Flammen über dem Silbersee

Though only 68 minutes, Spoilers of the Forest, a modern western that replaces the horse with the jeep, has a lot to recommend it. Its basic plot involves the preservation of Montana forests from an unscrupulous logging firm headed by the actor who played Perry Mason's Inspector Tragg, Ray Collins. Hillary Brooke plays Collin's wife in what at first might appear to be an unlikely pairing, but they play well together as the villains. Rod Cameron works for them as their logging foreman. Collins and Cameron stumble upon a large, 50 tract parcel of Montana forest owned by Vera Ralston and her stepfather and his family. They want to log only one of the 50 tracts for environmental reasons, but Collins and Cameron want to log all 50 tracts and set about with a plan to trick Ralston into betraying her stepfather. Cameron is to romance Ralston, get her used to expensive things, so that she will agree to further logging. In wide screen Naturama and Trucolor, the film is beautifully shot by Jack Marta, director of photography. Directed by Republic's famous house director, Joseph Kane, Kane keeps the action moving right along. This film received three stars from the New York News when it was reviewed in 1957 and was featured as the "A" movie on many double bills. Finally, this is one of a handful of Ralston films in which she performs very well. I am surprised that the film hasn't been remade in the almost 50 years since Kane first produced and directed it.

As Republic Pictures ground to a halt in 1957/58 their production of about 20 films were mostly for the drive in circuits: Naturama was their in house Cinemascope, House Queen Vera Ralston appeared in quite a few, a lot were in Trucolor, their in-house process, and most were 70 minutes. Basically they just made Midwest level films in widescreen. However, given their name, expertise at action and economic releasing, they made money and were good double bill fillers...I have it on record that 1957/8 saw their biggest ever ticket sales for all releases and re releases: a total of $28 million. Film rentals would have been probably $9 million, making it a reasonably good season. But reported production costs for 25 films in '56 '57 were $15million........now without future prospects, the utter lampooning of Vera Ralston and the deposing of 80 year old studio head and founder Herbert J Yates (he was also Vera's husband) a stockholder mutiny about the no-future scenario saw the lot up for sale in 1959. This film, as with LISBON or AFFAIR IN RENO, or a few others might have made up the more prestige and innovative themes and releases, but it was all too late: Allied Artists and American International studios really offered stiff competition and a focused schedule and poor Republic remade the same films over and over: Their widescreen TIMBERJACK of 1955 is almost the same look and feel as SPOILERS and with Vera as well. SPOILERS did play good theaters and even in Oz had a respectable release to a Fox pic ("Blue Jeans") in 2000 seaters, so it was all there for them, but it was the same sort of movie over and over. Then one day in 1959 with PLUNDERS OF PAINTED FLATS, it was all over. All these Repubic films are well made and now quite fascinating, but there is a sense of doom in the air, even seen 55 years later. The other comment on this page for SPOILERS is also very informative and you should read that too.

It is so shameful to watch this Republic Pictures adventure yarn in f...pan and scan frame. A Trucolor adventure film starring some of the "home" Republic stars: Vera Ralston - Herbert J Yates' wife - and Rod Cameron. It is full of charm, action, romance, typical Republic film of this era, late fifties. Nothing spcial though, nothing surprising, but if you like rare films of this studio, don't miss your luck if you catch it. But it's not worth in pan and scan, it's a painful experience, because of the beautiful settings of the forests. Joseph Kane was a prolific director for the Republic Pictures and this all long his career, his best part being the second one, because of better budget at his disposal, and also a better knowledge in the business.