Nevada

"Introducing Bob Mitchum" the screen announces as a very young, very handsome Robert Mitchum rides his horse into view, pauses for an adorable close up, then rides away. If you want to get technical about it, Nevada isn't really his first movie. He had bit parts or was an extra in nineteen films in 1943, but if you want to see the first time he was given a leading role, this is the one to rent.

In an adorable first vehicle, Bob Mitchum plays a cowboy in the middle of the gold rush craze. While towns I'm very familiar with are rattled off by the actors-Sacramento, Placerville, Grass Valley, and Hangtown-the main characters know too many people who haven't struck gold when they tried, so they try their hand the old fashioned way: by gambling. Bob wins seven thousand dollars off a crooked gambler, then heads to Carson City because a pretty girl suggested it. The trouble is, coincidentally, seven thousand dollars is missing from the town and Bob finds himself the immediate suspect! Don't worry too much about the new western star, though. He's got two very loyal sidekicks, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams and Richard Martin, who are always thinking of inventive ways to rescue their buddy.

I'll put my bias aside and admit that this isn't the best western flick to come out of the genre, but for Robert Mitchum fans, it really is a must see. It's so adorable to see him smiling, excited for his first lead, and galloping around on his horse during the chase scenes.