Nevada Smith
 DVD Cover | ||
| Starring |
| |
| Directed by | Henry Hathaway | |
| Produced by | Henry Hathaway | |
| Based on | The Carpetbaggers & 1961 novel by Harold Robbins | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures | |
| Released | Jun 29, 1968 (57 years ago) | |
| Runtime | 131 minutes | |
| Country | United States | |
| language | English | |
Nevada Smith is a 1966 American Western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Steve McQueen, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Arthur Kennedy and Suzanne Pleshette. The film was made by Solar Productions in association with and released by Paramount Pictures.
The movie is a prequel to The Carpetbaggers, a highly successful film from two years earlier based on the 1961 Harold Robbins novel, "The Carpetbaggers". In that film, Alan Ladd played an older version of Nevada Smith, the character McQueen plays in this film.
Nevada Smith depicts Smith's first meeting with another "Carpetbaggers" character, Jonas Cord Sr, and delves into Nevada Smith's background as summarized in a scene from the original film.
Plot
In the 1890s American West, outlaws Bill Bowdre, Jesse Coe, and Tom Fitch seek to rob Max's father of the gold they believe he has. When it becomes evident that there is none, they torture and brutally kill the white father and Kiowa mother of young Max Sand. Max sets out to avenge their deaths.
While journeying through the desert, Max discovers a rusty gun. He encounters Jonas Cord, a traveling gunsmith, and attempts to rob him. Cord sees that Max's revolver is inoperable and persuades him that his attempt has failed. Max shares details of his quest for vengeance. Understanding Max's plight, Cord offers him shelter and teaches him to shoot. Max then seeks out the killers, who have scattered. He tracks down Jesse Coe in Abilene, Texas. With assistance from Neesa, a Kiowa dance hall girl, he identifies and confronts Coe in a saloon. A knife fight breaks out in a nearby corral. While Coe is killed, Max sustains serious injuries. Neesa takes him to her tribe's camp and cares for him until he recovers. Eventually, they become lovers.
After recovering, Max resumes his quest. He discovers that Bowdre is held in a prison camp deep within the Louisiana swamps. To reach Bowdre, Max intentionally robs a bank to be transferred to the same facility. He persuades Bowdre to escape with him, with a hidden agenda to kill him in the swamp. Pilar, a local Cajun girl who works in the rice fields near the prison camp, agrees to assist Max. Unaware of his true intentions, she secures a boat and navigates the trio through the swamp. However, their boat capsizes early, and a venomous snake bites Pilar. Although Max kills Bowdre, Pilar later succumbs to the snake's venom.
Max has escaped and is now pursuing Fitch, the last murderer. Driven by his thirst for revenge, Max infiltrates Fitch's gang under the alias Nevada Smith. Aware that Max Sand has killed Coe and Bowdre, Fitch is on edge despite allowing Nevada into the gang. While the gang heads out for a gold-transport robbery, Max is recognized by Cord, who calls out to him. Ignoring Cord, Max continues with the group. Fitch now suspects that one of his gang members is actually Max. As the gang greedily collects the stolen gold, Max observes from a hilltop. Realizing that Smith is truly Sand, Fitch grabs his share of the gold and makes a run for it. Max chases after him and corners Fitch at a creek. As Fitch pretends to surrender, he tries to shoot Sand, but Sand, quicker on the draw, shoots Fitch's hand instead.
Fitch gives up and wants Max to quickly kill him. Max shoots Fitch several more times, inflicting painful but non-fatal wounds. As Fitch lies in the creek, bleeding profusely, Max demands that Fitch beg for his life. Fitch calls Max a coward for refusing to kill him. Max decides that Fitch is not worth killing and rides away as Fitch continues shouting at Max to kill him.
Locations
Nevada Smith was shot in approximately 46 different locations in the Inyo National Forest, in parts of Southern California and Southwestern Nevada, and in the Owens Valley of Southern California in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. The swamp scenes were filmed in Krotz Springs, Louisiana.
External links
- Review Nevada Smith at the Internet Movie Database
- Rotten Tomatoes review
- Review Nevada Smith at the Turner Classic Movie Database
- Nevada Smith at the American Film Institute Catalog
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Nevada Smith ]
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