The Nevadan (1950)

Too much of everything

How sad is this?

best movie i've ever seen.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Agree with Ashew,Macready unfairly discounted in Westerns.He was definitely equal to a star like Randy Scott,and he was convincing as a Western heavy.Who else could direct a bunch of dopes to do his bidding?That he had good manners,dressed well,spoke with a commanding voice only made him more convincing as a brilliant man gone bad,perfect for any Western.This is his third movie opposite Scott,Coroner Creek when he's nastier to his wife than here,Doolins Of Oklahoma as a good lawman and the narrator,and The Stranger Wore A Gun.There's plenty of action and Dorothy Malone as Galt's daughter (pre Peyton Place for Malone and Macready)comedy with Faylen and Corey,additional menace from Tucker.I liked it!

The Nevadan is a good entertaining, dependable Randolph Scott western, as he plays a mysterious loner, encountering a cast of interesting characters. I hate to give away the storyline, but imagine Forrest Tucker as the bad guy, the alluring and nice to look at Dorothy Malone, her nasty father's henchmen, including Jock Mahoney, a stolen shipment of gold, and some well placed shootouts. Perfectly paced and visually appealing, accomplished by the finest cinematography, thanks to Charles Lawton Jr and filmed on locations in magnificent Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California.Like I stated earlier, I hate to give away story lines and many have already given the reader adequate synopsis for this film. I can only add, if you are a fan of Randolph Scott and western genre from the 1950s, The Nevadan will not disappoint.

The Nevadan finds Randolph Scott in a three cornered battle for some stolen gold that escaped outlaw Forrest Tucker has hidden away. After Tucker has made good an escape from authorities, Scott turns up on his trail and proves quite useful. Still Tucker can't figure out why he's turning up all the time and being so helpful.The other part of this mystery is George MacReady who was doing several Randolph Scott westerns at this time. He's a seemingly respectable rancher, but he's got some thugs on the payroll who include Jock Mahoney and bickering brothers Frank Faylen and Jeff Corey ready to do his bidding and he's cutting himself in on Tucker's hidden treasure.Complicating all this is Dorothy Malone, MacReady's daughter, a lovely thing who is totally clueless about her old man. She takes a fancy to Scott and he to her which causes problems for everyone involved.The Nevadan is a good Randolph Scott western that tries for a bit of mystery. The action is good, but the mystery isn't. The people in the film are cast in roles traditional to them so any experienced film watcher can almost predict what will happen.Best part of The Nevadan is the inevitable three cornered shootout at the location of the loot. I think you can figure out who comes out on top.

This movie just begins the transition from the old, cartoonish Scott Westerns and the more adult Boetticher films...they were getting there, but just not there yet. This movie is still very heavy on the one-dimensional characters and you won't find any Method acting, but Randolph Scott had aged just perfectly by this point...the lines in his face providing a mature ruggedness...no more matinée idol good looks...just a weather-beaten cowboy. His acting isn't very good in this one, but he always looked the part of the hero (except for the hat he wears in the beginning of the film...impossible to take him seriously in that ridiculous thing).The IMDb critics, as well as many legitimate critics, pile on top of poor George Macready, complaining that he didn't belong in Westerns. The problem with these poor misguided folks is that they expect a Western to only contain southern accents. Our land was settled by those from all over the UK, Europe, and beyond, so the fact that George Macready has the speech pattern and accent that he does would actually be MORE accurate for the time period, not less. And how can anyone complain about him as the bad guy when his normal speaking voice was so phenomenal and unique...the man literally sounds like a snake! He's a fine actor and I always enjoy watching him.Although Forrest Tucker does a fairly good job throughout, the bulk of the supporting cast all give performances that never ring true. The best actor in the whole movie? Dorothy Malone. I was really surprised at how good she was. I had only ever seen her as a blonde, so I almost didn't recognize her as a brunette...and so young and innocent! She looked absolutely beautiful, and gave a uniformly good and honest performance.I'm a guy who likes my action films undiluted with dopey love stories, but I must say that the scenes between Scott and Malone were excellent...they had some real chemistry...and I think because Ms. Malone was such a good actress, she raised Scott's performance up to where it should have been throughout. ***QUASI-SPOILERS COMING UP*** The problem is, they never hug, never kiss, never fall in love in a way that means anything...always from a distance. Their chemistry was really wasted. He doesn't even say goodbye to her at the end of the movie and she has a dopey line to let the audience know he'll be back!! That was a big let-down.Unless you're a die-hard Randolph Scott fan, or want to get an eyeful of an adorable Dorothy Malone, I would suggest letting this film go by. The best of the Scott films are: The Tall T, Ride Lonesome, Seven Men From Now, and Comanche Station...those are guaranteed to entertain.