"A HUNDRED YARDS TO THE STATION - A HUNDRED SECONDS TO GET THERE
AND A HUNDRED BULLETS SAYING.... THEY'LL NEVER MAKE IT"!
So goes the explosive text on the poster for Columbia Picture's 3.TEN TO YUMA (1957). An iconic western 3.TEN TO YUMA has quite deservedly taken its place in the pantheon of classic fifties westerns alongside "Shane", "The Searchers", "High Noon" et al. From a story by the tireless Elmore Leonard it was beautifully written for the screen by Halsted Welles and produced for the studio by David Heilwell. With stark monochrome cinematography by the great Charles Lawton Jr. the picture was arguably the best directorial effort to come from master craftsman Delmer Daves.
Glenn Ford heads a superb cast as notorious outlaw Ben Wade who, with his gang, holds up the Butterfield stagecoach, kills the guard and relieves it of its strongbox contents. Van Heflin is Dan Evens the struggling small rancher who - with his wife (Leora Dana) and two small sons try their best to eke out a living on their dried out small holding. But without rain or the money to buy water rights for a nearby stream to water the cattle Dan finds it difficult to carry on. But then luck comes his way. Wade is captured by the posse and the Sheriff offers $200 to anyone who will take Wade to Contention City and transport him by train on the 3. ten to Yuma prison. Dan immediately accepts the job and so begins a tension filled few hours as Dan holds his captive in a Contention hotel room to wait for the train. And all the while staving off the efforts of Wade's men to free their boss as well as contend with Wade trying to psych him out with tempting bribes to let him go. Excitement reaches fever pitch when its time to leave the hotel and go for the train. But then just as Wade's men are closing in for the kill, and in a surprise move, Wade capitulates and actually helps Dan to get him aboard the moving train.
Performances are excellent! Ford has rarely been better! As Ben Wade he is roguish, cool and throughly likable. Heflin is great too! His Dan Evens looking almost like an extension of his Joe Starrett from "Shane" four years earlier. And Looking gorgeous is the beautiful Felicia Farr in a splendid cameo as the girl in the saloon. There is a lovely moment at the bar in the empty saloon when Wade is trying to seduce her ("Ye know ye look kinda skinny - but I don't mind a skinny girl if she's got blue eyes"). Poignantly scored and beautifully directed - the scene in close-up, as he kisses her, is both amorous and heartfelt and played out by two superb actors.
Providing a wonderful atmosphere to the movie is the music of composer George Duning. Duning was composer in residence at Columbia Pictures and scored most of their prestigious productions like "Bell,Book & Candle", "The Devil At Four O'Clock" and his best known work "Picnic" (1956) in which he pulled a master stroke by combining the tune Moonglow with his own love theme to great effect for the evocative scene where William Holden dances with Kim Novak. His music for 3.TEN TO YUMA boasts a lingering central theme. It is given lovely renditions throughout especially for solo guitar and distant solo female voice. Then with added lyrics by Ned Washington it was turned into a brilliant ballad and sung over the titles by the inimitable Frankie Laine.
Fifty years after 3.TEN TO YUMA an unfortunate revisionist remake was produced. It improved on the original NOT one iota and only served to emphasize how good the Delmer Daves classic really is!
AND A HUNDRED BULLETS SAYING.... THEY'LL NEVER MAKE IT"!
So goes the explosive text on the poster for Columbia Picture's 3.TEN TO YUMA (1957). An iconic western 3.TEN TO YUMA has quite deservedly taken its place in the pantheon of classic fifties westerns alongside "Shane", "The Searchers", "High Noon" et al. From a story by the tireless Elmore Leonard it was beautifully written for the screen by Halsted Welles and produced for the studio by David Heilwell. With stark monochrome cinematography by the great Charles Lawton Jr. the picture was arguably the best directorial effort to come from master craftsman Delmer Daves.
Glenn Ford heads a superb cast as notorious outlaw Ben Wade who, with his gang, holds up the Butterfield stagecoach, kills the guard and relieves it of its strongbox contents. Van Heflin is Dan Evens the struggling small rancher who - with his wife (Leora Dana) and two small sons try their best to eke out a living on their dried out small holding. But without rain or the money to buy water rights for a nearby stream to water the cattle Dan finds it difficult to carry on. But then luck comes his way. Wade is captured by the posse and the Sheriff offers $200 to anyone who will take Wade to Contention City and transport him by train on the 3. ten to Yuma prison. Dan immediately accepts the job and so begins a tension filled few hours as Dan holds his captive in a Contention hotel room to wait for the train. And all the while staving off the efforts of Wade's men to free their boss as well as contend with Wade trying to psych him out with tempting bribes to let him go. Excitement reaches fever pitch when its time to leave the hotel and go for the train. But then just as Wade's men are closing in for the kill, and in a surprise move, Wade capitulates and actually helps Dan to get him aboard the moving train.
Performances are excellent! Ford has rarely been better! As Ben Wade he is roguish, cool and throughly likable. Heflin is great too! His Dan Evens looking almost like an extension of his Joe Starrett from "Shane" four years earlier. And Looking gorgeous is the beautiful Felicia Farr in a splendid cameo as the girl in the saloon. There is a lovely moment at the bar in the empty saloon when Wade is trying to seduce her ("Ye know ye look kinda skinny - but I don't mind a skinny girl if she's got blue eyes"). Poignantly scored and beautifully directed - the scene in close-up, as he kisses her, is both amorous and heartfelt and played out by two superb actors.
Providing a wonderful atmosphere to the movie is the music of composer George Duning. Duning was composer in residence at Columbia Pictures and scored most of their prestigious productions like "Bell,Book & Candle", "The Devil At Four O'Clock" and his best known work "Picnic" (1956) in which he pulled a master stroke by combining the tune Moonglow with his own love theme to great effect for the evocative scene where William Holden dances with Kim Novak. His music for 3.TEN TO YUMA boasts a lingering central theme. It is given lovely renditions throughout especially for solo guitar and distant solo female voice. Then with added lyrics by Ned Washington it was turned into a brilliant ballad and sung over the titles by the inimitable Frankie Laine.
Fifty years after 3.TEN TO YUMA an unfortunate revisionist remake was produced. It improved on the original NOT one iota and only served to emphasize how good the Delmer Daves classic really is!