Nevada

Once again a well-made RKO Radio Picture from yesteryear provides a fine entertainment in a summer when TV is a total washout and there are no movies at the multiplex for grown-ups over 13.

This noteworthy formula western introduces Robert Mitchum in a story that moves along fast while focusing on the early days of the Comstock Lode in Gold Hill, CA. The story is good, the acting fine, the cinematography just great. They got the history straight and everything is on-the-level except that the real Gold Hill is on a steep grade, not flat; and that's the only flaw in the movie. Filming at Lone Pine, CA certainly fooled me, as the terrain is exactly the same as around Carson City, NV and Gold Hill.

They knew how to make westerns in 1944; they don't in 2007. Unlike 3:10 to Yuma, this one doesn't turn stupid in the final 16 minutes.

Look for NEVADA in recent DVD release. Then look around the house for an old $20 Gold Double Eagle minted from Comstock gold in 1870 at the mint in Carson City. It'll be worth $200,000 in poor condition; lots more if it still looks pretty.