Customer Reviews

Nevada

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This review refers to the DVD "Nevada" from the Zane Grey series. "Nevada" is the first starring role of Robert Mitchum after he was promoted from playing the heavy in Hopalong Cassidy Westerns. He would make another B-western, "West of the Pecos" before he was promoted to "A" features.

Although Nevada looks like a B-Western (it even has Richard Martin in the role of Chito Gonzales Bustamante Rafferty, the role he would play alongside Tim Holt in the popular Tim Holt series, the plot line of "Nevada" has some elements that are not normally found in B-Westerns like those of Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, or Hopalong Cassidy.

Robert Mitchum plays 'Nevada', a cowboy who isn't proud of being a "twenty-dollar-a-month cowboy". He goes to a mining town and resorts to gambling to improve his lot, and that's how he comes by his troubles. He gets framed for a murder he did not commit and while he clears his name he also helps develop the Comstock Lode. Excellent supporting role from Guinn "Big Boy" Williams and Anne Jeffreys.

Three stars.

This movie was the first in a new Zane Grey series by RKO and,for my money ,rates as the best of the lot thanks in tha main to a charismatic performance by Robert Mitchcum ,billed as Bob Mitchum on the credits of the picture.

He plays Jim Lacey ,dubbed Nevada by "Julie"(played with conviction by Anne Jeffrey ,whose live he saves by reining in a team of runaway horses .Jim heads for the Comstock lode where he hopes to strike it rich .The Lode appears to be worthless but two corrupt businessmen -played by Craig Reynolds and Harry Woods know different.They know that the mineral being uncovered that seems worthless actually bears silver and are buying up claims for a song while concealing the facts from the miners .When it seems a homesteader is about to expose the deception they ambush and kill him ,fixing the blame on Nevada .He narrowly escapes lynching thanks to his two sidekicks (Guinn Big Boy Williams and Richard Martin).He sets out to unmask the real killers ,but still finds time to romance the late homesteaders comely daughter (Nancy Gates)

The movie is well directed especially in the frequent action scenes by Edward Killy and it looks more expensive than it actually was .Its a B Movie given an A movie shine and gloss

Peformances are good especially from Mitchum and Anne Jeffreys as the tough but likeable heroine and this is a painless way for lovers of the Western to pass a pleasant hour or so.

This Robert Mitchum's first feature film. RKO hired Mitch, the original king of cool, for its Cowboy freatures when Tim Holt went into the service. Interesting to Tim Holt fans will be the appearence of Richard Martin in the role that made him almost famous. Richard Martin first played Chito Jose Bustamante Gonzales Rafferty in the World War 2 movie Bombardier. He would go on to play that same character 32 times, mostly in Tim Holt Westerns. This film is his first western, however, under that character's name. He would play it one other film along side Mitchum in the West of the Pecos. The Chito Rafferty character also appeared alongside James Warren in Wanderer of the Wasteland. One wonders how a character that first appeared in a modern war flick ended up being a longtime sidekick in Westerns. It would not be until 1947 that the Rafferty character appeared alongside cowboy star Tim Holt in Wild Horse Mesa. This is not a great film but it is a fun film. It is interesting to see Mitchum in his first feature.