''The Spoilers'' is a 1930 American
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
film directed by
Edwin Carewe
Edwin Carewe (March 3, 1883 – January 22, 1940) was an American motion picture director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. His birth name was Jay John Fox; he was born in Gainesville, Texas.
Career
After brief studies at the Universities of ...
and starring
Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...
,
Kay Johnson
Catherine Townsend Johnson (November 29, 1904 – November 17, 1975) was an American stage and film actress.
Family
Johnson was born in Mount Vernon, New York. Her father was architect Thomas R. Johnson, who worked in the firm of Cass Gil ...
, and
Betty Compson. Set in
Nome, Alaska during the
1898 Gold Rush, the film is about a gold prospector and a corrupt Alaska politician who fight for control over a gold mine. The film features a spectacular saloon fistfight between Cooper and
William "Stage" Boyd.
''The Spoilers'' was adapted to screen by Bartlett Cormack from the 1906
Rex Beach
Rex Ellingwood Beach (September 1, 1877 – December 7, 1949) was an American novelist, playwright, and Olympic water polo player.
Early life
Rex Beach was born in Atwood, Michigan, but moved to Tampa, Florida, with his family where his father ...
novel
of the same name. Film versions also appeared in
1914
This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
,
1923
Events
January–February
* January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory).
* January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...
,
1942
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...
, and
1955.
Plot
While traveling to Nome, Alaska, Roy Glenister (
Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...
) meets beautiful Helen Chester (
Kay Johnson
Catherine Townsend Johnson (November 29, 1904 – November 17, 1975) was an American stage and film actress.
Family
Johnson was born in Mount Vernon, New York. Her father was architect Thomas R. Johnson, who worked in the firm of Cass Gil ...
), who soon becomes his sweetheart. Glenister is one of several owners of a lucrative mine called The Midas. When he arrives in Nome, he discovers that his partners, Slapjack Simms (
Slim Summerville
Slim Summerville (born George Joseph Somerville; July 10, 1892 – January 5, 1946), was an American film actor and director best known for his work in comedies.
Early life
Summerville was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his mother d ...
) and Joe Dextry (
James Kirkwood), are in the middle of a legal dispute with three corrupt officials: United States Marshal Voorhees (Jack Holmes), Judge Stillman (
Lloyd Ingraham
Lloyd Chauncey Ingraham (November 30, 1874 – April 4, 1956) was an American film actor and director.
Biography
Born in Rochelle, Illinois, Ingraham appeared in more than 280 films between 1912 and 1950, as well as directing more than 100 f ...
), and a politician named Alec McNamara (
William "Stage" Boyd ). They have been engaged in a racket claiming titles to various mines, ejecting the miners, and then making McNamara owner of the disputed properties.
The three corrupt officials lay claim to The Midas. McNamara also steals money from Glenister, Dextry, and Slapjack, preventing them from enlisting legal help from the United States. When Dextry and Glenister plan a vigilante action, McNamara calls in a detail of soldiers to protect "his property". As Glenister and McNamara prepare for a gunfight, they are dissuaded by Helen, who suggests that the courts handle the dispute. Later, after jealous saloon owner Cherry Malotte (Betty Compson) lies to Glennister telling him that Helen and McNamara are conspiring to cheat him again, Glennister and McNamara settle their differences with a spectacular fistfight, with McNamara getting the worst. Afterwards, Glenister wins the hand of Helen.
Cast
*
Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...
as Roy Glenister
*
Kay Johnson
Catherine Townsend Johnson (November 29, 1904 – November 17, 1975) was an American stage and film actress.
Family
Johnson was born in Mount Vernon, New York. Her father was architect Thomas R. Johnson, who worked in the firm of Cass Gil ...
as Helen Chester
*
Betty Compson as Cherry Malotte
*
William "Stage" Boyd as Alec McNamara
* Harry Green as Herman
*
Slim Summerville
Slim Summerville (born George Joseph Somerville; July 10, 1892 – January 5, 1946), was an American film actor and director best known for his work in comedies.
Early life
Summerville was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his mother d ...
as Slapjack Simms
*
James Kirkwood as Joe Dextry
*
Lloyd Ingraham
Lloyd Chauncey Ingraham (November 30, 1874 – April 4, 1956) was an American film actor and director.
Biography
Born in Rochelle, Illinois, Ingraham appeared in more than 280 films between 1912 and 1950, as well as directing more than 100 f ...
as Judge Stillman
*
Oscar Apfel
Oscar C. Apfel (January 17, 1878 – March 21, 1938) was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927.
Biography
Apf ...
as Struve
*
George Irving as William Wheaton
* Knute Erickson as Captain Stevens
*
Merrill McCormick
William Merrill McCormick (February 5, 1892 – August 19, 1953) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1916 and 1953.
William Merrill McCormick was born on February 5, 1892, in Denver, Colorado.
McCormick ap ...
as Miner
*
Charles K. French
Charles K. French (born Charles Ekrauss French or Charles E. Krauss; January 17, 1860 – August 2, 1952) was an American film actor, screenwriter and director who appeared in more than 240 films between 1909 and 1945.
Biography
French was ...
as Man in Bar
* Jack Holmes as Voorhees
* John Beck as Hanson
Production
''The Spoilers'' was filmed on location in Oregon.
Reception
In his review for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', Mordaunt Hall gave the film a negative review for its poor narrative, unconvincing plot, and "absurdly melodramatic dialogue".
Believing that the film would have benefitted from more details of the working for gold and fewer scenes in gambling halls and other places,
Hall continued:
Finally, Hall criticized the film's "general lack of intelligence" and the narrative, which "runs from one scene to another with too much threatening talk and an ineffectual misunderstanding between Glenister and Helen Chester, who are in love with each other."
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Spoilers 1930
1930 films
Films directed by Edwin Carewe
1930s English-language films
Films based on American novels
1930 Western (genre) films
Paramount Pictures films
Films based on Western (genre) novels
Films set in Alaska
American black-and-white films
American Western (genre) films
Films based on The Spoilers (Beach novel)
Remakes of American films
Sound film remakes of silent films
1930s American films