Nevada Smith
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| Nevada Smith | |
|---|---|
 Nevada Smith DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Henry Hathaway |
| Produced by | Henry Hathaway Joseph E. Levine (executive producer) |
| Written by | John Michael Hayes Harold Robbins (novel The Carpetbaggers) |
| Starring | Steve McQueen Karl Malden Brian Keith Arthur Kennedy |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography | Lucien Ballard |
| Editing by | Frank Bracht |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Running time | 128 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Nevada Smith is a 1966 Western film made by Solar Productions and released by Paramount Pictures. It was produced and directed by Henry Hathaway with Joseph E. Levine as executive producer, from a story and screenplay by John Michael Hayes based on a character from Harold Robbins' 1961 novel The Carpetbaggers. The music score was by Alfred Newman and the cinematography by Lucien Ballard.
The film stars Steve McQueen, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Arthur Kennedy, Suzanne Pleshette, Raf Vallone, Janet Margolin, Pat Hingle, Howard Da Silva, Martin Landau and Paul Fix.
[edit] Plot
Steve McQueen is the title character, an assumed name (his real name is Max Sand), who hides his purpose of revenge when he joins a gang of outlaws led by Tom Fitch (Karl Malden), one of three men who killed Max's white father and Indian mother (the other two men are Bill Bowdre (Arthur Kennedy (actor)|Arthur Kennedy) and Jesse Coe (Martin Landau). To put the viewers on Max's side, the torture-murder of his mother is shown briefly as she stands, naked to the waist, while having a knife running across her back.
[edit] Notes
The character of Nevada Smith originally appeared in Harold Robbins' novel The Carpetbaggers, which was also filmed by Paramount Pictures in 1964. The role was played by Alan Ladd as a mature man.
The film is distinguished by Lucien Ballard's photography. It was shot on around 46 different locations in the Inyo National Forest and the Owens Valley in the Eastern Sierra.
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Hathaway's direction emphasizes violence, with the three supporting actors Landau, Kennedy, and Malden reaching high registers of emotion and reaction as they mete it out, and vengeance is exacted from 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).
