starring Glenn Ford, Van Heflin
directed by Delmer Daves
92 minutes
Down-on-his-luck rancher Dan Evans (Van Heflin) agrees to get Ben Wade (Glenn Ford), a notorious gang leader, on to the train to Yuma. The two men crossed paths earlier that same day when Ben and his gang were robbing a stagecoach. Dan didn’t interfere with the robbery because he was outnumbered and because he had his sons, both fairly young, with him. Ben is later caught by the authorities.
Dan is desperate for money to feed his family. It isn’t until the man who owns the stagecoach offers $200 to anyone who is willing to get Ben on the train to Yuma that Ben steps up. Ben repeatedly offers Dan considerably more money if Dan will just let him go but Dan refuses Ben’s offers. Ben points out that his gang will be back to free him and that they won't hesitate to kill anyone who gets in their way. Dan insists on completing the job he was hired to do despite the impossible odds.
Both lead actors delivered excellent performances. They spend a good deal of the movie in one another’s presence. The scenes where Ben tries to talk Dan out of continuing with his mission are what make the movie.
The ending moved me emotionally and also has me wondering. I think the proper interpretation is that Dan has impressed Ben so much that Ben abandons his gang and agrees to go to prison. He says something about having escaped from there before. It is a happy ending. I think that I am okay with that on the one hand but I am not fully satisfied with it on the other. Ben’s gang seemed considerably less trigger happy in the closing minutes of the movie than I expected them to be.
I wonder how this movie would hold up to another viewing. I didn’t know how it ended going in. I have not the 2007 version of this story. I’m kind of curious to see that version now, although I am not a fan of Russell Crowe.
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