The Silver Horde (1930)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

George Archainbaud

Writers:

Rex Beach (novel)
Wallace Smith (adaptation)

Release Date:

25 October 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

One Woman -- In a Land of Men

Plot:

A salmon fisherman has to choose between a bad girl and a society doll.

Plot Keywords:

Salmon | Fishing | Strangulation | Mining | Romantic Rivalry

Cast

Evelyn Brent	...	Cherry Malotte
Louis Wolheim	...	George Balt
Joel McCrea	...	Boyd Emerson
Raymond Hatton	...	Fraser
Jean Arthur	...	Mildred Wayland
Gavin Gordon	...	Frederick 'Fred' / 'Freddie' Marsh
Blanche Sweet	...	Queenie
Purnell Pratt	...	Wayne Wayland
William B. Davidson	...	Thomas 'Tom' Hilliard (as William Davidson)
Ivan Linow	...	Svenson

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Ketchikan, Alaska, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The title refers to migrating salmon.

Quotes:

Cherry Malotte: I'm Cherry Malotte! They know about me from San Francisco to Sitka. My reputation's got marks on it I couldn't rub off if I wanted to! I am what I am! I don't know how they finally settle things in this world or the next, but when the day comes I'll stand there with my chin up and take what's coming to me. And I wouldn't trade places with you, you white-livered, sweet-smelling hypocrite if they gave me a one-way ticket to Hell!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Why Be Good? Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema (2007)

Your Lox On A Bagel Will Never Look The Same Again!!!

Is there a fan of old-timey Hollywood films out there who is NOT in love with Jean Arthur? With her wholesome good looks, spunky demeanor, inimitable cracked voice and superb acting abilities, Arthur was certainly amongst the top-tier comedic actresses of the '30s and '40s. "The Silver Horde" is an early talkie that she appeared in five years before her breakthrough role in 1935's "The Whole Town's Talking." In this one she is third billed, and her part is a subsidiary one, playing a "pasty-faced namby-pamby" society dame; the fiancée of Joel McCrea, who is trying to get a salmon cannery up and running in the wilds of Alaska. McCrea is being secretly abetted by hooker turned businesswoman Evelyn Brent, while his chances of success are constantly being endangered by a rival operation across the bay. Anyway, this is a pretty taut little picture. It moves along briskly, and features some convincing exterior shots. It also boasts at least three very fine sequences: a dukeout between McCrea and a big Swede who wants to quit his job; a face-off between Arthur and Brent over their common love interest (the viewer's sympathies are wholly with Brent, in this case); and a fascinating look at just how salmon are caught, processed and wind up in cans. You'll never look at your salmon salad the same way again, I promise you! Oh...one other thing. The folks at Alpha Video have done it again; yet another DVD with poor picture quality and even lousier sound. This company has a huge catalog of films available, but when will it realize that quality is just as important as quantity?