The Spoilers (1955)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Jesse Hibbs

Writers:

Rex Beach (novel)
Rex Beach (play) ...

Release Date:

15 December 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

REX BEACH'S IMMORTAL SAGA OF THE YUKON! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot Keywords:

1890s | Alaska | Saloon Owner | Deception | Corruption

Cast

Anne Baxter	...	Cherry Malotte
Jeff Chandler	...	Roy Glennister
Rory Calhoun	...	Alexander McNamara
Ray Danton	...	'Bronco' Blackie
Barbara Britton	...	Helen Chester
John McIntire	...	Dextry
Carl Benton Reid	...	Judge Stillman
Wallace Ford	...	Flapjack Simms
Raymond Walburn	...	Mr. Skinner
Dayton Lummis	...	Lawyer Wheaton
Willis Bouchey	...	Jonathan Struve
Roy Barcroft	...	The Marshal
Ruth Donnelly	...	Duchess, Cherry's Maid
Forrest Lewis	...	Banty Jones
Byron Foulger	...	Montrose aka Monty

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #17492) | Sweden:15

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Final feature film of Barbara Britton.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Spoilers (1942)

Reasonably enjoyable western with solid plot

In the small western town of Nome, "spoiling" is rife – that is the practice of driving others off their land and jumping onto others' claims as if they were your own. Without law and order Dextry and his partner Roy Glennister risk losing their mine to a group of characters out to jump their claim. The law is controlled by Alexander McNamara who stands to greatly benefit from getting control of the mines. As if the tension between Glennister and McNamara isn't tight enough as a result of this, McNamara also has eyes for Glennister's longtime girlfriend, hostess Cherry Malotte.

Having seen several westerns from the 1950's recently, I came to this with the impression that it would be just yet another forgettable genre film and, in a way, I suppose it was. However this is not to say that it is an average film because it is actually a pretty enjoyable genre picture. The plot mixes gun fights with crime with semi-love triangles and an air of comedy. It doesn't all sit well together but it does enough to provide an entertaining 90 minutes in the way that films of this nature used to try and do for their audiences. I personally didn't buy the love conflict aspect of it and would have liked that toned down a little bit in favour of more of the claim-jumping aspect but it all did enough to distract me on a quiet evening in.

The cast are solid enough but none of them particularly stuck in my mind. Baxter is colourful and does bring life to the film but the two male leads didn't impress me at all. Calhoun is just a mould of a leading man – nice smile, big chest, big jaw but nothing specific or special about him. Meanwhile Chandler just seems too old and grey for the character he is asked to play and I kept feeling like I was losing sight of him among the extras. Support from McIntire, Danton and others is OK but mostly the cast are just doing what the genre requires and no more.

Overall this is an enjoyable genre picture and it will provide entertainment for fans. The casual viewer will note the weaknesses that are inherent in this type of film but to be fair to it, it only does what you expect and for me it did it well enough to be a distracting piece of fun when I was in the mood for a solid bawdry western and nothing more.