10 Best Movies Set In Nevada, Ranked – SlashFilm

Nevada’s population is slightly more than 3.2 million, with about 2.3 million living in the Las Vegas metro area. Which means that in a 110,000-square mile state (the seventh largest by land area in the U.S), more than 70% of the population lives in approximately 1,600 square miles. Urban concentration isn’t exactly unique to Las Vegas, Nevada, so you’re probably wondering why we’re bringing it up. It’s because Vegas’ cultural footprint is larger than the state where it resides: Nevada. Except for New York City, maybe no other American city completely overwhelms the cinematic representation of its state. When it comes to Nevada, that’s a mistake.

After all, The Silver State on the silver screen is much more than Sin City. It’s westerns, sci-fi, romantic comedies, and even a few Best Picture winners. While there is no shortage of all-time classics set in Sin City (“Leaving Las Vegas,” “Casino,” “Ocean’s 11,” we could go on), we’re only going to rank the best movies set in Nevada, but not include Las Vegas. Please don’t throw your poker chips at us, as we’re also only including movies that take place in Nevada, not filmed there but set elsewhere. So if the movie is set in the 36th state, it’s fair game, just not if it’s in Las Vegas. 

Ready to find out what makes our list? Here are the 10 best movies set in Nevada, ranked.

While it may not be the best movie set in Nevada, “Tremors” may be our favorite. At least, when we’re in the mood for silly, dumb fun that reminds us why we love movies in the first place (which is 85% of the time). Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward play repairmen who want to kick the dust off their boots in the make-believe town of Perfection, Nevada, but their plans are thwarted by massive, man-eating worm monsters straight out of Frank Herbert’s daydreams. Guess you might say these worm monsters (which the dudes dub “grabboids”) have a taste for… Bacon? Sorry, not sorry.

Anyway, “Tremors” slithers and slimes its way into our hearts (and this list), because it’s an action-packed throwback to the creature features of the 1950s we love, like “THEM,” “The Giant Gila Monster,” and “It Came From Beneath The Sea,” etc. Sure, the grabboids might not be the scariest horror movie monsters by a country mile, but that’s not what this movie is about. It’s a few parts humor, horror, and yes, even heart, as the small town banter between its cast is part of its charm. Besides Bacon and Ward, there’s Michael Gross and Reba McEntire stealing the show as a straight-shooting, gun-toting, survivalist couple whose home comes stocked with a personal armory perfectly prepared for a monster worm infestation. “Tremors” bombed at the box office, sending the franchise straight to video, but with eight Bacon-less sequels and counting, the “Tremors” series has plenty of aftershocks.

Peter and Bobby Farrelly (affectionately known as “The Farrelly Brothers”) had quite the run in the 1990s, making the best comedies of their career and, frankly, the decade. Two were big, star-making hits upon their release. First up was “Dumb and Dumber,” the third and final film in Jim Carrey’s legendary 1994 run, including “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” and “The Mask.” Four years later saw 1998’s summer smash “There’s Something About Mary,” turning Cameron Diaz into an above-the-title A-lister and sending actor Ben Stiller from the fringes into the mainstream. Sandwiched between the two was 1996’s “Kingpin,” which was a massive strikeout when it was first released, earning $32 million worldwide, significantly less than “Dumb and Dumber” with $246 million and “There’s Something About Mary” with $369 million. But hey, you can’t put a price on laughs, and “Kingpin” is full of them.

Woody Harrelson plays Roy Munson, a bowler whose promising career is cut short, along with his hand, by cutthroat con men. Years later, the rubber-handed Munson discovers a bowling prodigy named Ishmael (Randy Quaid) in the most unexpected place: Amish Country. Together with a gangster’s girlfriend (Vanessa Angel), the trio sets out to dominate the bowling scene, including a championship run in Reno, Nevada. Throw in Bill Murray in a scene-stealing performance as certifiable slimeball Ernie McCracken, and you have the ingredients for a laugh riot. While “Kingpin” wasn’t appreciated in its time, it has since gained a reputation as a cult classic, and it might be getting a sequel.

We can’t overstate the cultural impact of “Independence Day” was. For starters, its $817 million worldwide box office topped the year, earning nearly 40% more than number two, “Twister.” Even that doesn’t do it justice. It established Roland Emmerich as his generation’s go-to disaster director and cemented Will Smith as a movie star and “Mr. Fourth of July.” Sure, the franchise’s reputation took a hit (actually, it crashed and burned) with the critical and commercial failure of its legacy sequel, “Independence Day: Resurgence” in 2016. Turns out making a sequel without Smith was a really bad idea, but hey, we’ll always have 1996.

