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The Silver Horde

1930 1h 16m Adventure List
Tomatometer 1 Reviews 29% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Alaskan businesswoman Cherry Malotte (Evelyn Brent) wants to woo Boyd Emerson (Joel McCrea), so she gets a fishing job for the handsome stranger. Although Boyd doesn't return her affections -- he pines for another woman, Mildred Wayland (Jean Arthur) -- he happily accepts the work. But when Boyd learns that Frederick Marsh (Gavin Gordon), a well-connected man who also loves Mildred, is trying to scuttle his chance of earning a living, he realizes he might have to deal with this romantic rival.

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The Silver Horde

Critics Reviews

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews It was easier for me to believe McCrea loved the salmon more than either Arthur or Brent. Rated: B- Jan 9, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Tom M You watch this film for McCrea and Arthur but Evelyn Brent is the real star. Typical 'which one will he choose?' movie with predictable ending. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/17/20 Full Review Audience Member Charming little movie... Loved Evelyn Brent as 'Cherry Malotte'... Joel McCrea and Jean Arthur great as usual. Solid pre-code flick! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review kevin w This pre-code adventure is set in Alaska back when it was still frozen over, and Joel McCrea is an earnest young man set on "pulling himself up by his own bootstraps" but failed at it, destitute. He gets help from a pretty local woman who steers him right about life and lending him some optimism in the bargain, only he doesn't know that his helper is actually "A girl who's been around" ... and that, dear reader, is what the film is about. Later on we get some charming history about Alaskan fishing and get to see some of the rugged toil involved with putting fish on American tables, and how the men are, well, rugged, and fighters, and all that. But the hook is essentially how is it we as society, and Joel's character to say the least, are to deal with a woman with a sordid past. They literally don't make'em like this anymore, and perhaps one of the adult-est films I've ever seen. Oh wait, Jean Arthur is in it too ... but to little effect. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a pretty bad movie, so don't get excited about seeing an early film with Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea. He plays a young man who starts up a new salmon cannery in Alaska, without realizing that he's gotten help from a young woman he's met (Evelyn Brent), or that she's known in those parts for being a woman of ill repute. His cannery is threatened by a rival fishing gang, and his engagement to Jean Arthur is threatened by his friendship with and growing feelings for Brent, who has a good heart and hardly seems like a fallen woman. There are all sorts of problems with the film, which hasn't aged well. The dialogue is stilted, and both McCrea and Arthur's acting is awful. There is not a whole lot to the plot, and it is tedious in developing. The sound quality is tinny even for 1930, especially early on. I'm not recommending you stick this one out even though it's only 75 minutes long, but if you do, a little after the one hour point you'll be rewarded with Brent bawling out Arthur, which is easily the highlight of the movie. Midway through the film you may also like the footage of the salmon in Alaska, going from them happily swimming upstream to spawn, to being caught, and then processed in an assembly line, but to me, these scenes didn't add anything, and seemed like filler. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member a tale about alaskan fishing in this pre-code early talkie Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Now thats more like it!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Silver Horde

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Alaskan businesswoman Cherry Malotte (Evelyn Brent) wants to woo Boyd Emerson (Joel McCrea), so she gets a fishing job for the handsome stranger. Although Boyd doesn't return her affections -- he pines for another woman, Mildred Wayland (Jean Arthur) -- he happily accepts the work. But when Boyd learns that Frederick Marsh (Gavin Gordon), a well-connected man who also loves Mildred, is trying to scuttle his chance of earning a living, he realizes he might have to deal with this romantic rival.
Director
George Archainbaud
Producer
William LeBaron
Screenwriter
Rex Beach
Production Co
RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre
Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 11, 2016
Runtime
1h 16m
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