Christian Bale and Gretchen Mol in 3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate)
Elmore Leonard's terse tale 3:10 to Yuma (opening September 7 throughout San Diego) receives its second screen adaptation this month. The first version came out in 1957 and starred Glenn Ford and Van Heflin. The film was directed by studio veteran Delmer Daves. This latest adaptation is directed by James Mangold (of Walk the Line ) and stars Christian Bale and Russell Crowe.
Leonard's story made for a very simple and spare western in 1957. The premise involves Dan Evans, a down on his luck rancher, that signs on to escort Ben Wade, a notorious outlaw, to the nearest town with a railway station where Wade will be put on a train that will take him to court and ultimately to prison. The bulk of Daves' film took place in a hotel room where the two men sized each other up as the clock slowly ticked away the minutes. It played out like High Noon with psychological tension mounting but the gunplay being fairly minimal.
