Review of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) by Ricardo O — 15 Mar 2011

The Treasure Of the Sierra Madre begins with a drifter Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) begging for any kind of loose change so he could possibly eat, drink, or at least get a nice shave. While in the town of Tampico, Mexico, he impulsively spends his last peso on a lottery ticket. Dobbs meets a fellow drifter Curtin (Tim Holt) and the two get a job doing some construction but then the man in charge of paying the men runs off without paying them. They later seek shelter in a cheap place and meet Howard (Walter Huston), an old, toothless man who tells the men of stories about prospecting for gold. Dobbs and Curtin find the boss who left without paying his men and forcibly take what he owed them. They combine that money and the money Dobbs unexpectedly won from the lottery ticket to buy the tools for a prospecting expedition led by Howard. The men pledge that anything they dig up will be split three ways, but Howard, having lived long enough knows that at least one of them is fully capable of betraying the others. The gold is mined, measured, and each puts his amount of gold safe away so that nobody else can find it. But as the gold starts to pile higher and higher, Dobbs grows increasingly paranoid and distrustful with the men eventually turning on each other on the way toward a conclusion that is ironic for them.

The Treasure Of the Sierra Madre is a brilliant character study on what the greed for money can do to a weak-minded man. It is probably the best film to have dealt with the subject thanks to John Huston's direction and his superior script. He would eventually earn Oscars for his superb direction and his great writing. There isn't a line in the movie that is less than great; the most famous being the "badges" line delivered by Alfonso Bedoya. Also winning an Oscar for his work was John Huston's father Walter Huston as the toothless old man Howard. This marked the first time that a father and a son would win an Oscar for the same film; John Huston's daughter Angelica Huston would later win an Oscar herself, making the Huston's the only three generations of one family all to win Oscars. Tim Holt plays what may be his best and most mature role of his career, but the best performance of the film belongs to Humphrey Bogart as the paranoid, greedy Dobbs. It is my opinion that he never played a role in his career where he displayed such brilliance at bringing out the psychological aspect of his character. Of course half the work was already done in the script, as Dobbs' character arc is unforgettable getting uglier and uglier as the film continues. But it was Bogie's job to make this character's actions believable, and he excelled at doing so. It's really a shame that his performance was overlooked by the Academy; it's also a bit of a shame that Laurence Olivier's adaptation of Hamlet (which by the way is also superb) beat this film for the Best Picture prize and even winning Best Actor. It's truly a wonder what time can do to a film. It did well with the critics but wasn't so financially successful. But through the years its status has gained more and more momentum and is now hailed as a classic, a status that is really deserved. This is a sure must-see movie for movie fans, you just can't go wrong with the likes of the Huston's and Bogie. Highly recommended viewing. 10/10.