R. Scott Against Majestic Backdrop in The Nevadan (1950)
It was the same as if they'd gone into
partnership selling farm tractors: Randolph Scott and Harry Joe Brown's
assembly line for westerns plowed smooth for over a decade
before free-TV access cleared pasture of on-riding cowboys. I count at least
seventeen the pair did, and none are doggy. Obviously,the twilight groupunder Budd Boetticher direction stand out, but comfort seekers
make little distinction; they'll watch Randy just for his being there, and knowledge
of that made Scott/Brown output about a surest bet around (virtually no Scott western lost money). The Nevadan was
enhanced by CineColor, a red/green dominant process that I suspect has been
smoothed over by creative owners on digital duty; Retroplex HD skies look a
little too blue to derive from limited CC palette (but note The Navadan went
years being available only in black-and-white). Gordon Douglasdirects here;
until he gets credit due, there won't be much fuss over The Nevadan, but if
tally were taken of Scott's, or 1950 westerns in general, it would earn
mid-range to maybe high placement. Outlaw scribe Rowland Brown, he of Quick
Millions, Hell's Highway, and punching out at least one producer, contributes
dialogue, and sure enough, some of "lyrics" (Randy Scott's term)
stand out. What really distinguishes The Nevadan is rock-to-rock tour of
majestic Lone Pine location, director Douglas
backing up so we can see a cast rendered ant-size against distant and snowy
peaks. All this and CineColor amounts to must-see frontiering. The Nevadan is available
throughColumbia's
On-Demand DVD service; transfer is excellent.
2 Comments:
Watched THE NEVADAN on TCM a while back, and the color was gorgeous.
I've got the MOD-Columbia disc and the color AND the transfer IS gorgeous!
B.
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