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The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre | Year: 1948 Classification: Action/Adventure Actors/Actresses: - Humphrey Bogart as Fred C.Dobbs - Robert Blake - Walter Huston - Tim Holt One of the Great Adventure Epics I remember doing a unit on Bogart back in Grade 9. He was certainly one of the great movie stars. While this may be one his least scrupulous roles, it is nevertheless one of his best films. John Huston directs this story from B. Traven's novel about three out-of-work Americans living in Mexico who decide to take up prospecting for gold. Heading off to the mountains, the threesome must contend with harsh weather, interfering visitors, banditos, and ultimately each other. Huston films mostly on location getting excellent local detail. It takes a moment to get used to the fact that the film is in black and white. It probably would have been better in colour as the black and white makes the film look a bit dusty. However, it's unlikely that Huston could have afforded to both shoot on location AND in colour (colour was a lot more expensive in the forties). The one scene that stood in my mind was the scene where Dobbs begins to lose it. With Howard vacationing with the natives in their village, Curtin must contend with an increasingly paranoid Dobbs. Dobbs is convinced that Curtin is planning to kill him and take his and Howard's gold. Thus Dobbs believes he must kill Curtin first. The scene where Curtin must try to stay awake while Dobbs is looking on is truly one of the most frightening moments in the film. Gold certainly has a way of corrupting people's minds as Howard had warned Dobbs and Curtin. Dobbs will ultimately meet his demise in a manner that was foreshadowed earlier. I thought the ending was very good. Not a happy ending in the way that we were expecting, but a happy ending just the same. Bogart gives outstanding performance in this classic film "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" won Oscars for best director (John Huston), best supporting actor (Walter Huston) and best screenplay (John Huston). The film was also nominated for best picture but unfortunately lost out to Laurence Olivier's "Hamlet". This was yet another marvellous performance by Humphrey Bogart in a difficult role and proves once again what an outstanding actor he can be when given the right material. Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) and Bob Curtin (Tim Holt) are two Americans down on their luck in Tampico, Mexico, who manage to acquire a temporary job working for Pat McCormick (Barton MacLaine) but don't get paid for their efforts as McCormick does a disappearing act with the money. Dobbs and Curtin catch up with him later in a bar and after coming to blows manage to get the money that was owed to them. A young Mexican boy (Robert Blake) approaches Dobbs who reluctantly buys a lottery ticket from him. Dobbs and Curtin spend the night in a flop house where they meet Howard (Walter Huston), a grizzled old timer who tells them stories of the times he went prospecting for gold in the mountains. They are both quite interested in this but don't have the necessary funds to purchase the equipment they would need. Next day the young Mexican boy comes to find Dobbs to tell him that his ticket has won some money in the lottery. It is not a fortune but enough to invest in some tools and equipment so that Curtin and himself can team up with Howard to search for gold in the Sierra Madre mountains. Greed and distrust inevitably take hold of Dobbs and he gets increasingly suspicious of his two companions and becomes more and more paranoid as the days go by. He is sure that they want to steal his share of the gold which is just not so. A group of bandits led by Gold Hat (Alfonso Bedoya) come across their camp and try to rob them of the gold but with the help of James Cody (Bruce Bennett) they manage to fight them off. Some favourite lines from the film: Humphrey Bogart (to John Huston): "Hey, mister, will you stake a fellow American to a meal?". Bogart (to Bruce Bennett): "Tonight you're our guest. Tomorrow morning look out - no trespassing around here, you know, beware of the dog - get it?". Alfonso Bedoya (to Bogart): "Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges". Bogart (to Tim Holt): "Fred C. Dobbs don't say nothing he don't mean". Writer/director John Huston played a cameo role at the start of the film as an American tourist ("White Suit") who Bogart approaches for money (three times!). Robert Blake was the small boy who sold Bogart the winning lottery ticket. Blake later went on to appear in many feature films such as "In Cold Blood", "Electra Glide in Blue", "Tell Them Willie Boy is Here", and also starred in the TV seies "Baretta". This was a superlative performance by Humphrey Bogart - one of his best - and completely different to his A must see classic movie with Bogie The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a classic movie that has to be watched by movie fans. Set in Mexico in 1926, the movie tells the story of two down and out Americans who have nothing to their name except their meager salaries. The two men, Dobbs and Curtin, decide to team up with a weathered, old prospector, Howard, to go prospecting for gold in the mountains of southern Mexico. Soon enough, the trio happens upon a mountain just full of gold waiting to be found. What follows is a condmenation of human greed and want of unlimited wealth and riches. The three men become suspicious of each other immediately, thinking that the other two might steal their share of the gold. At the same time, the three must deal with bandits who will stop at nothing to get their possessions. The ending does provide for a brief message of hope. Everything from the cinematography to the acting to the writing is great in this movie. Movie fans everywhere should see this classic movie. Humphrey Bogart gives an excellent performance as Fred C. Dobbs, a wayward American who believes that the power of gold would never make him change his ways and beliefs. Watching Dobbs morph into a money hungry, paranoid man is frightening. Walter Huston, father of director John Huston, plays Howard, the grizzled old prospector who is the only calm one in the group. Tim Holt stars as Bob Curtin, Dobbs' partner and the moral leader of the trio. The movie also stars Bruce Bennett, Barton MacLane, Alfonso Bedoya, and Manuel Donde. Also look for a brief appearance from John Huston as a well-to-do American who gives Dobbs some money for a meal. The 2-Disc Special Edition offers a ton of great extras. If you're a fan of this classic movie, you will love these extras. For a classic movie, ranked #30 in the AFI Top 100, with great performances, an excellent script, and beautiful scenery, check out The Treasure of the Sierra Madre! Buy The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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