Month: March 2017

There are two notable films entitled 3:10 To Yuma, and we’ll be taking a look at both in this episode. There’s the 1957 original, a B&W studio Western directed by Delmar Davis, and the 2007 remake from James Mangold, with a cast full of famous names. It turns out both are pretty worthwhile, and in fact, they make a very interesting point/counterpoint next to each other, coming at similar thematics from very different perspectives. Dad and I do end up deciding we preferred one over the other, but the experience of watching both is probably what made them most fun to talk about. A lot of that turns on the dramatic difference in the endings, which we discuss at length, as well as many other changes both deliberate and accidental, clever and ill-advised. Further topics of conversation include Van Heflin’s frequently shamed masculinity, how cool murder can be, Seth Rogen’s suitability for the genre, the merits of a stacked supporting cast versus a well cast two-hander, Elmore Leonard, Logan Lerman, Russell Crowe’s ability to biologically secrete dinner forks, and a few of our most frequently revisited themes, Native Americans used as dangerous window dressing and the morality of just plain killing bad guys for the greater good. As usual, we liked the films very much, and you should probably see them, if you haven’t already.

We spend so much time on 3:10 To Yuma that we’re fairly brief on other films we’ve seen, but we spend some time singing the praises of Logan, the most recent James Mangold film, which quite deliberately quotes Shane as a thematic inspiration. Next time on the podcast, we’ll be talking about Disney’s Davy Crockett in all its permutations, as well as Disney’s input on the Western genre, back in the day. You can reach us through westernswithdad@gmail.com, and please rate and review us on iTunes! It’s helpful for our visibility on iTunes!

3:10 To Yuma (1957) stars Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, and was directed by Delmar Daves. 3:10 To Yuma (2007) stars Russell Crowe, Christian Bale and Ben Foster, and was directed by James Mangold.

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In this episode, we have a discussion about another listener request, 1959’s Last Train From Gun Hill, a John Sturges potboiler revenge yarn starring Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn. And this one is pretty damn kickass. Telling the story of Marshall Matt Morgan’s quest for justice after the rape and murder of his wife, it features a lot of familiar tropes and characterizations mixed up in a pretty unique way, and as we detail at length, bares an enormous number of similarities to the recent, excellent Keanu Reeves action film John Wick. So much so, in fact, that I believe it was likely a driving inspiration for that movie! There’s a large amount of John Wick talk in this episode, as a matter of fact, and I recommend both as companion films. Topics of conversation include Dad absolutely taking Dimitri Tiomkin to task for his mediocrity, the greatness of Kirk Douglas in a rage, the copious great dialogue sequences throughout the film, a creative take on the femme fatale (as played by Morticia Addams!), Anthony Quinn’s racial mutability, and just our general appreciation of the film itself. This is a damn good one, and for me, who had never even heard of it before we selected it, quite the find. We also do some low quality Kirk Douglas impersonations.

Other films discussed are, quite appropriately, John Wick Part II, which Dad just saw in theaters, and Get Out, which I saw. We like both of them immensely. There’s also a quick anecdote about the 80s adaptation of Masters of the Universe, the Dolph Lundgren film. In the next episode, we’ll be experimenting with our format very slightly, and talking about two films. Though to be fair, they’re both called 3:10 To Yuma. It’ll be the original and the remake. You can reach us at westernswithdad@gmail.com (let us know what movies you’d like to hear us talk about!), and please leave ratings and reviews for us on iTunes, which is helpful to the show!

Last Train From Gun Hill was directed by John Sturges and stars Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn. As a special note, the music this week is not from Last Train From Gun Hill, but another Dimitri Tiomkin score, The Guns of the Navarone! Dad says they all sound the same!

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