Nevada Smith
Nevada Smith is a 1966 Western, released by Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Henry Hathaway. It stars Steve McQueen as the title character, an assumed name (his real name is Max Sand) which hides his purpose of revenge when he joins a gang of outlaws led by Karl Malden, one of three men who killed Max's white father and Indian mother (the other two men are Arthur Kennedy and Martin Landau). The character was derived from Harold Robbins' novel The Carpetbaggers, which was also filmed by Paramount Pictures in 1964. In this 1964 film, Nevada Smith was played by Alan Ladd as a much matured man. The Western Nevada Smith was conceived as a screenplay by John Michael Hayes. It is distinguished by the superb photography of Lucien Ballard who shot the film on beautiful locations in the Inyo National Forest and the Owens Valley in the Eastern Sierra. Hathaway's direction emphasises violence, with the three supporting stars Landau, Kennedy, and Malden reaching high registers of emotion and reaction as they mete out violence, and vengeful violence is beget upon them. Suzanne Pleshette gives a very touching performance as a Cajun woman who helps McQueen escape from a swamp prison and during their escape, dies from a snakebite. Brian Keith as the gunsmith who teaches Max the fundaments of gunplay and Raf Vallone as the priest who guides Max out of his quest for vengeance are both impressive. McQueen also performs well though he seems a bit too old for the role (the part seems to call for a young James Dean-type).
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