Wanda Nevada (1979)

Director:

Peter Fonda

Writer:

Dennis Hackin (written by)

Release Date:

June 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Western

Plot:

Romantic drama following the fortunes of a drifter named Beaudray Demerille (Peter Fonda) who wins a...

Plot Keywords:

Grand Canyon | Orphanage | Crooked Gambling | Shot With Arrow | Gold Digger

Cast

Peter Fonda	...	Beaudray Demerille
Brooke Shields	...	Wanda Nevada
Fiona Lewis	...	Dorothy Deerfield
Luke Askew	...	Ruby Muldoon
Ted Markland	...	Strap
Severn Darden	...	Bitterstix
Paul Fix	...	Texas Curly
Henry Fonda	...	Old Prospector
Larry Golden	...	Slade, the Card Hustler
John Denos	...	Billy, the Gas Station Greaser
Bert Williams	...	Trading Post Owner
Fred Ashley	...	The Barber
Jason Clark	...	Alonzo
Robert V. Walker Jr.	...	Poker Player
H. Samuel Hackin	...	Poker Player

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #25642) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Colorado River, Moab, Utah, USA

Company:

Hayward-Fonda Productions

Goofs:

Factual errors: I am always amused at Hollywood portrayals of actors handling bags of gold. Reality is clearly a missing element. As in this film, they easily loft and toss them around with ease. I calculate that the volume of the bags they threw over the edge of the Grand Canyon could hold two quarts at least. The weight of this volume of gold would be over ninety pounds. It would take two hands and the use of the back to lift one bag, let alone lifting and throwing two or three bags as done by Peter Fonda. Even the weight of the standard bar of gold which is 7 inches by 3 5/8 inches by 1 3/4 inches is 27.5 pounds. Not easily lifted by one hand as is always shown in film.

Quotes:

Wanda Nevada: Do you think we're headin' in the right direction?
Beaudray Demerille: We wouldn't be headin' in this direction if it weren't right.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fonda on Fonda (1992) (TV)

Soundtrack:

One O'Clock Jump

A must-see just for the two baddies!

This film is not one of the all-time greats, or even close to becoming one, but it does have two of the most memorable badmen ever portrayed on film...Ted Markland as Strap the Be-Bop Killer, and Lew Askew as his trusty sidekick, Ruby. The two of them are positively hysterical in what should have been a straight badguy role, but they work so well together (great friends in real life) and play off each other so smoothly that their deadpan delivery makes this otherwise droll film shine. We get an idea of what is to come when Wanda innocently turns to Strap and asks what he does for a living. "Banks," he deadpans, cracking his gum. "We rob banks." The mayhem continues from there, as Strap and Ruby chase their quarry into the Grand Canyon. Don't miss it!