The Spoilers (1942)

Awesome Movie

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

A Charles K. Feldman Group Production for Frank Lloyd Productions, Inc. Copyright 15 April 1942 by Universal Pictures Co., Inc. New York opening at the Capitol: 21 May 1942. U.S. release: 8 May 1942. U.K. release through General Film Distributors: 13 July 1942. Australian release: 17 June 1943. 7,914 feet. 87 minutes.SYNOPSIS: A bogus gold commissioner and a crooked judge gain control of an Alaskan gold mine.NOTES: Fourth of five versions of The Spoilers. The others were made in 1914, 1923, 1930 and 1955. William Farnum, who plays the lawyer Wheaton in this one, starred as Glennister in the 1914 movie, while Lloyd Ingraham who plays a minor role here was Judge Stillman in the 1930 Gary Cooper-William Boyd version. Other Roy Glennisters were Milton Stills in 1923 and Jeff Chandler in 1955. McNamara was played by Tom Santschi, Noah Beery, William "Stage" Boyd, Randolph Scott and finally Rory Calhoun. The 1923 film was directed by Lambert Hillyer, while Edwin Carewe took control in 1930. Jesse Hibbs handled the 1955 film. This one was nominated for an award from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its black-and-white Art Direction, but lost to This Above All.COMMENT: Good to see this one again. True, the climactic fist fight in which Wayne and Scott are helped out by doubles, Eddie Parker and Alan Pomeroy, now seems somewhat less exciting. But it's hard to dim the allure of Miss Dietrich at her zenith (even if the script oddly fails to provide her with a single song, despite ample opportunities for same), whilst Scott is especially convincing as the villain. (Was this the only time he played a heavy?) Wayne of course is Wayne, but he is helped out by Harry Carey and a grand support cast. We could go through the list of players, commending people right, left and center, but we'll limit ourselves to a special pat on the back for Richard Barthelmess. The script packs in plenty of humor. The approach is often light-hearted with in-jokes ("Lee Marcus just checked out") including a guest appearance by Robert W. Service. The direction by Ray Enright is surprisingly fluid, and production values are nothing short of lavish.COMMENT ON A SECOND VIEWING: This Spoilers holds up rather well. The pace is fast, packing in plenty of action and even a few intentional laughs. Spectacularly filmed on an extremely lavish budget, with remarkably authentic-looking sets that were justly nominated for a prestigious Hollywood Award, this version also features an outstanding cast. Not only are the principals exciting, but many of the character players including favorites like Russell Simpson, Jack Norton, William Haade and Charles Halton are given some great opportunities to shine. Good to see Samuel S. Hinds excelling himself on the wrong side of the law for once. Ditto Margaret Lindsay. Of course Richard Barthelmess is always interesting, and we love Harry Carey too. Directed with marvelous pace and a fluid camera style by Ray Enright, of all people, but he was doubtless heavily strong-armed by producer Frank Mutiny on the Bounty Lloyd. The three main stars deserve cheers. Three cheers for the stars. Three cheers for the support players. Three cheers for the writers and all the technical personnel. Five out of five stars for the movie.

John Wayne and Marlene Dietrich made three movies together. Director Ray Enright's "The Spoilers" was the second one they co-starred in after Tay Garnett's "Seven Sinners" (1940) and then later Lewis Seiler's "Pittsburgh." Furthermore, "The Spoilers" was the second time that Randolph Scott co-starred with Wayne. The action takes place in Nome, Alaska, in 1900, when a new Gold Commissioner and a judge arrive in town. As Cherry Malotte, Dietrich is not only the most popular dame in town but also she operates a saloon. Wayne is cast as heroic protagonist Roy Glennister. He is a partner in a mine with Dextry (Harry Carey of "Angel and the Badman") who refuses to let a crooked judge take away their mind. Cherry and Roy are an item until Roy returns from Seattle with a sweet-looking gal who turns out to be the judge's daughter. It doesn't take Judge Horace Stillman (Samuel S. Hinds of "Cobra Woman") long to turn the town upside down with the corrupt gold commissioner Alexander McNamara (Randolph Scott of "Virginia City") and before long, they convince Roy to let them check up on the legitimacy of their mine. Shotgun toting hard-case Dextry would rather shoot than let the villains have their way, but Roy considers himself a law-abiding citizen, especially after the solemn judge assure him that they will clear matters up in no time. Meanwhile, Cherry isn't too happy with Helen Chester (Margaret Lindsay) and the effect that she is having on Roy. Helen is living in a fantasy until she discovers that Alexander and her father are a couple of chiseling thieves. Things come to a head when the law throws Roy in jail and the villains decide to let him escape so he can run smack into an ambush. Happily, Cherry and her henchman, Bronco Kid Farrow (Richard Barthelmess of "Only Angels Have Wings"), have their own surprise. Director Ray Enright stages fistfights, shoot-outs, and train crashes with appropriate gusto in this World War II era western. "The Spoilers" represents one of those rare times when Randolph Scott played a villain.

This movie goes strictly by formula, this cast made a much better movie, "Pittsburgh." This movie still has camp value.The make-up and wardrobe for the women is worth watching. How did they get all those marvelous dresses to Nome? And how did they keep them so clean and sparkly? La Dietrich wears hats that are strictly from outer space and makes her look Christmas tree-esquire.The script banter that compares getting in women's pants to playing poker goes on way over the top...but watching Randolph Scott and John Wayne go at it is pretty darned funny.So a 4 of 10 for movie overall, but an "8" for camp value.

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.