The story is … well, y’know the story. Aliens invade. Earth is in peril. Jeff Goldblum stammers his way into a solution. President Bill Pullman cuts a speech that earns our vote. Will Smith saves the day. What’s noteworthy for our list is that a big chunk of the movie takes place in the deserts of Nevada. Specifically, it’s a place you may have heard of but probably never visited: Area 51. The highly classified military installation has been the source of much speculation for a long time, with some geniuses even opting to “storm” the facility in 2019 (you probably forgot that was a thing). Well, “Independence Day” imagines it’s the place where we’ve been storing alien technology and carcasses for decades since Roswell. A fun little touch, and just one of the many reasons we love this movie so freaking much.

This list just got a whole lot cooler. Rarely do movie stars shine brighter than Steve McQueen (the American actor, not the Academy Award-winning British filmmaker of “Moonlight”). Heck, can you name another movie star Sheryl Crow wrote a song about? Exactly. The late star of “The Great Escape” (based on a true story), “Bullitt,” and “The Towering Inferno” never lived to see his 51st birthday, but he produced a body of work that made his last name practically synonymous with the word “cool.” So naturally, any movie starring him set in Nevada is going to make our list.

Directed by Henry Hathaway ( of the original “True Grit” and “The Sons of Katie Elder”) and released in 1966, “Nevada Smith” has Steve McQueen playing Max Sand, who is basically the Batman of the Old West, after vowing vengeance against the gang who brutally murdered his parents. Unlike Batman, Sand is more than happy to carry a big iron on his hip and send his enemies straight to the great beyond. Sand meets a blacksmith who trains him to become a gunslinger, and dons the name Nevada Smith, taking out the killers one at a time on his revenge-minded mission across the old west. 

Legend has it that “Nevada Smith” was based on the early life of cowboy actor Ken Maynard, so we need a biopic of that guy right now. For the time being, we’re more than happy to watch McQueen do what he does best in “Nevada Smith”: Be awesome.

“The Misfits” has the unfortunate reputation of being Clark Gable and Maryln Monroe’s last movie. In fact, the mustachioed star of “Gone With The Wind” (whose career surprisingly got off to a rocky start) died within days after filming in 1961. According to urban legend, the difficulties of working with Monroe contributed to Gable suffering a fatal heart attack just a few months shy of his 60th birthday (we suspect his heavy drinking and smoking played a little part). Still other sources claim Gable fought to save Monroe’s role. With all of this drama, you might think “The Misfits” is more interesting behind the scenes than on screen. Maybe so, but that doesn’t change the fact that “The Misfits” is a darn fine film, and one of the best set in Nevada.

An aging cowboy (Gable) and former World War II pilot (Eli Wallach) become infatuated with the same woman: an ex-stripper from Reno, Nevada (Monroe) in the midst of a divorce. Things get more complicated when a rough-and-tumble ex-rodeo rider (Montgomery Clift) enters the picture, and the quartet goes into business capturing wild horses. Throw in a script by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (and Monroe’s last husband) Arthur Miller, plus direction by the legendary John Huston, and you have an all-star production in front of and behind the camera. It’s almost inevitable “The Misfits” would be less than the sum of its considerable parts, but it is still a fitting and poignant cinematic sendoff for its legendary stars.

When “The Women” was released in 1939, the all-female film felt like an event equivalent to “Black Panther” and “Crazy Rich Asians.” How so? While the movie is more of a footnote to everyone but die-hard film buffs, it was a major release in its day, bringing together a trio of the biggest female movie stars Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Rosalind Russell under the direction of A-list “women’s director” George Cukor (who later directed the “perfect” romantic comedy, “A Philadelphia Story.”) In fact, “The Women” was the crown jewel of MGM’s film slate that year, even ahead of a movie that was released just a week before, “The Wizard of Oz,” our pick for the best movie set in Kansas.

Based on Clare Booth Luce’s 1936 play of the same name, Shearer plays Mary Haines, who is informed by Sylvia (Russell) that her husband — who is never shown on screen, along with any other man — is having an affair with a salesgirl named Crystal (Joan Crawford). Haines heads to Reno to file for the divorce, but but she meets Miriam (Paulette Goddard) ,who is having an affair with Sylvia’s husband. Hijinks ensue as they tend to do when the squad arrives in Reno. Got all that? Naturally, there’s more, but we only have so much time. “The Women” is a first-rate, star-studded, A-list screwball comedy that earns its place in the history books, stands the test of time, and takes a spot on our list.

Chloé Zhao’s “achingly beautiful” 2020 film “Nomadland” could be described as a modern western, albeit one without any of the romantic trappings typical of the genre. No, “the new west” of Zhao’s film is a bleak landscape that isn’t ripe with opportunities, but it’s rotten from recessions, a place where the drifters aren’t unshackled dreamers who yearn for the freedom of the open prairie but nomads who wander from job to job just to keep food on their none-existent tables.

