The Spoilers (1930)
On a voyage to Nome, Roy Glenister, one of the several owners of a rich mine, The Midas, is captivated by Helen Chester, while he both fascinates and disquiets her by his primitive nature. He arrives to find his partners, Slapjack Simms and Joe Dextry, befuddled by a trio of no-gooders: Voorhees, the U. S. marshal, Judge Stillman, and McNamara, a politician. Their racket is to cloud title to the various mine claims, eject the miners, and make McNamara owner of the disputed properties.
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Fresh and Exciting
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
I've hesitated reviewing this film which I have the barest recollection of seeing as a kid during the 60s on television. There seems to be a print in existence, but whether it will be restored or whether we'll never get to see this third version of The Spoilers God only knows.Certainly Gary Cooper was every inch the hero John Wayne and Jeff Chandler were in later adaptions. If you've seen the other two sound versions of The Spoilers they follow the plot Rex Beach had in his original novel. Certainly Marlene Dietrich as saloon entertainer Cherry Malotte brought far more of her welcome self than Betty Compson does here.But there is one big variation. Instead of the judge's niece being an innocent party Kay Johnson is in on the scheme to bilk Gary Cooper out of his gold claim and the profits therein. Her 'innocence' is not existence, to some degree she's a bigger seductress than Cherry Malotte. This is what I remember best from the Gary Cooper version.The climax of course is the fight between Cooper and crooked William Boyd, not the Hopalong Cassidy William Boyd, but William 'Stage" Boyd so billed as to distinguish him from the other William Boyd. The two really tear into each other for about 15 minutes. This one set the standard for screen fisticuffs.I'd really like to see this version of The Spoilers to see if my memory of it is correct.