The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) Review

girl by locker says: As I sat down to write this review, I checked out IMDB to see what others thought. I read Roger Ebert's review and he writes that the The Treasure of the Sierra Madre "is a story in the Joseph Conrad tradition, using adventure not as an end in itself but as a test of its characters." To me, that sums up this movie perfectly. It is a story about three gold prospector's who head to the Mexican mountains in search of treasure, but the movie is actually more a story about greed and what gold dust can do to a man's soul.

Sierra Madre starts with our three heroes encountering one another down on their luck in Mexico and in search of of jobs. Upon Howard's (Walter Huston) suggestion, they decide to try their hand at gold mining. They begin their journey amicably enough though the moment they strike gold, their trust in one another begins to dissolve to the point where they eventually begin hiding their gold in separate locations so the others won't know where their goods are. Humphrey Bogart's descent from a "decent" man to the pit of greed was amazing.

I think the question of greed is one that we contemplate regularly. What would happen to us if we were to win the lottery or find a million dollars in a briefcase? We all like to think that we wouldn't let the money affect who and how we are, but we don't really know. That's what I liked about this movie. I liked the analysis of how wealth can affect and change a man (or person). I give Sierra Madre a 4 out of 5 on Netflix. (I took a star away because I got tired of the shoot outs with the bandits).

Juror #3 says: We are really on a roll now. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was nothing short of fantastic. So much so that I highly recommend viewers watch the commentary track available on the special features option. You will learn about some wonderful happenings like how Bogart had completely lost his hair prior to shooting the film due to taking hormone shots so he could increase his chances of having a child with Lauren Bacall. So they made him wigs to wear while shooting.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was adapted by John Huston from a novel, he also directed the picture. The movie details the adventures of three men in their search to get rich by finding gold in the mountains. So as you would expect, greed plays a major theme. The film is brilliantly cast and includes John Huston's father Walter Huston, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor by portraying the wise old man looking for his last big score. I can only say that Walter Huston was a joy to watch. Tim Holt plays Bob Curtain, one of the gang of three, and he acted really well with his eyes - first showing dejection, then purity. As a side note - Ronald Reagan was the first choice for this role but was unavailable. I think Holt did more than an admirable job "filling in".  Which brings us to Bogart playing a role very different from everything else I had seen him play, and he was brilliant. Bogart plays a character with a violent arc and, in the end, when he delves into madness, the audience is treated to Bogart's dedication to the role. There isn't anything not to like about The Treasure of the Sierra Madre so, for the second film in a row, I rate it 5/5 stars on Netflix.