Nevada (1944)

Just as Nevada wins $7000 in yellowback bills, Ben Ide takes his #7000 in yellowbacks and heads out to buy mining equipment. Burridge has his man Powell kill Ide and retrieve the money and ... See full summary »

Director:

Edward Killy

Writers:

Norman Houston (screenplay), Zane Grey (novel)

Stars:

Robert Mitchum, Anne Jeffreys, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Mitchum	...	Jim Lacy (as Bob Mitchum)
Anne Jeffreys	...	Julie Dexter
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Dusty
Nancy Gates	...	Hattie Ide
Richard Martin	...	Chito Rafferty
Craig Reynolds	...	Cash Burridge
Harry Woods	...	Joe Powell
Edmund Glover	...	Ed Nelson, Assayer
Alan Ward	...	Sheriff William H. Brewer
Harry McKim	...	Marvie Ide
Larry Wheat	...	Ben Ide
Jack Overman	...	Croupier Red Berry
Emmett Lynn	...	'Pancake' Comstock

Storyline

Just as Nevada wins $7000 in yellowback bills, Ben Ide takes his #7000 in yellowbacks and heads out to buy mining equipment. Burridge has his man Powell kill Ide and retrieve the money and Nevada finds Ide just as the posse arrives. Found with the money Nevada is arrested and Burridge now gets Powell to incite the local citizens to lynch Nevada.

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Plot Keywords:

nevada | posse | mining claim | craps game | jail break | 

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Taglines:

Hot Lead Answers A Claim-Jumping Gang!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Peripeteia stin Arizona

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Comstock Lode was a major discovery of silver and gold ore, on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, in the Virginia Range. The location is now located under Virginia City, Nevada. The discovery was made public in 1859.

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Goofs

'Yellowbacks' were issued from 1882 to 1922. This film is set around the time of the discovery of the Comstock Lode in the 1850s.

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Connections

Version of Nevada (1927)

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Soundtracks

"My Chiquita"
(uncredited)
Sung to the tune of "Oh Susannah"
Written by Stephen Foster
Sung by Richard Martin, Chito in the first scenes

User Reviews

Other than the first starring role of 'Bob Mitchum', it's a standard B-Western

Apparently Bob Mitchum (that's how he's billed in this film) did quite a few supporting roles before he got his first starring role in NEVADA. And, like many up and coming stars of the day, they gave him this chance in a B-movie role--a minor film that was a second feature for a double-feature. In other words, a lesser film made with a smaller budget. Oddly, however, they put Mitchum into this Western--I guess since they had no preconceptions about what types of roles he'd be good at they thought they could make him a cowboy hero--not realizing he'd make much more of a mark in Film Noir and dramas. As for Mitchum's acting, it was very good and I could see him starring in more of the like, though he only did a few more Westerns here and there.

Aside from the novelty of seeing Mitchum in a Gene Autry type role, there really isn't that much to distinguish this film. It's not bad but also suffers from the problem many B-movies had--they were rushed into production so quickly and shoved into such a short running time (rarely much more than 60 minutes) that the films cut corners plot-wise. Here, the plot resolutions happen way too quickly and conveniently for the film to be anything more than average for the genre.

The film's pluses were Mitchum's acting, the acting of some of the supporting actors (screen veteran Guinn Williams was a nice addition) and nice location shooting. Minuses were the obvious and poor use of stunt doubles and the very preachy ending that left the viewer with a bad final impression--the lady's soliloquy just sounded silly and fake. Overall, this is worth watching--particularly if you are a film historian or Robert Mitchum fan. Otherwise, it's a time passer and nothing more.