Cheyenne Warrior: The Original Screenplay with Author Commentary
Shadow Watcher
Nobody Drowns in Mineral Lake

This 1957 release is seldom mentioned in the same sentence as HIGH NOON, THE SEARCHERS or SHANE, but like those classic films, it is one of the great westerns.

Certainly it is a much better film than its 2007 remake with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.

Notorious, albeit charismatic, outlaw Glenn Ford and his gang rob the Butterfield stagecoach, killing the driver. Captured after he dallies for a romantic interlude with saloon girl Felicia Farr, Ford is then transferred to a nearby town to await the afternoon train to the Yuma prison. His guards are two paid volunteers, Van Heflin, a hard-working rancher who desperately needs the money, and the town drunk, Henry Jones.

The suspense builds as Heflin and Ford hole up in a local hotel room, knowing that the outlaw's men will probably arrive to free their leader before the train stops and that Heflin will be no match for them.

Delmer Daves directed this superb nail-biter that emphasizes character without sacrificing action, and which looks fantastic in black-and-white.

Richard Jaeckel as Ford's chief henchman, Robert Emhardt as Mr. Butterfield and Leora Dana as Heflin's wife co-star. Frankie Laine sings the title song over the film's opening credits.

They made this movie when I was 5 years old and I finally got around to watching it last night. Don't know what took me so long but, obviously, good things comes to he who waits. "3:10 to Yuma" is a good, quality Western. It isn't in the same category as "High Noon" but it stands tall on the next level. What impressed me the most was the well-developed relationships that permeated the film. Of course, the most impressive inter-action was between the Van Heflin and Glen Ford characters. However, it seemed that just about every relationship was noteworthy as was the dialogue. Kudos to actors, director, and writer. The action was exciting yet not over done. For example, there was a fair amount of gun fire but a minimal amount of fatalities. That's something that's often overdone in the Western genre. There was some romance but that was very well presented also. The suspense was very real (the movie's title helps to enhance the suspense the same way "High Noon" helped to focus the suspense in that movie). The ending had me a bit mystified but then I appreciated the way it turned around.

I like a good Western and I'm glad to see there are some I missed the first time around (and THEN some in the case of "3:10 to Yuma"). It is a style of movie that is regularly overlooked at Oscar time except when the occassional Big Name actor stars in it. Yet, when properly developed, it can bring together action, romance, suspense, humor (Gabby Hayes anyone?) and wrap it all up in a morality play about good and evil. Akira Kurosawa had his Samurai movies with the same purpose. We Americans have our Westerns. "3:10 to Yuma" is a reminder of why that can be something to be proud of.

I wanted to see this version before the recent re-make and was not disappointed. The performances are good and the deeper emotional and ethical issues make for contemplative entertainment. The remake will have to be very good to meet the standard of this earlier version.

3:10 TO YUMA is a well crafted psychological western with the emphasis on the tense relationship between bad guy GLENN FORD, a killer and a thief, and upstanding good man VAN HEFLIN, struggling to keep his ranch going during a drought and putting food on the table for his wife and two kids.

The focus is really on whether or not Ford can smoothtalk his way out of his predicament, handcuffed and ready to be taken off to jail on the 3:10 to Yuma if Heflin gets his way. Heflin takes on the assignment reluctantly but he's determined not to let Ford get away with murder.

How the situation is resolved is enough to keep the viewer glued to the action, however slow paced some of it is. Director Delmer Daves gets the most suspense out of the film's last ten minutes, when you don't know what to expect in the way of a satisfying conclusion.

However, there are some script problems with the ending that didn't satisfy me as to the motivations of Glenn Ford's character, as well as Van Heflin's solid citizen. It seemed a bit rushed and unbelievable in how the score was settled, with a convenient thunderstorm assuring us that Van's ranch would survive the drought and he'd go home to his wife and kids with new respect.

Whatever weaknesses in the script, there's no doubt that Ford and Heflin are at the top of their powers as the leads who remain the focal point of the story. They give mesmerizing performances.

Summing up: Not perfect by any means, but good, solid performances from the entire cast is a big help. Very watchable. Frankie Laine does a nice job on the title song in true 50's style.

Perhaps due to the recent success of the remake of this short story by Elmore Leonard, this re-issue of the '57 classic western starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin was released. For students of screenwriting both versions offer an important lesson in the "less is more" axiom. The original was a taut, short (barely over 90 minutes) tale that concentrated on its 2 main characters whereas the recent remake offers too many characters and subplots that makes this remake not as appealing as the original did. Also the characterizations of the 2 characters are quite different from the original. Whereas Ford is shown as a bad guy who only draws when confronted, Crowe in the same role, is a Bible quoting psychotic who will shoot on mere provocation when crossed. Also the farmer character as played by Heflin is now a disabled Civil war veteran who is burdened by marital problems with his wife. Also the ending has been drastically changed in the remake and a very unsatisfactory, nonsensical one at that!! I've been taken to task for my criticism of the remake but I will hold steadfast to my opinion that if you build up sympathy for a character in a film--you don't kill him off unless there is a plausible reason for it which the remake did not have. So do see this classic Western, because you'll finally appreciate what a fine under-rated actor Ford was in comparison to Russell Crowe.