Customer Reviews
Almost a masterpiece - By: Trevor Willsmer, 10 Nov 2007 
From the days when Elmore Leonard was best known for his Westerns, 3:10 to Yuma come close to being a masterpiece but just fallls short in the final reel. Along with a tight, tense narrative, it's extremely well directed by unfairly overlooked Delmar Daves, whose mastery of the camera is visible in almost every frame. It also boasts a dazzling star performance from Glenn Ford that many of today's stars could pick up a few tricks from: between them, Daves & Ford almost (but not quite) manage to pull off the completely out of character ending. Leaves High Noon eating its dust.
High class western - By: S J Buck, 07 Nov 2007 Although clearly inspired by "High Noon", "3:10 to Yuma" is sufficiently original, & has a lot of other good qualities, that it compares favourably with that earlier great film.
Glenn Ford stars as Ben Wade the leader of a gang of theives who at the beginning of the film rob a stagecoach. Dan Evans witnesses the robbery & is powerless to do anything about it. Wade takes Evans horses but alllows him & his sons to walk away unscathed. In the second half of the film the two meet each other again, in completly different circumstances & the main plot unfolds.
The strong point of this film is its cinematography. Its beautifully shot in black & white & is presented in wide screen. The opening scene which unfolds over the opening credits deserves a special mention, but there are many other scenes which are excellently shot. Full credit to the director Delmer Daves & the Cinematographer Charles Lawton Jr. This element of the film merits 5 stars.
However, its not as good as High Noon, & had a few moments where I just didn't believe what was happening. Notable amongst these was the ending which seemed like a bit of a cop-out to me. I have not seen the remake yet (although I know someone who has & he was not impressed) but it will have to be very good to be better than this.
Classic Western ! - By: websurfer, 10 Sep 2006 1957's 3:10 to Yuma, is one of the most interesting & popular westerns of the 1950ths. Directed by Delmer Daves, once again teaming with Glenn Ford (after 1956's Jubal)the film is an interesting story revolving around a rancher played by Van Heflin(Shane)who has to escort a dangerous gang lider to the 3.10 train to Yuma from where he will go to jail. Ford plays the bad guy in this one, but in a very simpathetic way, rediming himself at the end...
Beautifully shot in black & white, this is a western that influenced the genre in the years that follow, inspiring for instance Kirk Douglas 1958 "Last Train from Gun Hill" & with his classic status being reinforced by the upcoming remake feauturing Russel Crowe & Christian Ballle. Glenn Ford, who passed away this year was always an underrated actor, however he was one of the best screen cowboys who ever lived, his films with Delmer Daves (Jubal, 3:10 to Yuma, Cowboy) plus " the fastest gun alive" & Anthony Manns's last western, 1960 "Cimarron" toguether with the noir classics "Gilda", "the Big Heat" & "the undecover man" make Glenn Ford a true Hollywood legend.
More than routine - By: J. Brigley, 27 Sep 2005 
This early script of Elmore Leonard carries some of the themes & motifs of his later work. There is the suggestion that Glenn Ford's character is no worse than the men who hunt him down & in fact he is shown to have a strict code of honour by which he lives: he also has respect for women & enjoys their company using charm to interest them. Also the doubling effect seen in much of Leonard's work is apparent as Ford & Heflin have a respect for each other which leads to Ford making unlikely but symbolic gestures. With hints of 'High Noon' & 'Shane' at first glance it appears another routine Western but the quality of the script & the central performances always make it interesting.
Superb Western - By: , 25 Aug 2004 
Glenn Ford is outlaw Ben Wade. Following an incident which involves a murder, Wades gang are jailed. The gang manage to escape leaving Wade to face the music alone. Fearing a repeat of this escape, officials organise an armed escort for Wade (Van Heflin) to take him on the risky journey to face justice in Yuma.
