Movie Music: George Duning's "3:10 to Yuma" (1957)

George Duning's brooding score perfectly suits the original 3:10 to Yuma (1957). It's dark, intense, and full of emotions, just like the film, which tells the story of a desperate rancher (Dan Evers) who agrees to help take a dangerous outlaw (Glenn Ford) to the train to Yuma State Prison in exchange for enough money to save his drought-stricken cattle. 

If you had a western movie or TV show theme song you needed sung back in the 1950s, Frankie Laine was a the guy you wanted singing it. His husky, lonesome voice so perfectly evokes the sorts of strong, yet weary men that filled those stories. 

"Lovely Emily" reuses the melody from the "Main Title," but turns it into a tender love song, simple and haunting. 

"One More Shot" might be my favorite cue of all. It combines both danger and peace, starting out with a shiver of violence, then pulling in a wistful melody that was used in earlier scenes at Dan Evers' quiet ranch. This track feels very yearning and anxious to me. And there's a menacing little duet between piano and guitar that reminds us there's a lot to be done before this can be resolved. Parts of the theme song come into play too, never letting us forget about that train. 

That last video is part of a 15-minute suite of music from the film on YouTube, if you want to hear more of this score!

(This review originally appeared here at J and J Productions on January 14, 2016.)