The Nevadan

For Randolph Scott, the 1950s started with the Columbia film The Nevadan, co-starring Forrest Tucker, George Macready and Dorothy Malone. Scott and Tucker have a marvelous give-and-take relationship that anticipates the rivalries to come in the Boetticher films. Frank Faylen and Jeff Corey give colorful performances as henchmen who are brothers, and have a rivalry of their own. Jock Mahoney has a small role, and doubles for Scott in the fight scene at the end. Only the cheap Cinecolor process betrays the slight budget, excellent direction by the unsung Gordon Douglas.

Escaped outlaw Forrest Tucker stops a stranger following him. The stranger is Randolph Scott dressed up like a greenhorn. For no good reason, Tucker decides he needs a partner and Scott fits the bill. This is the kind of plot contrivance you just have to accept from a western like this, a programmer if there ever was one. Naturally, Scott isn't who he says he is. He just wanted to fool Tucker into taking him along so he could find where Tucker hid some gold. There's also an evil rancher, George Macready, who has a pretty daughter. The daughter's played by Dorothy Malone. Of course she and Scott fall for one another. It's all serviceable enough but nothing special. If you've seen enough westerns, all of this movie's pieces will seem familiar. Still, it's a Randolph Scott western. There are far worse ways to pass the time.

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.

The calibre of this slick Cinecolor Randolph Scott western is already signalled by the presence of George Macready's name in the opening credits, here playing the father of Dorothy Malone in her early brunette days in buckskin and stetson.

Both they and most of the cast (including Frank Faylen & Jeff Corey as a pair of bickering siblings) and crew had experience of working in film noirs, particularly evident in the interior scenes.

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.