The Spoilers

This is one of John Wayne's better movies. Harry Carey is good support as the older partner with the fiery temper. Randolph Scott appears as the bad guy of the movie which surprised me as I thought he always played good guys. The fight scene up and down the street between the two is pretty good. This entire scene was choreographed by the two of them and then they did the whole thing without stunt doubles. I have never understood Marlene Dietrich's draw as a sex symbol. She is not that appealing to me, but I was born after her hay day. Scott's character tries for a major gold mine grab with the help of a crooked almost judge. Of course this fails in the end and then that excellent fight scene pretty much closes the show.

"The Spoilers" is set during the Nome Gold Rush of the late 1890s and early 1900s. It is, apparently, based upon a novel by one Rex Beach which has been filmed on four other occasions, although I have never seen any of those versions. The "spoilers" of the title are a gang of claim-jumpers who, with the assistance of a corrupt Gold Commissioner and an equally corrupt judge are plotting to defraud honest miners of their legitimate claims. The hero is Roy Glennister, a mine owner who leads the fight against the claim-jumpers with the assistance of a saloon owner named Cherry Malotte. That sounds like the plot of a pretty standard Western; there are, for example, similarities with a film like "Duel at Silver Creek" from ten years later. In "The Spoilers", however, this standard Western plot is not taken altogether seriously but is generally played as a comedy. The gold-miners are generally crusty old characters with names like "Flapjack Sims" or "Bronco Kid Farrow". A serious film on this topic would doubtless have culminated with the bullet-riddled corpses of bad guys all lying on the ground after a climactic shoot-out, but instead the film ends with a spectacular saloon fistfight, and plenty of bruises but no fatal injuries. When the film was recently shown on television, the TV listings billed it as a "John Wayne film", but when it was first released Wayne was billed third behind Marlene Dietrich and Randolph Scott, even though he has the leading male role, that of Glennister. (Scott plays the villainous commissioner McNamara). In 1942 Scott was still the bigger name, even after Wayne's success in "Stagecoach", but today it is Wayne who is a major icon of American culture whereas Scott, although a big-name star throughout his career, is remembered, except by film buffs, more for unproven rumours of a gay affair with Cary Grant than for his films. Given the high regard in which Wayne is regarded today (for his acting, if not always for his politics), it seems strange to have to point out that he is actually the weak link in this film. Comedy, however, was never his strong point, and here he looks as though he would much rather have preferred to play Glennister as a straightforward action hero rather than having to play the whole thing for laughs. At least, however, "The Spoilers" is better than some of Wayne's other comedies from this period, such as the dire "A Man Betrayed" from the previous year and "A Lady Takes a Chance" from the following one. Most of the other actors, however, throw themselves into the comedy with gusto, especially Dietrich as Cherry Malotte, essentially a reincarnation of her character from "Destry Rides Again", complete with guttural German accent. She also gets good support from Marietta Canty as Cherry's loyal black servant Idabelle, even if some of her lines, such as the one about having to pretend that Eskimos come from Virginia, tend to grate upon the ear in these politically correct days. That concluding fist-fight is a lot of fun too. Not a great Western, although an occasionally enjoyable one. 5/10

One of the many good-but-not-great westerns (or would this be a "northern"?) that John Wayne made between *Stagecoach* and *Fort Apache*, *The Spoilers* has top-billed Marlene Dietrich more or less reprising her role from *Destry Rides Again* (they even play an instrumental version of "Little Joe" in the background of one scene). But the truly inspired bit of casting is Randolph Scott as McNamara, the Mining Commissioner. McNamara is established immediately as Wayne's rival in love and a little later as a business obstacle. Given the conventions of the genre, we would assume his villainy from the beginning...except, you know, it's *Randolph Scott*. I mean, that would be like...well, like making John Wayne the villain. So when it turns out that he is the villain, it's a genuine surprise (for the longest time, I kept thinking that he'd have one of those Hollywood conversions right at the end and help Wayne to set things right before dying in a hail of gunfire). And of course, Randolph Scott couldn't be expected to lose easily to some young whippersnapper named "Marion," so they were almost required to do the excellent brawl which ends the film. (Another inspired piece of casting which I didn't know about until I looked it up is Robert W. Service playing Robert W. Service.)

