Year of Release: 1942Country of Origin: USA
Director: Ray Enright
Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, John Wayne
Plot outline: An Alaskan prospector fights a crooked federal agent to save his gold claim (IMDb).
Having pinched the muscles of Randolph Scott and John Wayne and found them solid, Ray Enright has leaped to a safe perch on a camera boom and let them slug it out for Marlene Dietrich's well-manicured hand. Naturally, a row of the dimensions that Enright has sent hurtling across tables, balconies and through windows in the last reel of the movie requires some sort of excuse. It has been doubly provided. Not only does Mr. Scott, that smooth-talking villain, try to rook Mr. Wayne of the Midas Gold Mine, but also he makes a few impolitic gestures in the direction of Miss Dietrich, who understands it when she sees one. As Cherry Malotte, a lady saloonkeeper, Miss Dietrich carries on in the rough-cut diamond tradition of Mae West and wears beruffled costumes about as concealing as the fins on a fish. In short, Miss Dietrich has left behind the subtle nuance, the languorous murmurings of love. No doubt that was the reason why they returned so often after jail breaks, train wrecks and free-for-all battles over a jumped claim. But Cherry, good woman, remained true to one man. She turned down Bronco Kid, otherwise Richard Barthelmess, who used to win the girl himself regularly not so many years ago, and when a frail young lady in the person of Margaret Lindsay momentarily threatened the theft of Mr. Wayne, Cherry shed only one tear before going on the warpath. Perhaps Cherry's complex affections seem a bit amusing at this distance, and thank Mr. Enright and Miss Dietrich's witty playing for keeping them so. Sprinkled with double entendres nearly as frankly cut as Miss Dietrich's gowns, the screenwriter and producer have kept their tongues firmly in their cheeks, even when stout Mr. Scott and Mr. Wayne begin tearing up the set. It's a lovely brawl. (NYT)
My judgement: *** out of 4 stars
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