3:10 TO YUMA - 1957
RATED - NR but probably PG for non-graphic violence. Family friendly.
RATINGS - 49 Amazon (4.5/5), 2,083 IMBD (7.7/10)
STARRING - Glenn Ford & Van Heflin
AWARDS - 1959 BAFTA Best Film nominee
THEMES - Justice, moral choices, courage, family.
STORY - This is the prequel to the current 3:10 TO YUMA starring Russell Crowe. The endings are different and the 2007 version earns its R rating with some very graphic violence but Crowe does a great job and it might be an Oscar nomination(s). Having seen both, I like the original. The story is about a hard working rancher/farmer (Van Heflin) who is down on his luck due to the drought and is barely supporting his wife and two young sons. He and his sons accidentally witness the robbery of a stagecoach and the murder of the coach driver. It's the infamous Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) and his ruthless gang. Wade is captured and the owner of the stagecoach line offers $200 to anyone who will guard Wade until they can put him on the 3:10 TO YUMA to take him back to prison from where he had escaped. Heflin, desperate for $200 after having been turned down by the bank for a loan, sees this as an opportunity for the money and as a chance to prove himself to his wife & sons who he believes are disappointed in him. Alone together for almost 4 hours in a hotel room as they await the train there is a kind of mutual admiration as well as hatred. Heflin admires Wade for his material success and self confidence but despises his lack of morality. Wade admires Heflin for his family and moral character but sees him as weak and vulnerable and is totally confident in his ability to bribe Heflin to let him go as well as in his gang who will rescue. The tension builds until you hear the whistle of the 3:10 TO YUMA and Heflin must make his way against great odds from the hotel to the train station. In the tradition of HIGH NOON, this is a well acted and written movie. You can watch this one with the entire family unlike the Crowe version. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 11/18/2007.
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