Treasure of Sierra Madre is a classic western tale of greed and an indictment of capitalism.
It ate at mens souls and turned even the closest of friends against each other.
Greed was an addiction, when you land some, you have to have more.
And gold was crack, meth and ice rolled into one big rock of jones.
The yellow metal gets into their skin and threatens to blacken their souls.
It is a personal story, told with humor and adventure, which warns that everyone is susceptible.
Stanly Kubrick called it his favorite film.
The American Film Institute voted the line Badges?
We aint got no badges!
We dont need no badges!
I dont have to show you any stinking badges as the 36th best movie quote in motion pictures.
Humphrey Bogarts Fred C. Dobbs character panhandled Bugs Bunny in the 1950 Looney Tune classic cartoon8 Ball Bunny.
It soon became apparent that Hal Croves may have been B. Traven in disguise.
I read an interview with Robert De Niro where he said that Humphrey Bogart always played Humphrey Bogart.
I strongly disagree with this assessment.
He captured this again inThe Caine Mutiny, but that was a different animal altogether.
Those schooled in Russian acting guru Michael Chekhovs method would call it atmosphere.
He just meant what he said.
Producer Henry Blanke originally planned to cast John Garfield as Curtain, but Garfield was unavailable.
Bogart said at the time One Huston is bad enough, but two are murder.
His first major screen role was as Trampas in the westernThe Virginianin 1929 with Gary Cooper.
He also played inAbraham Lincolnin 1930, an insane preacher in 1932sRainand James Cagneys dad inYankee Doodle Dandyin 1942.
He also got his son high on local green, according to John Hustons autobiography.
Bruce Bennett plays Cody, another prospector who runs into Curtain when hes in town getting provisions.
Huston did multiple takes of the campfire scene, force-feeding Bennett bowl after bowl of bean stew.
When Bennett couldnt eat any more, Huston broke for lunch.
Barton MacLane was born on Christmas Day 1902 and died on New Years Day, 1969.
He sold a play called Rendezvous to a Broadway producer with the caveat that he played the lead.
On TV in the sixties he played Gen. Martin Peterson on NBCs I Dream of Jeannie.
Robert Blakes first big role was as the murderer Perry Smith in In Cold Blood.
Blake told Johnny Carson that he snagged the water glass and coffee cup from the set as mementos.
Alfonso Bedoya plays the bandito in the gold hat.
He worked in more than 175 Mexican movies along with his Hollywood work.
Ann Sheridan is listed in the credits as a Streetwalker, but Ive never seen her.
And Ive seen this movie more than a dozen times.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madreis my favorite western.
It is the story of three basically decent men who get a crash course in finance.
In the civilized world, the biggest investor gets the biggest returns.
They learn that theres something to be said for the wilds.
It opens on a shot of the days lottery winners.
The people of Tampico love their numbers, it drives their economy.
What also drives their economy is cheap and usually unpaid labor.
The fight scene in the Cantina took five days to shoot.)
These guys werent born in a revival meeting.
The corruption of the gold works its way into each of them.
He doesnt save Dobbs though.
The gold disappears, back to where it came from.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madreisnt known as a comedy, but it has its share of laughs.
Walter Hustons happy cackle has become iconic, even referenced on The Simpsons.
Humphrey Bogart gives one of cinemas all-time great evil laughs.
John Huston excels on location and is masterful with available talent.
You dont have to know the language to know exactly whats happening.
Huston skewers capitalism without getting preachy.
Instead he finds the perfect analogy.
He cuts off the head of the infection and the gold goes back to the mountains.
Somewhere there is footage of Bogarts severed head rolling down the rocky hill.
The scene was shot, but censors wouldnt let it into the final print.
It didnt do it through protest, but by nakedly showing the rot of greed.
Gold isolated the characters from themselves and each other.
It put them at each others throats.
It made one of them so blind he got killed over it.
He didnt take it with him.
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Rating:
5 out of 5
