking scenes in this picture including a very dramatic one dealing with the fate of one of the helpers, which I won't ruin here. Another great scene happens early on during a stagecoach robbery where we get to see how menacing the Ford character can be. This here is followed up with a scene where Ford comes onto a local woman. You'd think a scene like this would be out of place but it actually works just to show that this villain also has a charming side. The performances by the two leads are certainly wonderful. Heflin has never been better as the good-hearted farmer who needs to prove to himself that he can support his family no matter what it takes. The scenes where the farmer's tension starts to crack has the actor really shining. Ford, usually a good guy, does wonders being able to switch things up and that wonderful voice of his really adds to the psychological drama as he starts to torture the farmer. The film certainly borrows from HIGH NOON but that doesn't hurt things too much. The film is certainly a gem from the genre.

I'm sorry, another stupid move about someone getting on a train, and all they have to do to stop it, is just stop the train!!!!!!I know western's are suppose to be simple, but please, don't think we are mindless. All his men had to do was just keep the train from taking off. I mean they are outlaws anyway. so what would be the big dealThis would have been a great movie if not for the ending, but it's like a joke with a flat punch line. Another movie comes to mind, Last train to Gun Hill. Here again all they have to do is just stop a train.I guess if you don't mind watching something with a stupid ending you might enjoy this movie, but when they insult me with a ending like this, it's just a big waste of time.

The film is almost like another Gary Cooper's "High Noon." While just about everyone has abandoned him, farmer Van Heflin seeks to deliver Glenn Ford to the train so that he can be prosecuted for the killing he committed.I wondered what this film would have been like had Ford and Heflin reversed roles. Both were such good character actors, that they would have easily been able to portray the other's part.This is a film dealing with high ethical standards, a farmer and his family enduring a drought, and even the villain coming to his senses in the end. Apparently, he was impressed with the Heflin character.