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NR | 1h 21m | Western | 1950
“Get off your horse, greenhorn!” There’s a greeting that’ll make any traveler reconsider his itinerary, especially when at gunpoint and off the beaten path. In this case, Tom Tanner (Forrest Tucker) holds the revolver. He recently escaped from custody and plans to take the greenhorn’s clothes.
Andrew Barclay (Randolph Scott), the “greenhorn,” is dressed as a gentleman of means; Tanner figures Barclay will do exactly as he’s told—with no backtalk. A quick exchange of clothing follows, even though a handcuff dangles from Tanner’s wrist, revealing his outlaw status.
Such an opening establishes the mischievous spirit of Gordon Douglas’s “The Nevadan.” Out in the American West, a man’s appearance can invite either respect or ridicule and can also determine how he’s treated by others. Tanner enjoys his little victory, utterly unaware that the supposed greenhorn may have his own reasons for appearing harmless.
By 1950, Scott, the lanky Virginia-born actor, had become one of Hollywood’s most recognizable Western stars; he’d spent years riding through dusty towns and trading gunfire with all manner of unsavory characters.
He was also an accomplished horseman off-screen, having participated in horse racing during his youth. He further developed his riding skills during his army service in World War I. That makes Tanner’s “greenhorn” insult all the more ironic, as he was soon to find out.
Gold Fever
It turns out that Tanner has more pressing business to attend to than acquiring some new duds. Before his recent arrest and subsequent escape, he stole $250,000 in gold from a stagecoach and hid the fortune.
A map identifying its location awaits him in a bank safe-deposit box, and Barclay accompanies him to retrieve it. Their journey takes an unexpected turn when two armed brothers, Jeff (Frank Faylen) and Bart (Jeff Corey), attempt to steal the map. Barclay handles the would-be robbers with remarkable ease, then he suggests that he and Tanner become partners in recovering the gold.
However, it isn’t long before Tanner ditches Barclay while his companion sleeps. Eager to catch up with his departed companion, Barclay stumbles upon a ranch owned by Karen Galt (Dorothy Malone), who agrees to exchange his lame horse for a healthy one.
Karen is intrigued by the courteous stranger, especially when he demonstrates considerable skill with horses. Her father, Edward Galt (George Macready), is a powerful local businessman with his own designs on Tanner’s missing fortune.
Meanwhile, Tanner wants little to do with his former traveling companion when they meet in Twin Forks. Unfortunately for both men, Galt has been asking questions about the gold, and his hired gunmen have some unpleasant ways of encouraging people to talk.
Character Chemistry
Tucker has a way of making Tanner’s latest bad idea seem entirely reasonable—at least to himself. His expressions and offhand remarks suggest a fellow who’s talked his way through a fair amount of close situations.
Scott’s Barclay answers him with an amused patience that makes the outlaw more suspicious. Their scenes together have a companionable roughness, especially when Tanner begins to realize how hard Barclay is to shake.
The supporting players have some fine comic instincts, as well. Macready has the pinched, sour manner of a man who could discover gold beneath his own porch and still complain about the cost of digging it up.
Faylen and Corey are particularly amusing as Jeff and Bart, brothers who bicker and bully each other while carrying out Galt’s dirty work. Even Sheriff Dyke Merrick (Charles Kemper) finds time to fuss over false teeth amid all the criminal activities.
Malone’s scenes offer a little romance, although Karen’s affection for Barclay develops remarkably fast—perhaps too fast to be entirely believable.
This was one of Scott’s early collaborations with producer Harry Joe Brown, and their modestly scaled production packs a fair bit of drama into its 81 minutes. Director Douglas keeps the chases and fistfights flowing like a trickling spigot. Douglas also makes good use of the rocky California landscapes around Lone Pine. The two-color Cinecolor photography gives the hills and dusty roads a distinctively vibrant appearance.
There are a few moments when Galt’s schemes become a little too convenient, and his hired men sometimes seem like caricatures. Nevertheless, the picture has fun with those crooked folks. Watching “The Nevadan” makes for an enjoyable evening of horseplay, gunfire, and old-fashioned Hollywood craftsmanship.
“The Nevadan” is available on GanJingWorld.
‘The Nevadan’
Director: Gordon Douglas
Starring: Randolph Scott, Dorothy Malone, Forrest Tucker
Not Rated
Running time: 1 hour, 21 minutes
Release Date: Jan. 11, 1950
Rated: 3 1/2 stars out of 5
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