It's interesting to me what was once a technical limitation can become an artistic and story telling strength. Black and white is how we understood film for over fifty years. Yes, there were advances on making films in color as early as 1903 with The Great Train Robbery and 1915's The Birth of a Nation. The former painted individual portions of the image frame by frame and the later would dye sections of the film different colors to denote the different portions of the story (example, Lincoln's sections were purple). These early experiments were not only to see how effective it could be, but how it could shape a person's experience with their work.
Once color had been regularly added to films (my very unscientific research shows that this mainly started showing up in the mid 1920's, here is a link to some info about the first color all talking western), it was only a matter of time when the economy of such a process would make it that color was going to cost the same as a black and white film. Before that happened completely, black and white did exist side by side as ways of making major studio films. There were separate Academy Awards for Best Art Direction from 1940-1966 for black and white films and for color films.
Even in AFI's top 100 films, the first two Citizen Kane (1941) and Casablanca (1942) are black and white and the next two The Godfather (1972) and Gone With The Wind (1939) are in color.
After watching the first two films in my list for the Year Of The Western and seeing them both in color, it didn't occur to me that any films made after them would be in black in white. I don't know why that possibility didn't cross my mind, maybe it is because I associate black and white more with television of this time and not films.
But then I realized that Psycho came out in 1960. Hitchcock could have made that in color but purposefully chose black and white and the shower scene is all the more effective for it (also, chocolate syrup is cheaper than mixing fake blood).
The palette that is chosen is just as an important a decision as is the other tools picked when telling the story you want to tell. 3:10 to Yuma understood this. I now do too.
Film #3 3:10 To Yuma (1957)
Here is the imdb.com cast listing. Here is the wikipedia page about the production.
This was the cure for what ailed me after watching The Searchers. I got a sharp, relatively lean, 90 minute literal ticking clock suspense film that just happen to use a western's clothes.
Hard on his luck rancher Dan Evans (Van Heflin) happens to come across a stagecoach robbery being committed by Ben Wade (Glenn Ford). Knowing that he would get himself shot for trying to stop it, Dan stands by while Wade and his outfit rob the stagecoach and send his horses away (so that Dan can't ride ahead and alert the sheriff).
Dan heads back home to tell his wife about what happened and you learn that they are just hanging on by a thread financially due to a long running drought. She convinces him to head into town to try to borrow two hundred dollars from a local banker so that they can get access to water for their herd.
Dan runs into the sheriff and his men as they are assessing the stagecoach robbery and find out that Wade's gang headed into town. The local drunk (Henry Jones) was the last to head out so he saw that Wade was still in town alone. The sheriff and townsfolk plan on arresting Wade and convince Dan to help them out. He does so reluctantly, but he knows it is the right thing to do.
When they capture Wade, one of his outfit sees that he is arrested and rides out of town to round up the rest of Wade's men and come back to get their leader.
The sheriff comes up with a unique plan to stay ahead of the outfit. They decide they are going to make them believe a stagecoach is holding Wade and send them chasing it in the opposite direction of where they intend to take him, Contention City, where a train will be stopping at 3:10 the next day headed to Yuma. The only problem is, they need two men to take Wade and hide him until the train comes. Dan, hearing that the man who owns the stagecoach line is offering two hundred dollars to do this, volunteers. This sets the stage for our hesitant hero and the charming villain to be forced into an odd partnership as neither one wants to particularly be where they are.
It took me longer to get through the basic set up as this is the most plot driven film I have seen yet (out of three, I know), but I can enjoy a complicated set up. It means more opportunity for drama, twists, and character beats that you don't see coming.
From the jump, you see what Dan is all about. He has been trying to play by the rules his whole life and wants to make the right decisions. He tells his wife that once the drought breaks, all will be green. You know they both want to believe that, but they don't really. He knows getting anywhere near Ben Wade is bad news and will put his family in jeopardy. But he also knows that the money is too good to pass up. I expected the good man will make the hard choice to save his family. What I didn't expect was Ben Wade to be one of the most compelling characters I have seen in a film in a long time.
