Sadly Over-hyped

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A man called Nevada is on the run from both the law and some outlaws. He was involved in a shoot-out with the latter over a crooked card game and is wrongly accused of murder by the former. The real killer is a crooked mining boss who assassinates the father of a prospecting family who live on silver-rich land that he wants for himself.It would be fair to say that Nevada is only really notable for one thing and that is as the film where Robert Mitchum was given his first starring role. He isn't much remembered nowadays as a western star though. The genre wasn't suited that well to allow him to play to his own specific strengths. Nevertheless, he is certainly good enough here and it's a pretty decent performance. The movie itself is a fairly formulaic B-western – a film designed at the time to fit into a cinematic programme as the second highest billed feature – although it's still an enjoyable enough effort. It's paced well, with decent enough characters and story. While Nevada hardly breaks the mould, it's still good fun.

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.

Once again a well-made RKO Radio Picture from yesteryear provides a fine entertainment in a summer when TV is a total washout and there are no movies at the multiplex for grown-ups over 13.This noteworthy formula western introduces Robert Mitchum in a story that moves along fast while focusing on the early days of the Comstock Lode in Gold Hill, CA. The story is good, the acting fine, the cinematography just great. They got the history straight and everything is on-the-level except that the real Gold Hill is on a steep grade, not flat; and that's the only flaw in the movie. Filming at Lone Pine, CA certainly fooled me, as the terrain is exactly the same as around Carson City, NV and Gold Hill.They knew how to make westerns in 1944; they don't in 2007. Unlike 3:10 to Yuma, this one doesn't turn stupid in the final 16 minutes.Look for NEVADA in recent DVD release. Then look around the house for an old $20 Gold Double Eagle minted from Comstock gold in 1870 at the mint in Carson City. It'll be worth $200,000 in poor condition; lots more if it still looks pretty.

It's always interesting to speculate on how different careers turn. RKO Pictures needed a new B western star because Tim Holt was going in the service. So this guy Mitchum was spotted in one of the Hopalong Cassidy films he played a bit role in and in fact Mitchum had done other parts like Thirty Second Over Tokyo, etc. So he got signed to a long term contract with RKO for this to be the first in a series of B Westerns.To show how much he was supposed to be a Tim Holt stand-in, Mitch was given Richard Martin who played Chito Rafferty the same part he played as Holt's sidekick. He also got a second sidekick in Guinn Williams. And the billing for Nevada read "introducing Robert Mitchum."The western itself is standard fare, nothing truly spectacular about it. It's source was a Zane Grey story which is a plus. But even then you could tell the camera loved Robert Mitchum. It's a must for Mitchum fans of which I'm one.The thing I wonder about though is if William Wellman hadn't spotted Mitchum and given him that career making part in The Story of GI Joe, would Mitch have continued as a B western star with his career petering out in the mid 50s or earlier. Food for thought.