The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin, both down on their luck in Tampico, Mexico in 1925, meet up with a grizzled prospector named Howard and decide to join with him in search of gold in the wilds of central Mexico. Through enormous difficulties, they eventually succeed in finding gold, but bandits, the elements, and most especially greed threaten to turn their success into disaster.
Original Title: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Year: 1948
Countries: United States of America
Category: Adventure,Drama,Western
Languages: English
Production Companies: Warner Bros. Pictures
Gender: Adventure,Drama,Western
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040897
Movie Cast:
- Fred C. Dobbs: Humphrey Bogart
- Howard: Walter Huston
- Bob Curtin: Tim Holt
- James Cody: Bruce Bennett
- Pat McCormick: Barton MacLane
- Gold Hat: Alfonso Bedoya
- El Presidente: Arturo Soto Rangel
- El Jefe: Manuel Dondé
- Pablo: José Torvay
- Pancho: Margarito Luna
- Mexican Boy Selling Lottery Tickets (uncredited): Robert Blake
- Mexican Storeowner (uncredited): Guillermo Calles
- Mexican Lieutenant (uncredited): Roberto Cañedo
- Proprietor (uncredited): Spencer Chan
- Flashy Girl (uncredited): Jacqueline Dalya
- Flophouse Bum (uncredited): Ralph Dunn
- Mexican Bandit (uncredited): Ernesto Escoto
- Customer in Bar Who Warns Curtin and Dobbs about Pat McCormick (uncredited): Pat Flaherty
- Railroad Conductor (uncredited): Martín Garralaga
- Flophouse Bum (uncredited): Jack Holt
- American in Tampico in White Suit (uncredited): John Huston
- Indian (uncredited): Francisco Islas
- Child (uncredited): Mario Mancilla
- Barber (uncredited): Julian Rivero
- Howard's Assistant (uncredited): Ángela Rodríguez
- Indian Guide at Pier (uncredited): Jay Silverheels
- Workman at Pier (uncredited): Ray Spiker
- Indian (uncredited): Valdespino
- Indian (uncredited): Ildefonso Vega
- Bartender (uncredited): Harry J. Vejar
- Mexican Bandit (uncredited): Ignacio Villalbazo
- Flophouse Bum (uncredited): Clifton Young
Movie Crew:
- Executive Producer: Jack L. Warner
- Director of Photography: Ted D. McCord
- Editor: Owen Marks
- Original Music Composer: Max Steiner
- Makeup Artist: Perc Westmore
- Stunts: Harvey Parry
- Sound: Robert B. Lee
- Director: John Huston
- Set Decoration: Fred M. MacLean
- Producer: Henry Blanke
- Sound: Rafael Ruiz Esparza
- Music Director: Leo F. Forbstein
- Novel: B. Traven
- Production Manager: Don Alvarado
- Special Effects: William C. McGann
- Stunts: David Sharpe
- Special Effects: Hans F. Koenekamp
- Makeup Artist: Monty Westmore
- Art Direction: John Hughes
- Special Effects: Eddie Craven
- Makeup Artist: Frank McCoy
- Assistant Director: Richard Maybery
- Assistant Director: John Prettyman
- Sound Recordist: Edward Ullman
- Orchestrator: Murray Cutter
- Still Photographer: Mac Julian
- Other: Ernesto A. Romero
- Other: Antonio Arriaga
- Hairstylist: Betty Delmont
If you want to know other articles similar to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre you can visit the category Adventure.
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I wanted something very special to be my 5,000th film (at least to my horrible memory and to my stats on IMDb), and so after brazen and intense thought, I decided on a later-than-expected watch of a classic from Bogart's association with John Huston. I say later than expected because I bought the immaculate 24-film Humphrey Bogart Collection, which was supposed to have it on its 12 double-sided DVDs, but it accidentally had, in its place, the special features disc, which held excellent feature-length documentaries on both John Huston and the making of the film. Thus I waited until recently, when I found the blu for a very good price and went for it.
It was worth the wait. The ultimate tale of sordid greed. Without going into detail or spoilers, everyone got exactly what they deserved. My only qualm is that after a splendid cameo by the director (whom when I think of that aspect of his career, I will always fondly think of 'Chinatown'), I was hoping we'd end up seeing more of his character. That would have been even more wonderful for me.
Hopefully I will see and rate another 5,000--and I'm very curious if and when I do, what film I'll choose for THAT milestone...
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The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a film whose pleasures lie in the ‘how’ as opposed to the ‘what.’ Not long into the movie, Howard (Walter Huston) spells out the plot in broad strokes: “Never knew a prospector yet that died rich … going with a partner or two is dangerous. Murder's always lurkin' about. Partners accusin' each other of all sorts of crimes … as long as there's no find, the noble brotherhood will last, but when the piles of gold begin to grow, that's when the trouble starts.”
The movie then unfolds with all the inevitability of a Greek tragedy (with Howard doing Cassandra one better, because not even he heeds his own prediction). The story’s destination thus secured, writer/director John Huston doesn’t rush headlong for the finish line; on the contrary, he takes the time to establish the characters and the situation at his leisure, with lots of patience and a smattering of humor (including a scene where Bogie throws water in the face of an infant Robert Blake).
After the three protagonists – Howard, Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart), and Bob Curtin (Tim Holt) – climb up the titular mountains and Dobbs climbs down from sanity, everything goes pretty much according to Howard’s forecast – which is to say, spectacularly wrong, but spectacular nonetheless; Dobbs becomes paranoid and delusional, convinced that the other two are either going to stab him in the back or ambush him down the line – but never just shoot him on the spot, because they are “yellow.”
Even at his most heroic, Bogie had an underlying mean streak; Rick Blaine is a cynical, bitter drunk who is, as one can only be in the movies, Saved by the Love of a Good Woman (even if he doesn’t Get the Girl in the End), and Sam Spade is always looking out for No. 1. It’s in films like The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (see also Conflict, In a Lonely Place) that he lets loose that inner darkness which he only taps into elsewhere, and his descent into madness remains the best part of a great movie (and even then Huston finds room for humor, such as when Dobbs asks an interloper “who’s not civilized?!” right before sucker punching him).
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Fantastic movie with great cast and a thrilling story. Bogart performs great.