The Spoilers

You wait for their final settlement throughout the film, but in the end you will be rewarded. Marlene is the star here, she shines in every scene like the lighthouse in the storm of chaos, and her acting and presence reduce both Wayne and Scott to almost dummies or at least puppets. Wayne has something to defend though and does so with a vengeance, while your sympathies for Scott are constantly reduced, so that you finally even are tempted to say 'good riddance' to the judge when he leaves the sinking ship of lawlessness and brings the law out of the country with him. For once individual rights get the better of bureaucracies and formalities. It's great entertainment all the way, although the plot gets rather mixed up with details, but it's the brawl scenes that make the film, which above all is worth watching for the splendour of Marlene Dietrich.

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.

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 Spoilers" takes place in Nome, Alaska--where men are men and the women work in saloons. It's a two-fisted "western" about hardworking men who staked their claims to Yukon gold and those who tried to jump their claims.

John Wayne plays Roy Glennister, co-owner of a mine operation. Randolph Scott plays Alex McNamara, a man who works in the gold office and wants to stake his own claim to Glennister's girlfriend, Cherry (played by Marlene Dietrich). As owner of the town saloon, Cherry is a tough businesswoman with a soft spot for Glennister, who likes to keep things informal.

Much of the plot of this traditional western is predictable, but the action is nonstop and the story is engaging. It is also a parable of sorts about the difference between law and justice. This was not the first time this story was filmed and it wouldn't be the last. In 1955, "The Spoilers" hit the big screen again. But Wayne's version is more satisfying.

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