Review of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) by Raji K — 18 Mar 2017

Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston and Tim Holt star in the Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Bogart is Dobbs and he and his friend Curtin, are two low life's that are laying around Tampico. Dobbs begs fellow Americans for money so he can get a decent meal. They get scammed out of money and have to fight and scrap to make by. They finally get a break when they get some money and decide to try their luck as gold prospectors.

They enlist Howard (Huston) to take them and help them find gold.

As they begin to search for gold they become quite successful and start dreaming of how much to take and what they will do with all the money. They decide to split up the gold dust as they find it and each of them hides it in a separate place. When Curtin accidentally stumbles upon Dobb's hiding place Dobbs begins to lose trust in his fellow partners. They still manage to stick together as they fight off rebels, and bandits. There are some great scenes of comradely between the men, and there are many scenes of tension and darkness where I believed any one of them could have been killed. Eventually Dobb's greed and paranoia gets the best of him as he attempts to kill Curtin in cold blood while Howard is off praised for helping some natives.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is slow drama that gradually unfolds to those who are patient. The characters start off innocent, and you root for them to find fortune. The film depicts what can happen to a man when stricken by greed. Hobbs starts as a good man, but his transition to darkness is the film's best attribute. Huston and Holt are excellent side characters and you feel for them as they try and curtail the wrath and envy of Dobbs. They each share the burden trying to do the right thing despite Dobb's constant objections. Although none of them are completely innocent as they almost decide to kill a man in cold blood to protect their find, they all eventually get what they deserve. Great direction and great performances drive this picture in what has a pretty straight forward story. Treasure of the Sierra Madre runs a little long, but it has quite a payoff and is a great drama/adventure.

-3.18.2017.