Based on a fascinating true story,”Nomadland” stars Frances McDormand as Fern, a woman in her sixties who travels across the American West seeking work after losing her job during the Great Recession. Her means of transportation isn’t a trusty steed but a beat-up old van, and she rides into town not seeking frontier justice, but social justice, and the dignity of honest work. Much of the movie is set in the tiny desert town of Empire, Nevada, but “Nomadland” makes clear that Fern is homeless and rootless, and her entire world is her van. 

“Nomadland” cleaned up at the 2021 Academy Awards, winning gold for Zhao’s direction and McDormand’s acting (her third, tying her with Meryl Streep), as well as Best Picture, which the two shared with their producing partners. Make no mistake, “Nomadland” is not an easy watch, but it is a necessary one. You can’t watch this movie without being riddled with a host of emotions. But the biggest takeaway? This is an excellent film.

During his multi-decade career, the Nebraska-born Henry “Hank” Fonda came to embody everything that was simple, pure, and good about the American way of life, even when he was in movies that criticized the country for falling short of its principles. No wonder even novelist John Steinbeck thought he was the perfect pick for the film adaptation of his “The Grapes of Wrath,” which made our list for the best movies set in Oklahoma. Naturally, Fonda is on our list for one of the best movies set in Nevada.

Based on the 1940 novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark (awesome name, btw), and directed by William Wellman (director of the first Oscar winner for Best Picture, “Wings”) the 1943 film takes place in Bridger’s Wells, Nevada in 1885. Fonda plays a wanderer named Gil Carter, who along with his buddy Art (Henry Morgan), ride into town and join a posse to track down cattle thieves and murderers. It’s a classic setup, but once the posse finds their suspects, “The Ox-Bow Incident” takes things in an unexpected direction, turning into a powerful and unsettling indictment of mob violence. 

Even in 1943, westerns had long celebrated heroes taking the law into their own hands. “The Ox-Bow Incident” turns that trope on its head, becoming less a lionization than a critical, cautionary tale about vigilante violence. Decades before the revisionist westerns of the 1960s, “The Ox-Bow Incident” was ahead of its time, and in some ways still is today.

“John Wayne’s final film” would warrant inclusion on its own, but “The Shootist” also happens to be a fantastic cinematic sendoff for The Duke. “The Shootist” is even more poignant given Wayne was fighting a battle behind the scenes with the film’s director, Don Siegel, with Wayne wanting to safeguard his screen image against the grittier vision of the director of five Clint Eastwood films, including “Dirty Harry.” Wayne was also fighting a far-more important battle, as the dying star was in a losing battle with cancer, which took his life before the decade’s end.

Wayne plays J.B. Books, an aging gunfighter, who just so happens to be dying from cancer. Desiring to die with minimal pain and maximum impact, Books comes to Nevada, where he takes a young man (Ron Howard) under his wing while plotting to take down a group of bad guys to go out with a bang. Wayne was on his way out, but he wasn’t going alone. In addition to Howard, by then a TV star from “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Happy Days,” Wayne is joined by fellow old Hollywood legends James “Jimmy” Stewart as his doctor and Lauren Bacall, who plays the young man’s mother and the widow who rents Books a room. But despite the A-list talent in front of and behind the camera, this is Wayne’s movie through and through. Like the character he plays, The Duke goes out on his own terms to unforgettable results.

“The Godfather Part II” belongs at number one on pretty much any list, so naturally, it takes the top spot on ours. Crime has been good to the Corleone family, so much that they can afford a mansion (a.k.a. compound) on the western shore of Lake Tahoe, straddling between California and Nevada. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has moved the family business to The Silver State following the death of patriarch Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) in “The Godfather.” Turns out the mob realized decades ago what pro sports now realize: There’s tons of money to be made down south in Las Vegas. Northern Nevada is the setting for several pivotal scenes, including an assassination attempt on Michael and the film’s heartbreaking climax: the execution of Michael’s older brother Fredo, played by the stalwart character actor John Cazale.

So yeah, some serious stuff went down in Nevada in “The Godfather Part II,” a cinematic masterpiece which set new standards for sequels (there’s a reason “The Godfather” is one of the greatest trilogies ever) and movies in general. “The Godfather Part II” is one of only two sequels to win Best Picture, alongside “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” and it’s the only sequel to follow a fellow Best Picture winner, as “The Godfather” took the top prize two years earlier. There’s no denying that “The Godfather Part II” is one of the greatest films of all time, and the best movie set in Nevada.