3:10 to Yuma

Prolific actor Glenn Ford (1916-2006) often embodied characters of sturdy rectitude but not often better than in Jubal (1956), in which his loyalty to the good-hearted rancher (Ernest Borgnine) who gives him a job is sorely tested by the man's desperately flirtatious wife (Valerie French). Throw in a jealous cowhand (Rod Steiger) whose advances the missus has already rebuffed, and trouble is soon brewing like a cup of joe over a crackling campfire. Playing brilliantly against type, Ford is all insidious charm as Jack Wade in Yuma (1957), a -cagey outlaw being guarded by Van Heflin's cowpuncher, awaiting the train to take him to prison. -Heflin has the more prominent role, but Ford is the scene stealer. VERDICT These old-fashioned (in the best sense of the word) Westerns from the genre's golden age showcase a mighty fine actor in collaboration with veteran oater director Daves. Jubal is that rare extra-less Criterion release, but Yuma boasts a new interview with Ford's son and biographer, Peter Ford, and one with writer Elmore Leonard, whose short story inspired the script. Western lovers should hitch up their armchair remotes.-Jeff T. Dick, Davenport, IA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.