The Silver Horde: Fish, Fights, and That Waaay Too Early 1900s Vibe

Okay, The Silver Horde. Remember when you’re at a kräftskiva in Norrland, sticky fingers, some old relative telling tales from gold rush times? That’s actually how I felt watching this 1930 flick. George Archainbaud (yeah, he probably deserves a “hej där” for being the director) gives us a movie that’s somewhere between an old-fashioned adventure and a soap opera. Sure, I watched it because Joel McCrea is in it – he was like the Brad Pitt of his time, except even taller and probably eating less knäckebröd.

But listen, the story is bananas. Salmon fishing turns into this macho showdown in Alaska, but instead of feeling exciting, it sometimes feels like reading grandpa’s old fiskerikort. Evelyn Brent is there too, all smoky eyes, playing the super tough gal… but, I dunno, I kind of wish she’d show up at my local Max hamburgare and complain about the fries just to see if she’s that fierce in real life.

Here’s a random thing: first time I saw this, it was 2004, in a friend’s cold garage with a bad heater. We all got kind of obsessed with old American films that winter, drinking folköl and making dumb bets about who’d fall asleep first. Nearly nodded off, but the wild brawls and weird old-timey insults kept us giggling. The movie’s sound quality is all crackles and pops, like an old Povel Ramel LP.

There’s that weird thing when you watch old films; everything’s both familiar and odd, like when you spot a Volvo PV outside Hemköp – you kinda recognize it but it doesn’t quite fit. I won’t say it hits you in the hjärta, but if you’re geeky about cinema history, or just wanna see Joel McCrea flex in a big salmon net, it’s absolutely worth an autumn viewing, med snacks förstås.

watch the full movie on Mavshack Movies on YouTube

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