I figured we'd get around to the Nevada Smith part of the story at some point, however it took almost the entire picture to get there. Not necessarily a bad thing once we get the idea that Steve McQueen's character is not above lying to pursue his revenge against the three men who killed his father and mother to open the picture."Nevada Smith" is at times a plodding, by the numbers Western with McQueen's performance, by his own admission, taking a step back artistically speaking. He's essentially miscast here as an eighteen year old when in fact he was thirty five at the time. It's a bit bizarre, but McQueen makes it work, sort of, with the boundless energy and restless nature he brought to most of his films.As the story progresses, a number of question marks popped up for this viewer. When he faces down Jesse Coe (Martin Landau), how is it that no one in the saloon crowd bothered to follow the men outside to see what was going on ? When Max (McQueen) got himself locked in the bank vault I shook my head in disbelief wondering how could anyone be that stupid. Once again, a younger actor in the role might have been more believable, with McQueen the scene held a giant disconnect for me.Be that as it may, the picture proved amazingly popular grossing twelve million dollars in the U.S. alone, and fared even better overseas, helping cement Steve McQueen's status as a modern day American hero. The film was particularly well received in Japan, as hero Max Sand avenged his parents' murder in the tradition of all the great samurai films. And who better to do that than one of the stars of 1960's "The Magnificent Seven", the film that launched McQueen's movie career following a successful TV run on the Western series "Wanted: Dead or Alive".

Fabulous western the way they used to make them and the way they should be made currently.Looking to avenge the killers of his parents, his mother was an Indian, the film traces the adventures of Max Sand (Steve McQueen) in hunting out and killing his prey.From a young Indian boy, Max becomes a hardened killer along the way. He even purposely gets caught robbing a bank so that he can be sent to the same prison where killer Arthur Kennedy has been sent.Suzanne Pleshette briefly but memorably appears as a woman inmate who helps Max and Kennedy escape before Max guns the latter down.While being rescued by priest Raf Vallone, Max learns humility but is still determined to hunt out and kill the worst of the offenders, Karl Malden, excellent here as well.The film teaches humility as Max, who has changed his name to Nevada Smith to fool Malden, develops a conscience through bible reading. Though maiming Malden, he doesn't ultimately kill him.A tale of bitterness and ultimate redemption fully realized, this is one film not to miss.

"The kid's creepy. He ain't human! He doesn't kill people; he executes them!" – Tom Fitch ("Nevada Smith") "Nevada Smith", directed by Henry Hathaway ("True Grit"), is an above average western which stars Steve McQueen as a half-Caucasian/half-native American teenager (McQueen was 36 years old at the time) who vows to hunt and kill the men responsible for murdering his parents.The movie takes the structure of both a revenge tale and a prison break movie, McQueen breaking into and out of a prison and then systematically killing henchmen until he gets to the crime lord who gave the order to kill his family.Along the way McQueen befriends a gun salesman, a priest and a peasant woman, all of whom he coldly turns his back upon once they've outlived their usefulness. All McQueen cares about is revenge, and no one will stand in his way.Unsurprisingly, once McQueen comes face to face with the film's chief villain, he refuses to take the man's life. The words of a priest, who preached the evils of revenge, come back to haunt McQueen, and so he spares the life of the very man he swore to kill.And that's the paradox of most of these "morality films" which deal with revenge. The audience is entertained by the hunting and killing of henchmen, is invited to partake in a little vengeance, and then self righteously "forgives itself" by forgiving the boss responsible for setting this violent chain of events into motion. 7.9/10 – The film is overlong and doesn't believe in its message, but the prison break sequences are good, and McQueen is always watchable. At its best, the film shows how persecution fuels barbarism and blow-back. Worth one viewing.

A young man seeks revenge for the brutal murder of his parents. It's generally well made, but can't overcome a big casting flaw. The title character is supposed to be a teen-aged half-breed. Unfortunately, he's played by 36-year-old blonde-haired, blue-eyed McQueen. It's hard to buy when he is repeatedly referred to as a kid and a half-breed. McQueen tries to act young, but acting like a man half his age makes him appear mentally retarded. The film goes on too long, with an extended prison sequence (stangely reminiscent of "Papillon," which McQueen would star in seven years later) that seems out of place in a Western. The impressive cast is chock full of familiar faces.