I've seen quite a few Randolph Scott movies, and the thing I notice about him as a Western star is the frequent number of outfit changes he goes through in a picture. It's more noticeable in color of course, but it occurs in his black and white films as well. The interesting thing about "The Nevadan" is that the story actually builds in reasons for those changes, as in the switcheroo with outlaw Tanner (Forrest Tucker) in an early scene. I've never really heard anyone mention it before, but the next time you watch a Scott picture, keep it in mind and you'll usually catch him in three or four different shirts at least.
As for the story, Scott's character Andrew Barclay keeps his identity under wraps as a federal marshal, as he tries to find out where Tanner has stashed a quarter million in gold from a prior robbery. He finds himself competing with Red Sand town boss Ed Galt (George Macready) who also has his eyes on the prize as it were. Galt already has a hand in every business enterprise going in town, but as is usual in such cases, more is not enough.
I always enjoy seeing Jock Mahoney in a Western, and in the ones where he doesn't have a lead role, he usually turns up as a villain. Same story here, he's Galt's main henchman Sandy, but with only a single viewing on Encore Westerns yesterday, it seemed that his face wasn't always clearly visible. Galt was always having him do some dirty work, so it probably doesn't matter much, but if you didn't know he was listed in the credits, it would be pretty easy to miss him. Mahoney started in pictures as a stunt man, and his riding skill is apparent in that scene when Karen Galt (Dorothy Malone) kicks his horse away. To really appreciate his skill on a horse though, try to catch a few episodes of his Range Rider series where he really gets to show his stuff. The only thing that bothered me about his role here was when he gave chase to another rider and wound up hitting a tree branch knocking him off his horse; that looked just dumb.
As for Dorothy Malone, I've seen her in back to back Westerns now, the other being 1955's "Five Guns West". Competent in both, I'm still waiting to catch her in a role more like the one of the bookstore clerk she portrayed opposite Humphrey Bogart in "The Big Sleep". It was only a minor role, but the scene crackled with double entendres that made it a hit of the picture.
With all said and done, "The Nevadan" is merely an average flick, I really didn't detect much of a spark in any of the performances. Much of the supporting cast is composed of lesser known character actors, and the running gag between a pair of brothers (Frank Faylen and Jeff Corey) about a local saloon girl never amounted to anything. Encore Western fanatics like myself should be satisfied with a single viewing.
As for the story, Scott's character Andrew Barclay keeps his identity under wraps as a federal marshal, as he tries to find out where Tanner has stashed a quarter million in gold from a prior robbery. He finds himself competing with Red Sand town boss Ed Galt (George Macready) who also has his eyes on the prize as it were. Galt already has a hand in every business enterprise going in town, but as is usual in such cases, more is not enough.
I always enjoy seeing Jock Mahoney in a Western, and in the ones where he doesn't have a lead role, he usually turns up as a villain. Same story here, he's Galt's main henchman Sandy, but with only a single viewing on Encore Westerns yesterday, it seemed that his face wasn't always clearly visible. Galt was always having him do some dirty work, so it probably doesn't matter much, but if you didn't know he was listed in the credits, it would be pretty easy to miss him. Mahoney started in pictures as a stunt man, and his riding skill is apparent in that scene when Karen Galt (Dorothy Malone) kicks his horse away. To really appreciate his skill on a horse though, try to catch a few episodes of his Range Rider series where he really gets to show his stuff. The only thing that bothered me about his role here was when he gave chase to another rider and wound up hitting a tree branch knocking him off his horse; that looked just dumb.
As for Dorothy Malone, I've seen her in back to back Westerns now, the other being 1955's "Five Guns West". Competent in both, I'm still waiting to catch her in a role more like the one of the bookstore clerk she portrayed opposite Humphrey Bogart in "The Big Sleep". It was only a minor role, but the scene crackled with double entendres that made it a hit of the picture.
With all said and done, "The Nevadan" is merely an average flick, I really didn't detect much of a spark in any of the performances. Much of the supporting cast is composed of lesser known character actors, and the running gag between a pair of brothers (Frank Faylen and Jeff Corey) about a local saloon girl never amounted to anything. Encore Western fanatics like myself should be satisfied with a single viewing.