Not knowing much about Glenn Ford, I was blown away with how charismatic, intelligent, and romantic his Ben Wade is. When reading up on his casting, he was offered the part of Dan but turned it down, wanting the role of Ben Wade instead. Ford was known for playing the good guy, this was his rare turn bad and it really elevates the film.
I never doubted for a second that if you let your guard down around Wade, that he would take advantage and more than likely kill you. I enjoyed how he seemed to take everything in stride, always being him, always asking questions, trying to find a crack to exploit, or to lull you into thinking there was a common ground. Glenn Ford's near smile with every line made you believe that he was always entertained by the challenge at hand, and that he was a step ahead.
Also, he has his own sense of honor and justice. He made sure the stagehand that was killed in the beginning of the film was taken to his home ("A man should be buried with he lives") and that he was willing to pay Dan two dollars for the inconvenience of driving away his horses as that held up Dan's ability to herd his cattle that day. Even at the end of the film, he makes a decision based upon his own code, even if it will likely catch him some trouble from his own outfit.
Below is a nice bit between Dan and Ben towards the end of the film. It's within 30 minutes of the train arriving and it has been found by one of Ben's outfit that he is in Contention City. It is now a matter of what will happen first, the train arriving or Ben's men coming in to get him. Just watch the way Glenn Ford keeps trying to chip away at Dan's resolve and motivation.
It's not by accident I mention Hitchcock above when talking about 3:10 to Yuma. When upon reading that the decision was to make this film in black and white instead of color, I appreciated that they were they were telling a story that had many shades of gray while being shot in stark black and white. It's a great contrast to the characters and the story being told. Also, as the clock ticks closer and closer to 3:10, what starts out as a rather straight forward plan gets more and more complicated, raising the tension until the moment Dan has to make the decision to walk Ben out of the hotel to the train station. It has shades of Hitchcock all over it.
I really liked this film a lot. It didn't get in the way of itself with any distractions ("I don't like fat," Ben says to Dan over dinner and it might as well sum up the film) and it wonderfully piled on problem after problem as time was running out. I know I went on about Glenn Ford, but credit should go to Van Heflin as Dan as well. You can see the struggle on his face and the weight of the world on his shoulders. There wasn't really a weak performance in the whole film (even the child actors were tolerable, not an easy feat back then).
I will say this film ends of a optimistic note, but not hopeful. It could have easily been a super happy ending in which the good man gets rewarded but it doesn't go that far. It suggests things might get better. That feels about right for this film and what was going with the west at that time. Keep moving forward. It has to rain some time.
Western Checklist (nowhere near official or scientific):
- Weird gang member names? Not that I can recall. Ben's right hand man was named Charlie Prince. It would have been better if he was named Prince Charlie, though.
- Beautiful landscapes? Even in black and white, the west still is purty.
- 1957 horses terrified? Didn't look like any horses were traumatized in this film. That poor pocket watch didn't make it though.
- Odd musical cues to denote whimsical comedy? Not that I can recall. There were some spots of humor to be had, but the tone of the film stayed pretty serious on all accounts.
- Does a building catch fire? No. Insurance rates were not affected in Brisbee or Contention City.
- How many Ernest Borgnines? Zero, however the town drunk, played by Henry Jones, is in one of my least favorite episodes of the Twilight Zone, Mr. Bevis.
- Does it have a theme song with the name of the film in the title? Yes, and it is pretty good.
Rating:
I would give this 4.25 of our 5 tin stars. It is a very solid concept that fits well as a western. The plan to get Wade to the Contention City is a smart one and the way his outfit complicate it is smart as well. What really sells this film is the dynamic between Dan and Ben. Having them being forced into a hotel room and talking to each other gives this film a more psychological feel than what I have seen so far. Highly recommended!
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