Western Wednesdays: 3:10 to Yuma (1957)

     3:10 to Yuma was released on August 7th, 1957. Based on the short story by Elmore Leonard it is directed by Delmer Daves and adapted for the screen by Halsted Welles. In it Dan Evans (Van Heflin) agrees to put outlaw Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) on the 3:10 train to Yuma at Contention City. Wade, who is confident his gang will rescue him, tries to persuade Evans to let him go, offering him a substantial reward if he does so.

     3:10 to Yuma has some similarities to Fred Zinnemann's High Noon (1952). In both films, the protagonist is ultimately abandoned by those around him in his pursuit of justice. But while Will Kane's conflict with Frank Miller is an intensely personal one, Dan Evans is not. He simply feels compelled to carry out the job he was hired for and see to it that Wade is taken to prison. He initially agrees to help for the $200 reward, which he needs to save his farm but, as Wade begins to offer Evans greater and greater amounts to let him go, the money becomes increasingly irrelevant. This is simply something that Dan has to see through to the end.

     Also unlike High Noon, Dan is, at first, only one of many men who have agreed to bring Wade to justice. It's only when his gang arrives in Contention, and things get truly desperate, that everyone else backs out. Daves' film is generally more grounded in it's approach then Zinnemann's. Evan's is just a simple rancher, struggling to get by. The community he lives in, unlike High Noon's allegorically hypocritical Hadleyville, is one of simple, down-to-earth folks who share a sense of justice and communal responsibility. It's only when the situation becomes really deadly that they back down.

     In some way's the film functions as a character study of Wade and Evans. Dan is a man of low ambitions who just wants to feed his wife and kids. In the opening scene, when he is accosted by Wade along with the passengers on the stage, he feels ashamed at having been caught so helplessly in front of his two sons. When he helps to capture the outlaw and brings him home for one night to keep the gang off his trail, they begin to look at him with real pride. But this is not what motivates Dan, he just wants to do the job he was paid to do and, hopefully, save his farm. Wade by contrast is a man accustomed to getting what he wants. He doesn't relish violence but if someone is killed during one of his robberies, well, that's just the way it goes. As the film progresses, Wade begins to respect Evan's tenacity and refusal to compromise his morals. In the end, both men stay true to their code and this is why the climax, which might otherwise feel contrived, (mostly) works.

     Elmore Leonard's writing is outstanding. He was a master of realistic, quirky dialogue and lines like, "My own grandmother fought the Indians for sixty years... then choked to death on lemon pie," really breathe life into the characters. Delmer Daves directs with a masterful sense of visual clarity. His use tight framing through much of the film helping to ratchet up the tension and the sense of claustrophobia. On the other hand the wide shots outside of the hotel tend to emphasize the isolation and loneliness of the characters, dwarfed by the wilderness around them.

     3:10 to Yuma has a great cast. Van Heflin is a perfect choice to play the stalwart, modest Dan Evans. The usually heroic Glen Ford on the other hand, is a revelation as the cool, manipulative Ben Wade, who always seems ready with a pointed remark or pertinent story for every situation. Leora Dana brings a down to earth, matronly quality to Alice Evan, who worries that her husband has only taken this dangerous job in order to look less cowardly in her eyes. Felicia Farr meanwhile, brings a sad and bittersweet quality to Emm, the barmaid who Waid risks capture to spend a few hours with. Henry Jones' Alex Potter provides the film with something of a moral center as a man who nobody believes in but whose sacrifice, ultimately, inspires Dan to greater heights of courage. Rounding out the cast is Robert Emhardt as the principled stage-line owner, Mr. Butterfield, and Richard Jaeckel as Wade's trusted lieutenant, Charlie Prince.

     The title song, sung by Frankie Laine with lyrics by Ned Washington and George Duning (who also wrote "The Ballad of High Noon") is fantastic, and among the very best that the famed western crooner ever recorded. There's a haunting sense of melancholy and loneliness conveyed by lyrics like, "The pounding of the wheels is more like a mournful sigh..." In general, the film has a very melancholic tone. From the sleepy, economically depressed town of Bisbee to the the eerily dead streets of Contention there is the sense that this is a dying community, on the brink of economic collapse. All of this makes Wade's lifestyle, and his offer to Dan, seem that much more tempting. Conversely, the funeral procession that happens about half way through the film, while also contributing to this sense of sadness, serves as a rebuke to Wade and his carefree, lawless way of life.

     With brilliant writing, deft direction, and a rock solid cast, 3:10 to Yuma is a true western classic.

Score: 9/10