Nevada Smith

Nevada Smith
DVD Cover
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 James Breeden
Music by	Alfred Newman
Cinematography	Lucien Ballard
Editing by	Frank Bracht
Studio	Embassy Pictures Solar Productions
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Running time	128 minutes
Language	English

Nevada Smith is a 1966 American Western film starring Steve McQueen and made by Embassy Pictures and Solar Productions, in association with and released by Paramount Pictures. The movie 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 is a prequel to The Carpetbaggers, in which Alan Ladd had played a much older version of the character the previous year.

In addition to McQueen in the titular role, the picture also features Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Arthur Kennedy, Suzanne Pleshette, Raf Vallone, Janet Margolin, Pat Hingle, Howard Da Silva, Martin Landau and Paul Fix.

Plot

A trio of outlaws — Bill Bowdre (Arthur Kennedy) and Jesse Coe (Martin Landau), led by Tom Fitch (Karl Malden) — robs, tortures and brutally kills the white father and Indian mother of young Max Sand. Max (Steve McQueen) sets out to avenge their death. One of the killers keeps a tobacco pouch containing a bit of deerskin decorated with Indian beads from Sand's mother's shirt, and it is one of the clues Max uses in his search.

Although Max cannot read or write and is not skilled with a gun, he receives help from strangers. One of them is a man he tries to rob, Jonas Cord (Sr.) (Brian Keith), a traveling gunsmith. Cord takes a liking to Max.

Max hunts the killers, who have since separated. With the help of Neesa (Janet Margolin), a woman from the same tribe as his mother, he tracks down Jesse Coe in an Abilene, Texas saloon, defeating and killing him in a knife fight inside a corral. Wounded, Max is taken to the reservation by Neesa, who helps his wounds mend while becoming his lover.

After healing, Max leaves Neesa to continue his pursuit of the killers. He pulls a robbery and deliberately gets caught, just so he can be sent to a prison in a Louisiana swamp where Bowdre is now serving time. Pilar (Suzanne Pleshette), a Cajun girl working in the rice fields near the convicts’ camp, gives Max comfort and finds a craft to help him escape through the swamps. He takes Bowdre with him and murders him along the way. The boat tips in the swamp, and Pilar dies from a snake bite.

Still blinded by revenge, Max goes after Fitch, the last of the murderers. He infiltrates Fitch's gang, calling himself Nevada Smith, as the outlaw is aware that a "Max Sand" is out there somewhere, trying to ambush him.

Fitch has a robbery planned, and as the gang accomplish the crime, Fitch realizes that Nevada Smith is really Max Sand. Fitch runs for his life, but Max tracks him down near a creek and begins to torture him slowly, shooting him in the arms and legs. As the outlaw begs to be killed to release his physical agony, Max cannot bring himself to do it and rides away.

Cast

• Steve McQueen ... Nevada Smith / Max Sand
• Karl Malden ... Tom Fitch
• Brian Keith ... Jonas Cord
• Martin Landau ... Jesse Coe
• Arthur Kennedy ... Bill Bowdre
• Suzanne Pleshette ... Pilar
• Raf Vallone ... Father Zaccardi
• Janet Margolin ... Neesa
• Pat Hingle ... Big Foot (work camp trustee)
• Howard Da Silva ... Warden of work camp
• Paul Fix ... Sheriff Bonnell
• Iron Eyes Cody ... Taka-Ta (uncredited)
• James Breden ... outlaw #3

Notes

The character of Nevada Smith originally appeared in Harold Robbins' novel The Carpetbaggers, which was also filmed by Paramount Pictures in 1964 (this particular film serves as its prequel). The role was played by Alan Ladd as a mature man, an aging cowboy turned cowboy film star.

There are numerous lines in the movie, especially early on, indicating that the protagonist is a very young man, yet actor Steve McQueen was in his mid-30s when he played the role.

Nevada Smith was shot by Lucien Ballard's photography on approximately 46 different locations in the Inyo National Forest and the Owens Valley in the Eastern Sierra.

The plotline of the movie resembles that of the 1960 origin issues of the comic book series The Rawhide Kid, drawn by Jack Kirby.

External links

• Nevada Smith at the Internet Movie Database