In 1927, Gary Cooper appeared in three important Clara Bow films, those being the flapper romance "It", the morality tale "Children of Divorce", and award-winner "Wings". These brought Coop visibility with the masses, even if he was the male lead only in "Children". Paramount awarded him with the lead in this western, which had a tad bigger budget than the westerns Coop had done prior to this. Quality-wise, it falls far below the Bow vehicles, but it does manage to show Cooper in his element, and made some money at the box office. "Nevada" (1927) was directed by John Waters, who made three films with Cooper, but unfortunately this is not "The Pope of Trash" we are talking about. That would have been something!
Before this, Cooper had appeared as an extra in a few Zane Grey adaptations like "Riders of the Purple Sage" (1925) starring Tom Mix. This is the first Grey adaptation where he is the star. Even if the film has the look of a b-western, it also has star power. Besides Gary, we have Thelma Todd as the girl, and William Powell as the villain. The story isn't much else than western clichés done with black and white characters, who spark little interest. There is a romantic triangle, and a crime narrative where Cooper goes after the villains. He looks tough and convincing and did all of his own riding.
The film shows us stars on rise, but from all of them you can find dozens of better movies. Also the print of the film is in bad condition, so it is really not an enjoyable watching experience no matter how you look at it. "Nevada" got remade twice, in 1935 starring Buster Crabbe and in 1944 starring Robert Mitchum.
