80
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonSan Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonDirected with a touch both delicate and muscular by the great Delmer Daves, it's truly a Western for those who don't like Westerns, and will be treasured by those that do. [02 Jun 2013, p.Q21]
- 88Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonBased on an Elmore Leonard story: the classic suspense western in which a desperate farmer (Van Heflin), trying to save his spread, hires on to transport a sardonic outlaw chief (Glenn Ford) to Yuma. [25 Jul 2008, p.C8]
- 80The New York TimesBosley CrowtherThe New York TimesBosley CrowtherA good, lively script has been written by Halsted Welles, and sharp, business-like direction has been contributed by Delmer Daves.What's more, the whole thing is neatly acted.
- 80The New YorkerMichael SragowThe New YorkerMichael SragowThe compositions evoke a kind of open-air claustrophobia, whether in overhead shots that pin the characters in the landscape or in tableaux of men, women, and children staving off the chaos of the wide-open spaces with their weary fences and weathered towns.
- 80Time OutStephen GarrettTime OutStephen GarrettAs philosophically complex as it is starkly photographed, Delmer Daves's '50s frontier thriller questions heroism---mocks it and subverts it, really---before unveiling courage without celebration.
- 80Film ThreatFilm ThreatFor the performances and the atmosphere, it’s worth it.
- 75Slant MagazineSlant MagazineThe offhand wryness of Elmore Leonard’s original story is nicely captured in Halsted Welles’s adaptation.
- This is a landmark western, redefining what the genre was capable of doing, and is one of Daves's best works.
- 75Chicago ReaderPat GrahamChicago ReaderPat GrahamVeteran director Delmer Daves hit his stride with a series of tense, modestly budgeted westerns in the 50s... Despite an abundance of jabber, this 1957 film is often considered his best.