Nevada Smith

Following the truism that any Steve McQueen movie is better than almost any other movie I watched this movie recently. In it McQueen plays Max Sands, a young half Indian living in the Far West in the period after The Civil War. Max is out riding one day when three riders ask if he knows a Mr Sands. This is Max's father. By the time Max gets home his Father and mother, who was an Indian have been tortured and killed.

Max makes it his mission to hunt down the men and kill them. Along the way he meets up with a Mr Cord played by Brian Keith who helps him find his way, and teaches him how to shoot. After locating the first killer dealing poker and killing him in a knife fight he discovers that another man has been captured in a robbery and put in prison. He gets himself arrested and chases him down in prison.

Eventually he has just the ringleader to track down. Tom Fitch played by Karl Malden. By now Fitch knows what has happened to his two counterparts and he is very nervous. When Sands meets up with the group he uses the name Nevada Smith and passes all of Fitch's tests to prove he is not the Sands that he is fearing.

Eventually Max reveals himself and while exacting his revenge he has given up murder as a result of the intervention of a priest who had taken him in when he had injured his leg. A notable quote is when the priest points out Jesus on the cross and tells him he came to earth to preach love and forgiveness Max Sands says " It looks like he must not have spoke to all of them as that looks worse than hanging. " So true Max Sands, Jesus does not get his message to everybody.

Not a great movie, far from it. McQueen is always watchable though. The King of Cool.