The opening credits of The Spoilers are interesting: Marlene Dietrich gets first billing but her character has nothing to do with the plot, Randolph Scott gets second billing but he's the bad guy with the smaller part, and John Wayne (the lead) gets third billing. It's about the gold rush in Nome, Alaska in the olden days. John Wayne has a claim staked with his partner, Harry Carey, but when he's off on a trip, claim jumper Scottie tries to sabotage him. With a crooked judge on his side, it looks like the Duke is up a tree - especially since the judge's niece Margaret Lindsay is only pretending to be sweet on him to trap him, and his saloon floozy ex-girlfriend Marlene Dietrich has moved her bag to the enemy camp. I actually didn't finish watching The Spoilers. The dialogue was the best part, pushing naughty innuendos through the Hays Code censors, but I couldn't take it anymore. The plot was lousy, the acting lackluster, and the production values like a 1930s B-picture. I don't know if I've ever turned off a Randolph Scott movie before, so that speaks volumes as to how bad this one was. Save your time and watch another movie tonight.

Nice action picture marks "The Spoilers." Taking place in Nome, Alaska, John Wayne and Harry Carey own a gold mine. Along comes the gold commissioner (Randolph Scott) and a judge who work together as crooks to swindle people out of their stakes. Marlene Dietrich is along for the ride as a gambling dance-hall queen. Her role is very similar to that of "Destry Rides Again," which was made three years before this picture. Naturally, the Scott and judge duo want to clip Wayne and Carry. The judge has a niece (Margaret Lindsay) who will not quite make that happen. We've got shoot 'em ups, bar room brawls and dynamite explosions. If that isn't enough, we have Richard Barthelmess as Dietrich's manager who kills the sheriff and tries to frame Wayne for the murder. Barthelmess loves Dietrich and Wayne is in the way. Not bad, 2 women falling for Wayne. Nice action flick with the theme of watch out for the law. A typical western production that works.

I like films like THE SPOILERS because they have absolutely no pretense about them. They are simple B-movie-type films with relatively simple plots and familiar actors but pack a lot of predictable but fun entertainment into them. Sure, since it's a John Wayne flick you KNOW that he will win in the end and you KNOW what to expect. And, for me, that's not a bad thing. I like a good old fashioned John Wayne flick like most of the ones he did in the 40s--good, solid, and entertaining. The only odd thing is that the Duke is billed 3rd when it is clearly his film. Top billing went to Marlena Dietrich--who at the time was the bigger star. However, her part is pretty flat and she clearly acts in support of Wayne. And, second billing went to Randolph Scott. But, once again he was clearly not the leading character but the villain. Now if all this doesn't make sense, you need to understand that although Wayne had made many films by 1942, most were B-movies and he still was only just becoming the break-out star he would so clearly be in just a few short years. In addition to being a good old John Wayne flick (among his better ones of the 40s), the direction and plot are pretty good as well. A very good movie--nearly deserving a score of 8.

We are in Nome, Alaska, miner Roy Glennister (John Wayne) and his partner Dextry (Harry Carey), are forced to fight to save their gold claims from the crooked commissioner, Alexander McNamara (Randolph Scott). Backed by sultry saloon owner and entertainer Cherry Malotte (Marlene Dietrich), the team must overcome both the odds and suspect politicians in order to get their just deserts. Rex Beach's novel has been adapted five times thus far, and it's not hard to see why because the story is as solid as it gets. This take on the source has a wonderful sense of fun and adventure oozing from it, the cast are uniformly great and the direction from Ray Enright is tight and unobtrusive. Some fine set pieces dot themselves throughout the picture, culminating in a right royal (and lengthy) punch up between Wayne & Scott. No overkilling or tediously ham sequences are here, this is simply an enjoyable Western achieving all it set out to achieve from the off. 7/10

