Wouldn't it have made sense for them to open fire on Wade's gang as soon as they rode into contention? Or at least as soon as they started talking and offering money to anyone who would help them? They had a clean shot on Wade's second in command. They should've just shot him as soon as he started trying to recruit the townsfolk.

I wondered that exact same thing Joel. I must've said to myself "shoot them!" a couple dozen times. Why is getting him to Yuma so important anyway? Kill the guy and be done with it! The guy they used as bait in the coach had to have known he was going to die anyway, as should have several other people, but he told them where the others were taking Wade anyway. I was waiting for the kid to start blasting away but it never happened. Wade's number two, Prince was his last name I believe, drove me crazy because I knew I had seen him before. I finally checked imdb.com and found out he also played Warren Worthington III, aka Angel, on X-Men 3.

I realize that having a town's citizens terrified of these outlaw gangs has made for many plots for film & television westerns,after all High Noon is a classic.But it just wasn't reality.Many of these towns were populated by men who had fought in the Civil War,so these were tough guys.Plus,just going out there to settle the west was a difficult challenge & wimps need not apply.And most of the men, & some of the women, knew how to handle guns.So whenever a bandit gang rode into town to rob it or just whoop it up,they were often met by equally tough folks ready,willing & able to put up a fight.The folks of Coffeville ended the Dalton gangs' reign by shooting them to pieces.

My only issue I had with the first half of the film was that I doubted there were many ladies that looked as good as that bartender did at the beginning. If any.

And, of course, that final gunfight was rather Hollywood, but the best of westerns always are, aren't they?

I like it when name actors pop up out of the blue for small roles/cameos. Luke Wilson's appearance was a pleasant surprise. I haven't seen him in much for a while.

Am I the only one who thought that they should've just killed Wade long before they reached Contention? How many times--when Wade killed Tucker, when Wade killed McElroy, before the Apache assault, after they Wade from the Chinese labor camp--were there opportunities when they should've realized that they should've done this?

Why in the WORLD do Butterfield and Dan Evans and the others allow Wade to stick his head out of the inn window and speak to Prince once Prince and the others ride into Contention? What possible benefit to their side is it for them to allow Wade to communicate with his henchmen to coordinate his escape? They even toss Wade his hat. They could've tossed him a gun or a stick of dynamite for all Butterfield knew, and Wade could've jumped out the window and rolled off the slanted roof to freedom if he wanted.

After Prince offers the people of Contention $200 to shoot any of Wade's captors, Marshall Weathers and his men abandon Wade, and come out of the inn, laying down their guns, thinking they'll be allowed to walk away. Instead, Prince and the people he paid off kill them anyway. After this, Butterfield tells Evans that he too, cannot go through with this, and implores Evans to walk away. William also tells his father that maybe they should go home. But how will they do this? Aren't they aware that the Marshall and his men got shot even after they abandoned Wade? Then again, how are Butterfield and William able to get out of the inn without getting shot? Why aren't the same men who shot Weathers and his men not waiting outside to shoot Butterfield and William?

After Evans makes a break for it with Wade, they duck into an alley in between buildings, where they crouch down. Wade warns Dan of an approaching gunman, whom Dan then kills. If the gunmen is one of the men offered money by Prince for killing Wade's captors, why did Wade warn Dan? Then, after they duck into one of the buildings, Wade says he'll go no further, and indicates that he willingly went along with Dan so that he could do something heroic in William's eyes. But then after a struggle with Evans, Evans tells him that he got his leg shot off by friendly fire during a retreat, and not by a Confederate, and talks about the difficulty of telling this to his son. At that point, Wade agrees to continue running with Dan. Why is this? I mean, I understand him sympathizing with Dan, but to go so far as to kill his own rescuers and willingly get on the train himself to Yuma?

Also, Butterfield offers to pay Evans his $200 salary, even just for walking away. What is Butterfield's incentive for this?

LN: Am I the only one who thought that they should've just killed Wade long before they reached Contention?
Judging by the first two posts I'd say no They should've just got a team together and baited the whole gang for a slaughter. It's the wild west, who would care anyway?

I also notice that I forgot to edit out the third nit that I wrote while watching the film before I posted it. Apparently, Butterfield and William waiting in the inn until after Evans and Wade left. Presumably, all the people paid by Prince followed Evans and Wade, and were no longer focused on the inn, or anyone who exited it.

While I agree the pragmatic question of "Why not just kill Wade?" is perplexing, in terms of the plot of the story I found it compelling. In effect, what Dan and the others are doing is relatively meaningless (aside from the financial aspects): Wade will most likely escape and his crimes have little impact on Dan anyway. Yet the message of the story is about duty and doing what's right.

In this sense, it reminds me of High Noon. The bad guys in High Noon are (implicitly) not coming into town to rob and steal; they want to kill Gary Cooper. It makes 100% perfect sense for Coop to leave town and resolve the issue under better circumstances. But he does his duty anyway.

The original version of 3:10 To Yuma remains my favorite.