The Spoilers (1955)
Directed by Jesse Hibbs
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
The Spoilers is the fourth and (very likely) last film version of Rex Beach's rugged Alaskan adventure yarn. Set during the Gold Rush of '98, the film stars Jeff Chandler as mine owner Roy Glennister, cheated out of his claim by gold commissioner Alex McNamara (Rory Calhoun). Though Glennister protests, the crooked McNamara has the law on his side. Saloonkeeper Cherry Malotte (Ann Baxter) constantly shifts her allegiance between Glennister and McNamara, though eventually she chooses the "right" side. Like all previous versions of The Spoilers, this one ends with a knock-down, drag-out fight between Glennister and McNamara--not as realistic, perhaps, as the famous bout between William Farnum and Tom Santschi in the original 1914 adaptation of The Spoilers, but a heck of a lot more exciting. Raymond Walburn makes his final film appearance as town inebriate Mr. Skinner.
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Keywords
bad-guy, bar [pub], claim, commissioner, conflict, corruption, cowboy, deception, false-accusation, gold, gold-mine, good-guy, justice, killing, land-scheme, land-war, love, manager, mine, niece, owner, partner, romance, scheme, town, victim, beach
