"3:10 to Yuma", is a great movie and does honor to the fifty years of viewing enjoyment that was begun with the initial release of the original "3:10 to Yuma" in 1957. Comparing the remake to the original is impossible because of the influence of theatrical drama that was the practice of Hollywood in '57. Glen Ford and Van Heflin and the cast put in a timeless performance in the original. To say I enjoyed the remake more, doesn't detract from the original, it just reflects my preference for the acting and production styles of 2007.
Russell Crowe put in a believable and multidimensional performance as a complicated but ultimately likable bad guy. I was kind of surprised Christian Bale didn't cut off his foot for this role, but you could definitely feel Dan Evan's desperation and ultimate self-actualization. Peter Fonda was...what can you say? He was Peter Fonda at his best as tougher than horseshoes Pinkerton operative, Byron McElroy. But, the biggest surprise was Ben Foster as wickedly twisted and ultimately scary Charlie Prince. The dude was just unhinged and capable of anything. Foster made this character very believable with his acting in the close-ups.
Most of the gear I made for the movie was unrecognizable because cold weather required coats, covering up much of the gun leather. Obviously, Crowe's and Foster's rigs got quite a bit of attention, but all of my gear was authentic to the "Old West" and deserving of appreciation for it historical representation.
Russell Crowe wears "The Hand of God" close at his side in this custom rig made for Crowe by Will Ghormley.
The 4 3/4" Colt, referred to as, "The Hand of God", was made for Crowe by U.S. Fire Arms, and plays an important role in the plot. Handed from character to character during the course of the story, this rig finds itself strapped to some of the most recognizable movie icons of our day. A broke-down old cowboy can't ask any better for his gear than that. Click to view U.S. Fire Arms web page: http://www.usfirearms.com/
Ben Foster, as cold-blooded killer, Charlie Prince,wears a pair of Schofield in a rig made for him by Will.
At one point, Ben Wade might have worn two guns, but in the end, only Will got to wear 'em.
My special thanks to my good friend and award winning saddle maker, Jon Watsabaugh. I couldn't have gotten everything done in time without his tireless efforts and great skill. He really pulled my bacon out of the fire this time!
One of Ben Wade's gang, "Campos", wore a large Bowie knife. I made the pattern for the knife sheath and Jon Watsabaugh built the sheath. After filming, the two knife sheaths came back to me, along with most of the leather I had rented to the movie. So the sheaths wouldn't go to waste, I built two Buffalo bone, coffin handled Bowies for the sheaths.
Peter Fonda, as Byron McElroy, carries the Hand of God over his saddle horn on the way to Contention.
One advantage to working leather is; you can make your own carved leather poster frame!
This holster was designed specifically for Russell Crowe. It had to look like it was from the 1800s but handle like a modern Fast-Draw holster. The black coloration was specially applied to look used as soon as it was made. The rig was colored using a special process so the color wouldn't come off on the actor's wardrobe. The holster was engineered with hidden features to facilitate rapid removal and re-holstering of the revolver.
The border tooling around the hand-carved floral design on the holster, was repeated along the length of the cartridge belt. The rig was hand sewn with 7-strand linen thread, coated with bees wax.
Crowe's
"Hand of God"
pistol sported gold crucifixes in each side of the grips. Two versions of the crucifixes can be identified in the movie.
New Sterling Silver, Old West Collection Buckle, shown on 2 1/2" belt with 1 1/2" billet.
