The Silver Horde Reviews

It's rough-and-ready action set against the background of Alaskan salmon fishing. McCrea, in his first he-man part, is fighting both for control of a fishery as well as control of his love life. Dance hall floozy Brent helps the macho man defeat villainous competitor Gordon and proves to be the real lady for him, despite inroads on his heart by society-lady Arthur. This worked well in parts, with some good action sequences and a newsreel-style look at a salmon cannery. It had previously been produced as a silent film in 1920, taking its story from a popular novel by Beach. THE SILVER HORDE proved to be a pretty good part for McCrea and was one of his earliest breaks. This was veteran character actor Hatton's first "sidekick" role--that of McCrea's comic-relief companion --in a talking picture. He went on to play similar parts in a host of westerns. Sweet, a fine actress in many silent pictures, ended her film career here with a small, inconsequential part that was undeserving of her talents. Arthur would go on to work with Frank Capra on many films, though none of her real talents are evident in THE SILVER HORDE.