The Spoilers

"Crashing Fists in the Gold-Crazed Alaska of '98!"

1942 1h 27m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 68

DramaWestern

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When honest ship captain Roy Glennister gets swindled out of his mine claim, he turns to saloon singer Cherry Malotte for assistance in his battle with no-good town kingpin Alexander McNamara.

“Crashing Fists in the Gold-Crazed Alaska of '98!”

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Cast

Marlene Dietrich
Cherry Malotte
Randolph Scott
McNamara
John Wayne
Glennister
Margaret Lindsay
Helen Chester
Harry Carey
Dextry
Richard Barthelmess
Bronco Kid
George Cleveland
Banty
Samuel S. Hinds
Judge Stillman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ray Enright
Writers: Tom Reed, Lawrence Hazard
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

84 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ray Enright, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Hans J. Salter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marlene Dietrich and Randolph Scott and John Wayne carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Crashing Fists in the Gold-Crazed Alaska of '98!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0035369 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 68 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ray Enright directs. Milton Krasner behind the camera. Hans J. Salter scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
284 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Ray Enright, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Hans J. Salter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Marlene Dietrich and Randolph Scott and John Wayne carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Crashing Fists in the Gold-Crazed Alaska of '98!".
7IMDB entry: tt0035369 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 68 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Original score: Hans J. Salter
Costume design: Vera West
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Spoilers (1942)

Also by

Ray Enright

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-06-03
★ 7/10
No fighting in here allowed unless it's over me. 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
CinemaSerf2022-06-26
★ 6/10
An oddly mis-matched cast of Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne and Randolph Scott star in this adaptation of Rex Beach's adventure tale of two miners (financed by Dietrich - a saloon owner/entertainer) who have to put up a fight against the corrupt land commissioner who is bent on stealing all the lucrative claims from their rightful owners. The cast don't really gel but that actually helps it along - it's very implausibility (e.g. Wayne in ladies' apparel) and a decent wise-cracking dialogue makes it quite entertaining. The ending is never in doubt - good will out - but it's quite an enjoyable ride to the finish with a journeyman cast of supporting actors - and a great bar brawl too!
Wuchak2022-09-04
★ 7/10
Worthwhile old Western about Alaskan prospectors vs. corrupt officials with Wayne, Scott and Dietrich In 1900, the Nome Gold Rush attracts claim-jumpers, including a smooth gold commissioner (Randolph Scott), who’s in league with a crooked judge (Samuel S. Hinds). An alluring saloon owner (Marlene Dietrich) is aware of the corruption as her old beau (John Wayne) arrives on the same ship as the ‘judge,’ arm-in-arm with his winsome niece (Margaret Lindsay). The situation builds to a confrontation between the honest miners and the thieves masquerading as “the law.” "The Spoilers" (1942) is a B&W Western and one of five cinematic versions of the 1906 Rex Beach novel that was based on real-life corrupt officials, such as Alexander McKenzie, who seized gold mines from hard-working prospectors, which Beach himself witnessed when prospecting. While the film’s hindered by some understandable quaint elements (the B&W photography, the score and bits of goofy side amusement involving a couple of sourdoughs), you can’t beat the notable cast of Wayne, Scott and Dietrich. Both Marlene (Cherry) and Margaret (Helen) are appealing in different ways. Although the flick is talky, you get to know the characters and find yourself involved in the story, assuming you can roll with the old-fashioned style. As far as thrills go, there’s a gunfight or two, a saloon fight, a jailbreak, a train crash and, best of all, a mano a mano melee between the characters played by Wayne and Scott, which took five days to plot and execute. I heard Randolph mistimed one punch and broke John’s nose, which of course delayed filming. The movie runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot at Lake Arrowhead, San Bernardino National Forest, which is just east of the Los Angeles area, as well as Universal Studios. Some second unit work was done in Sunland, California (just north of L.A.), and possibly Yukon, Canada. GRADE: B