Two men are released from the Arizona Territorial Prison at Yuma in 1898. One, The Dutchman, is out to get both gold and revenge from certain people in a small mining town who had him imprisoned unjustly. The other, McBain, is just trying to go straight, but that is easier said than done once The Dutchman involves him in his gold theft scheme. Based on the 1949 novel The Asphalt Jungle by W. R. Burnett, the story is given an 1898 setting. It is the second film adaptation of the novel following 1950's noir classic The Asphalt Jungle.
Acting
Alan Ladd's icy restraint vs. Borgnine's volcanic temper.
Cinematography
Death Valley locations that cook the characters alive.
Director
Delmer Daves
Alan Ladd
Peter Van Hoek (The Dutchman)
Ernest Borgnine
John McBain
Katy Jurado
Anita
Claire Kelly
Ada Winton
Kent Smith
Cyril Lounsberry
Nehemiah Persoff
Vincente (The Powder Monkey)
Robert Emhardt
Sample
Anthony Caruso
Comanche
Adam Williams
Deputy Leslie
Ford Rainey
Yuma Prison Warden
John Daheim
Lee
Jack Perkins
Miner (uncredited)
Anna Navarro
Raquel
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Delmer Daves shot this immediately after Cowboy (1958), making 1958 his year of deconstructing Western heroism.
This adaptation strips the urban cynicism of Asphalt Jungle for a more romantic, expansive Western sensibility—reflecting 1950s audiences' preference for morally cleaner antiheroes.
US
