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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wayne and Scott Brawl Highlights Classic!,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Spoilers [VHS] (VHS Tape)
'The Spoilers' may be the most often-filmed western, ever, yet it has been largely forgotten by today's moviegoers, which is a shame! This is a riproaring adventure yarn with claimjumpers, a sexy romantic triangle, loads of humor, and, to cap things off, the most spectacular fistfight in screen history!The second of three Marlene Dietrich/John Wayne teamings (and Duke is third-billed, behind Dietrich and Randolph Scott!), the plot is simple; evil government 'agents' arrive in Alaska, steal goldminers' claims, until the miners finally take matters into their own hands! The climactic fistfight, between Wayne and Randolph Scott, is the stuff of legends! You can hold up 'The Quiet Man', or 'Hard Times', or 'Any Which Way But Loose' as having epic brawls, but this one tops them all! We're talking shirts ripped to shreds, broken furniture and windows, rolling under horses and through the mud mayhem, here! If this were pro football, both Scott and Wayne would make the All-Madden Team, for sure! This film may never make a 'Classic Westerns' list (other than mine!), but it is a VERY enjoyable tale that shouldn't be forgotten! If you love a good Western, particularly if you're a John Wayne fan, 'The Spoilers' is a MUST!
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Let's Do It The Hard Way !",
By peterfromkanata (Kanata, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Spoilers (DVD)
"The Spoilers" is an excellent western, released in 1942, that just misses being a classic. I suppose with the setting in Nome, Alaska, it should be called a "northern" ! The film boasts a potent starring trio of John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich and Randolph Scott, and has remained famous over the years for its climactic, no-holds-barred fistfight between those two icons of western cinema, Wayne and Scott.Clocking in at just under an hour and a half, "The Spoilers" does not have a complcated plot. The gold rush is on, but ruthless government agents, led by a swaggering crook named McNamara ( an atypically villainous Randolph Scott ), are trying to chisel miners out of their property. Cherry Malotte, the local casino operator ( smouldering Marlene Dietrich ) may seem like a tough woman on the outside, but she has supported a number of the miners and is pleased when her old flame, Glennister ( formidable John Wayne ), is back in town. Cherry's relationship with Glennister is about as calm and centred as that of two Siamese fighting fish ! At the same time, McNamara's pursuit of Cherry is only slightly less energetic than his efforts to steal gold mines, so when the showdown comes, the "Duke" has a lot at stake. In addition to the three stars, there are many supporting performances of note, with faces familiar to fans of old "A" and "B" westerns--Harry Carey, George Cleveland, Russell Simpson, William Farnum, Ray Bennett and Forrest Taylor to name a few. The movie is directed with a lot of energy by Ray Enright. The sets are impressive--check those streets--thick mud--I suspect that Nome around 1900 was like this--plenty of booze, mud, fortunes won and lost, and a busy undertaker ! The DVD exhibits a black and white picture with reasonable quality. When a movie is 62 years old, I tend to be less critical about technical matters than some reviewers. There are no extras whatsoever. Surely there are some noted film critics out there who could have provided some interesting background comments ? Hey--Leonard Maltin--hey Roger Ebert--how about a little help here ? "The Spoilers", even with the legendary fisticuffs, is not--for me, at least--in the top echelon of classic westerns. At the same time, Wayne, Dietrich and Scott are so watchable that this disc still deserves a place in the collection of any serious fan.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing to get Spoiled Over In This Great Looking DVD!,
By Nix Pix (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Spoilers (DVD)
"The Spoilers" is an unabashed adventure flick brimming with romance, humor and spectacular action. The plot, such as it is, is simple but compelling. When government agents arrive in Alaska and 'steal' a gold miner's claim, the miners decide to retaliate. John Wayne is a miner who's claim has been stolen by the local magestrate, played by Randolph Scott. Both Scott and John Wayne cut dashing figures of masculinity across the stark but beautiful Alaskan backdrops. Marlene Dietrich - as the lusty, husky-voiced madam, is at her most provocative, sensual best. The climactic fistfight, between Wayne and Scott is defiantly brutal to say the least.TRANSFER: Exemplary. The B&W picture can be nicely balanced. Blacks are sometimes unstable. There's a limited amount of film grain and age related artifacts that enhances the performances. Digital anomalies are generally not an issue, though some edge enhancement is present. The audio is mono but nicely cleaned up. EXTRAS: Forget it! Universal generally doesn't think much of its classic film library and this disc is no exception. BOTTOM LINE: "The Spoilers" is recommended as a near reference quality DVD.
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