3:10 to Yuma

Rating:
Summary: The Great Build-Up
Review: This 50's Western. which received great reviews on it's debut, is well worth the praise. The psychological build-up is gradual, with smaller peaks along the way (the man hanging by the stairs is a particularly memorable one) until the viewer is as tense as the characters. The characterization is excellent and it stars several well-known names, including Glenn Ford and Van Heflin. If you're a western movie buff, it's well worth a look.

Rating:
Summary: The Great Build-Up
Review: This 50's Western. which received great reviews on it's debut, is well worth the praise. The psychological build-up is gradual, with smaller peaks along the way (the man hanging by the stairs is a particularly memorable one) until the viewer is as tense as the characters. The characterization is excellent and it stars several well-known names, including Glenn Ford and Van Heflin. If you're a western movie buff, it's well worth a look.

Rating:
Summary: 3:10 to Hombre
Review: Van Heflin stars as a struggling rancher who agrees to guard outlaw Glenn Ford for $200 as he is being escorted to jail in Yuma. Ford killed a stagecoach driver while robbing the coach, but he is backed by a loyal gang that everyone fears. Heflin is assisted by town drunk Henry Jones. There's a lot going on in this brief, tense western. The relationship between Heflin and Ford is really interesting, as Heflin finds more courage than we thought he had, and Ford makes his character almost likeable as he mentally works over his captor. There is also an interesting relationship between Heflin and his wife, quite complicated given their brief time together on screen. She seems to question his courage and strength of character. Director Delmer Daves gradually builds the tension, but never allows it to let-up, propelling the story to its exciting conclusion. The centerpiece of the film is the performances of the two stars. Ford, not a great actor as a rule, really digs into this character and makes him quite memorable, while Heflin, a favourite character actor of mine, is totally convincing as the beleaguered farmer, forced into the role of hero that he never wanted, but wants to prove he can handle. This may not be a very well known film, but it should be considered one of those hidden treasures that it's fun to unearth. Suspenseful, well written, with enough action and atmosphere to make it a classic western. Look for this one!

Rating:
Summary: A Western Hidden Treasure
Review: Van Heflin stars as a struggling rancher who agrees to guard outlaw Glenn Ford for $200 as he is being escorted to jail in Yuma. Ford killed a stagecoach driver while robbing the coach, but he is backed by a loyal gang that everyone fears. Heflin is assisted by town drunk Henry Jones. There's a lot going on in this brief, tense western. The relationship between Heflin and Ford is really interesting, as Heflin finds more courage than we thought he had, and Ford makes his character almost likeable as he mentally works over his captor. There is also an interesting relationship between Heflin and his wife, quite complicated given their brief time together on screen. She seems to question his courage and strength of character. Director Delmer Daves gradually builds the tension, but never allows it to let-up, propelling the story to its exciting conclusion. The centerpiece of the film is the performances of the two stars. Ford, not a great actor as a rule, really digs into this character and makes him quite memorable, while Heflin, a favourite character actor of mine, is totally convincing as the beleaguered farmer, forced into the role of hero that he never wanted, but wants to prove he can handle. This may not be a very well known film, but it should be considered one of those hidden treasures that it's fun to unearth. Suspenseful, well written, with enough action and atmosphere to make it a classic western. Look for this one!

Rating:
Summary: Seduction 101 courtesy of Glenn Ford
Review: Well, this is how you handle women guys. (spoiler alert) First he has Felicia Farr drooling all over herself, and then while in handcuffs takes a run at Van Heflins wife. That is machismo at its best. Oh yeah, the rest of story. Well, Ford is quite simply the most charming, ruthless, manipulative, and mercurial bad guy in the history of the Western. Required viewing for Psych majors and fledgling seduction artists.

The DVD transfer is excellent in widescreen and the sound is terrific...if you fast forward past one of Hollywood's worst theme songs "...I hear a ruma, when you take the 3:10 to Yuma, you can see the ghosts of outlaws riding by, way up high, in the skyyyyyyyyyy..." Have a pie, in your eye! Jeez, pretty funny though. Great movie, I don't want to talk about the ending...I mean I really don't want to talk about it. Didn't they have a jail in that town? Otis Campbell must have already checked in or something.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Forgotten Western
Review: When speaking of the great Westerns such as SHANE, THE SEARCHERS and HIGH NOON, 3:10 TO YUMA should definitely be mentioned. All of these films came out in the 50's, but 3:10 has somehow been forgotten.

Van Heflin plays a farmer suffering from a drought. He is a quiet, seemingly passive man who becomes a reluctant hero. Heflin agrees to hold criminal Glenn Ford in a hotel room for $200 just long enough for the train to Yuma to leave at 3:10. Ford's gang, however, learns about the situation and plans to take action. The characters and performances by Ford and Heflin make the film work. Heflin is outwardly reluctant to take this job, but his strength lies within. The struggle within him is evident: Here's a family man who can save his farm or do what he knows is right. Ford, the criminal, is alluring, almost charming. He's a con artist and a cold-blooded killer, but you can't help liking him just a little. Sure, he's a criminal, but not your typical stereotyped Western bad guy. The suspense and tension waiting for the train rival that of HIGH NOON (just without the clock!). Even if you don't like Westerns, you'll like 3:10 TO YUMA.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Forgotten Western
Review: When speaking of the great Westerns such as SHANE, THE SEARCHERS and HIGH NOON, 3:10 TO YUMA should definitely be mentioned. All of these films came out in the 50's, but 3:10 has somehow been forgotten.

Van Heflin plays a farmer suffering from a drought. He is a quiet, seemingly passive man who becomes a reluctant hero. Heflin agrees to hold criminal Glenn Ford in a hotel room for $200 just long enough for the train to Yuma to leave at 3:10. Ford's gang, however, learns about the situation and plans to take action. The characters and performances by Ford and Heflin make the film work. Heflin is outwardly reluctant to take this job, but his strength lies within. The struggle within him is evident: Here's a family man who can save his farm or do what he knows is right. Ford, the criminal, is alluring, almost charming. He's a con artist and a cold-blooded killer, but you can't help liking him just a little. Sure, he's a criminal, but not your typical stereotyped Western bad guy. The suspense and tension waiting for the train rival that of HIGH NOON (just without the clock!). Even if you don't like Westerns, you'll like 3:10 TO YUMA.