NR | 1h 27m | Drama, Western | 1942
The Gold Rush of the 1800s was a natural breeding ground for drama. It was an untamed frontier where fortune-seekers gambled everything for a chance at striking it rich.
Lawless boomtowns sprang up overnight and opportunists lurked in every shadow. The pursuit of gold often became a brutal contest of survival. The winners didn’t always have the best claims, but were ruthless enough to keep them.
Love, Chaos, and Corruption up North
In the heart of Nome, Alaska, where the promise of gold fuels both dreams and desperation, a crowded saloon roars with life. The air is thick with smoke and with the clatter of poker chips and the boisterous voices of men chasing fortune.Among them, the grizzled Flapjack Sims (Russell Simpson) and Banty (George Cleveland) grumble over being run off of their claim. Watching it all is Cherry Malotte (Dietrich), the saloon’s crafty proprietor, whose thoughts are less on the gambling tables and more on a man from her past, Roy Glennister (Wayne).
But Roy’s return to town brings complications, and not just for Cherry. He arrives from his latest venture with his trusted friend Al Dextry (Harry Carey) and a new companion on his arm—the refined Helen Chester (Margaret Lindsay).
Beneath the raucous revelry of Nome’s gold boom, corruption festers like a malignant tumor. The recently appointed Gold Commissioner, Alex McNamara (Scott), is not all he seems; whispers of backroom deals and stolen claims spread, and alliances shift like quicksand.
A Star-Studded Production
“The Spoilers” coasts by on its star power rather than any particular strengths in storytelling. Released in 1942, Wayne, Scott, and Dietrich, also appeared in the excellent drama “Pittsburgh,” produced that same year.The plot treads familiar ground—gold miners, land fraud, and a hero caught between two women. One is respectable but cold, the other a saloon queen who makes questionable choices, but ultimately has a good heart. If that sounds familiar, it’s because “The Spoilers” shares striking similarities with “In Old California,” another film starring Wayne released around the same time.
But with this caliber of cast, it’s hard not to hit a bullseye. Scott deftly plays a silver-tongued schemer rather than the upright cowboy he’s usually known for, and Samuel S. Hinds, best known as the kindly father in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” is almost gleeful as a corrupt judge.
Charles Halton, often a fussy bureaucrat in other films, also turns up as a villain. Dietrich adds glamour, though she’s saddled with unflattering frocks, and a role that gives her little to do beyond looking sometimes flirty, and sometimes jealous.
What “The Spoilers” is best remembered for is its climactic fistfight between Wayne and Scott, a sprawling brawl that wrecked the saloon and set a new standard for on-screen fisticuffs.
Wayne brought an easygoing charm to his role, a quality that would fade as he adopted the grittier, more stoic persona of his later years.
While the film doesn’t break new ground, it delivers a solid dose of gold-rush intrigue, star-driven charisma, and old-fashioned action. A sturdy, entertaining Western that is worth a watch.
