The plot of this star-studded film is pretty familiar, involving crooked officials and their henchmen trying to steal the claims and gold of hardworking miners, along with a somewhat troubled romance between the hero and a dancehall queen with a heart of gold. There's even a spectacular train wreck worthy of Cecil DeMille. Marlene Detrich definitely is the queen of dancehall queens, with her penetrating aloof style. Randolf Scott makes a memorable villain, and Wayne gets to use his fists on numerous occasions, including a memorably long one with Scott, which should have resulted in a long hospital stay for both, if authentic. Harry Carey, Russell Simpson and George Cleveland add their usual "oldtimer" personas. Wayne was the hero in another film made the same year with a very similar plot involving 49ers, called "In Old California".<br /><br />By way of historical background, there was minimal law and order in Nome at this time, when thousands arrived each month in the summer. Claim jumping and other irregularities were rampant. A common device was to issue claims, via the power of attorney, for relatives and friends not present and probably often fictitious. There was a crooked judge, rather like the judge in the film. Many of the latecomers, frustrated that all the good creeks had been claimed, established narrow claims on the beach, after it was discovered that the beach sands contained appreciable gold.<br /><br />I'd like to discuss two of the secondary main characters:Helen Chester and Bronco, who are glossed over in most reviews. Helen, played by raven-haired Margaret Lindsay, is well characterized in some respects, but poorly in other respects. She is in an ambiguous situation through most of the film. What is clear is her infatuation with Roy (Wayne), with whom she seems to have had an affair on the boat from Seattle, and her recognition that she will probably remain a temporary diversion for Roy, whose main female interest will remain Cherry. Just why she came to Nome is unclear, as is the extent of her involvement in the claim jumping schemes. She is supposedly the niece of the crooked judge Stillman and comes across as a rather colorless debutante. She seems to disapprove of the claim jumping operations, especially when they involve Roy. It is unclear why the leadership of the claim jumping gang tolerates her presence during their discussions of plans, knowing her involvement with Roy and her cool attitude toward their operations. In any case, she serves as an involuntary insider for information important to Roy and the miners. Although she doesn't have the guts to do anything about a Roy assassination plot, her information saves his life. She also gives the film its title with her remark that "We're nothing but a cheap lot of spoilers". In this context, spoilers means crooks.<br /><br />Bronco is played by Richard Barthelmess, whose better acting days were far behind in the silent era. Bronco appears to be a rather colorless right hand man for Cherry, with a rather sinister look, who probably has had a very shady past. He has the hots for Cherry and nobody else, so he says. Thus, he has something in common with Roy. When Cherry is mad at Roy, he tries to weasel in as her number one, but gets nowhere. During the bank holdup, he tries to shoot Roy from the dark shallows, presumably to eliminate his chief rival for the affections of Cherry. Cherry then coerces him into helping save Roy from assassination, then helping the miners take back their claims by force. Clearly he is marked by the plot to die, and he does.