You gotta see this just for the opportunity to see the great sidekick getting his chance to star.
Al St. John has one silent scene early on when he meets the woman of his dreams, and she apparently reciprocates. They don't say a word. But the look on their faces is priceless.
Al St. John was an excellent actor, athletic and agile, yes, but more: He knew how to be and how to move funny, but he was one of the best cowboys in Hollywood. (In that frequently awful "Billy the Kid" series, he stole nearly every scene from star Buster Crabbe, and Buster was one darn fine actor, too.)
(At YouTube is a whole long string of movies with Al St. John listed as the star. I hope to watch every one.)
As good as Al St. John is, the director must get a lot of credit, too. Robert F. Hill also wrote the screenplay, under another name, and he has some amazingly inventive camera angles and used a moving camera, too. I don't know much about him, but if "West of Nevada" is a good example, he should have been a major name among directors.
At YouTube, "West of Nevada" is listed as starring Al, but actually much bigger name -- at the time -- Rex Bell was billed first.
Rex Bell was also quite a good cowboy, and a generally good actor, but he didn't stay in movies as long, marrying the adorable Clara Bow and going into politics.
Steve Clark as Haldain has apparent difficulty with the over-educated vocabulary given him, but his facial and bodily movements were appropriate.
Haldain's daughter, Helen, is played by the wonderful Joan Barclay, and not much more need be said. She usually improved any movie she was in. Despite being from Minnesota, you betcha she has a really nice voice, which rings pleasantly in the ear.
Forrest Taylor is, as usual, great as a banker, with a good role and good dialogue.
The bad guys are generally unknown today, except for Bob Woodward, who went on to fame and fortune as a Washington Post reporter and later contributor at Fox News TV channel.*
But they beautifully underplay their evil and are beautifully watchable.
They are beautifully nefarious in this very clever script.
In the version available at YouTube (posted by "AlFuzzyStJohn"), there are some bad cuts and either some bad editing and/or bad scripting, or there is a piece missing.
Nevertheless, you won't lose the story's thread, and you will be pleased at the action. It is obviously low budget, and there are sound problems, but I highly recommend "West of Nevada."
*Just kidding. Obviously another Bob Woodward entirely, and probably a much nicer and more honest guy as well.