This is the fourth of five filmed versions of Rex Beach's redoubtable northern classic and since it's the only one out on video, it's the one best known to movie audiences. The stalwart trio of Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, and John Wayne head the cast in this story about gold miners losing their claims to con men and doing something about it. Dietrich's Cherry Malotte is another version of the role she copyrighted in Destry Rides Again. And like in Pittsburgh, Randolph Scott and John Wayne have their hormones in overdrive. Randolph Scott is the gold commissioner/conman Alex McNamara and it's the only time he ever played a thoroughgoing villain on the screen and he carries it off, but I prefer my Randolph Scott to be tough and heroic. You need someone like Scott around because even though John Wayne's the good guy, he's just a little too sure of himself where Dietrich is concerned. Even though her heart's with the Duke, Marlene probably liked having Scott around. Lots of slam bang action here, topped off by what some consider the most brutal movie fight in screen history. Its close rival in Pittsburgh also featured Wayne and Scott and this one is longer, but not as brutal as in Pittsburgh. Nice cast of good supporting character actors and pay particular attention to Scott's companions in thievery, Samuel S. Hinds and Charles Halton. With Randy Scott and the Duke and la Dietrich, how can you go wrong.

The old Rex Beach chestnut, The Spoilers, has been filmed several times, from the early silent days to the Eisenhower fifties. A durable tale indeed. When the first version was made the Emperor Franz Josef was still on the throne in Austria. All versions feature the famous fight between McNamara and Glennister, that begins in a saloon and ends several miles down the street. Windows get shattered, tables and chairs fly through the air, and people gasp in horror. This 1942 film, directed by the reliable Ray Enright, is actually genteel compared to the silent versions, and as much a vehicle for Marlene Dietrich as anything else. As she was riding the comeback trail, in the wake of her spectacular success in Destry Rides Again, she plays a saloon singer, which had become her specialty. A rousing "Northern" western, set in the days of the Alaskan Gold Rush (which was, incidentally, closer in historical time to the year this film was made than we are to World War II), The Spoilers has a fairly conventional plot about prospectors, claim-jumpers, and the various hangers-on, honest and crooked, that made mining towns like Nome so exciting,--and so dangerous. Leading men Randoloph Scott and John Wayne make rugged adversaries, though I find Scott somewhat more appealing, which isn't supposed to be the case. Wayne is competent if a little anonymous here. The supporting cast includes the reliable Harry Carey, Richard Barthelmess, Samuel Hinds, and in a cameo (I'm not making this up), the poet, Robert Service, best known for "The Shooting Of Dan McGrew". I guess if you're going to cast a poet in a film like this you don't go for Edna St. Vincent Millay. Service is most appropriate casting. The sets are quite good, and at times quite fancy; and the streets are muddy, though I seem to remember the earlier films as having a more realistic, dirty look, as Alaska here is cleaner and at least physically less forbidding than one might expect. As to the climactic fight, it is well enough done, and properly violent, though neither participant seems nearly so bloodied up as he ought to. Overall, the movie is satisfying, more routine than I expected, and yet a worthy entry in that fascinating sub-genre, the Gold Rush Western.

This movie's got a good enough plot that it's been made at least 4 times, so you know that part's covered. It's a good story that holds up and moves at a good pace. The cast of stars are caught at interesting times in their varying careers. Dietrich is riding the Destry saloon girl role in a carbon copy of the original that belabors a huge oversized Gibson-girl wig and multiple extraordinary outfits befitting Marlene "the star". She brings her distinctive charm to the role and has a tongue-in-cheek ball with the sexually loaded script, but her role has nothing extra-special or magical. John Wayne is full of swagger and charm and working his way up the ladder towards the title of big stud cowboy on campus. Randolph Scott is turning the corner of his career into Westerns also; abandoning those light comedy or milquestoast leading roles and showing a glimpse of the hardnose tough guy & questionably moral cowboy that he came to be in later career moves. This is the penultimate film for Richard Barthelmess and his role is a morose and bitter one that fits his personal situation of a star who had had his day in the sun and was ready to step-down. Kudos, big laughs and a robust round of applause to the best delivery, lines and most entertaining scenes which are all handled by Marlene's maid - Idabelle - played beautifully and naturally by Marietta Canty. She WILL have you laughing out loud! This film is chock full of sexual innuendo, lust-filled motivation and snide comments; all subtly and enjoyably delivered.