The Spoilers

US (1942): Western

Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne and Randolph Scott star in the fourth version of Rex Beach's Western about Alaskan gold-rush prospectors. The ownership of Wayne and Harry Carey's mine is questioned by crooked gold commissioner Scott, who's in cahoots with the presiding judge. So the two prospectors plot to steal back their own assets from the bank. Saloon girl Dietrich helps Wayne at a key moment.

The highlight is the brutal, bare-knuckle brawl between Wayne and Scott. The scene was shot using 15 different cameras, including one placed on a seven-ton crane. It was inspired by a real fight between two miners that author Rex Beach had witnessed in Nome, Alaska. All three stars re-created their triangle in Universal's Pittsburgh (1942). Yukon poet Robert W. Service appears in an unusual cameo. Ray Enright directs for Universal. Cast also includes Margaret Lindsay and Richard Barthelmess. (amctv.com)

· Interior Decoration (Black and White) 1942: John B. Goodman, Jack Otterson - Art Direction; Russell A. Gausman, Edward R. Robinson - Set Decoration

1 nomination