Review of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) by Art S — 23 Jan 2016

Badges! We don't need to show you no stinking badges! These are the immortal words spoken by a Mexican bandit upon discovering Humphrey Bogart, Tim Holt, and Walter Huston squatting on a solid vein of gold and hoping to remake their destitute lives with a tidy profit.

But bandits are only one of their problems; greed and mistrust are the major obstacles to their success. Bogie is ugly as Fred C. Dobbs who is most crippled by the paranoia that descends as their fortunes increase.

But Walter Huston (father of the director and a star in his own right) really steals the show as the wise old prospector who knows all the tricks of the trade and has his head screwed on straight. The fact that he can relish the absurdity of the movie's ending with a hearty laugh endears him to us even more.

Huston (the son) shot the film on location in Mexico and you can tell; he also makes a cameo early in the picture when Bogie hits him up for some loose change in Tampico. The new blu-ray version I watched felt weirdly clean and detailed for a film this old - like you are there - in sun-baked black and white.

A classic that never gets old (and reminds you that the pursuit of wealth at the expense of your relationships is bound to be folly).