The Treasure of the Sierra Madre1948
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Photos
Movie Info
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Cast
as Fred C. Dobbs
as Curtin
as Howard
as Gold Hat
as Cody
as McCormick
as Presidente
as El Jefe
as Pablo
as Pancho
as Flashy Girl
as Mexican Boy
as Proprietor
as Barber
as White Suit
as Bartender
as Customer
as Flophouse Man
as Flophouse Man
as Flophouse Man
as Mexican Storekeeper
as Indian
as Indian
as Indian
as Youth
as Streetwalker
as Railroad Conductor
as Mexican Bandit
as Mexican Lieutenant
as Mexican Bandit
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Critic Reviews for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
All Critics (45) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (0) | DVD (6)
John Huston has rarely been in better form than in this 1948 study of gold fever and worse obsessions among an unlikely trio of prospectors...
There's a quite enjoyable yarn buried under the hollow laughter.
The movie has never really been about gold but about character, and Bogart fearlessly makes Fred C. Dobbs into a pathetic, frightened, selfish man -- so sick we would be tempted to pity him, if he were not so undeserving of pity.
Greed, a despicable passion out of which other base ferments may spawn, is seldom treated in the movies with the frank and ironic contempt that is vividly manifested toward it in Treasure of Sierra Madre.
The characters here are probed and thoroughly penetrated, not through psychoanalysis but through a crucible of human conflict, action, gesture and expressive facial tones.
Treasure of Sierra Madre is a film which successfully restores one's flagging faith in the cinema industry.
Audience Reviews for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
John Huston made quite a name for himself back in the day with the simple trick of presenting the story from the antagonist's point-of-view, and we are with him (Bogie as Fred C. Dobbs) as he slowly begins to slide into disconnection all the while clasping onto sanity with all the power at his command. Huston gave the protagonist role to his grudging father (Walter Huston), and you can really see him frame the codger in a favorable light (and see ol'Walt love it), but its Bogie's film (everyone knows) no matter who got the Oscar. Tim Holt does well as the unsung third wheel. The bar fight is an exceptional piece of work in a film loaded with intimate gems of moments, not the least of which is Bogie begging for money.
Super Reviewer
Walter Huston steals the scene and deserved the Oscar he won, but Bogart was unfairly not even nominated for his phenomenal performance in this classic that is all at once a light adventure, a riveting character study and a powerful morality tale about greed and paranoia.
Super Reviewer
Two down at heel Americans stranded in the backwaters of Mexico use the last of their money to go searching for gold in the company of grizzled old prospector Walter Huston. Unfortunately when they strike it rich, avarice turns them against each other resulting in deceit and murder. John Huston's classic story of greed is based upon The Pardoner's Tale from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. It's basically a morality story warning of the dangers of greed and how the promise of wealth can blacken a man's heart; in this case Humphrey Bogart in quite possibly his finest performance. Huston is also marvellous as the pragmatic and worldly wise old geezer who predicted everything that occurs to the disbelief of his initially wide eyed and enthusiastic partners. The suspense builds tangibly as the former friends become more and more suspicious of each other, all three at one point or another tempted to stab each other in the back for their share of the goods. It's a brilliant story, expertly told by some of the best in the business and one of the true cinematic greats. One of those films anyone who calls themself a movie buff must surely have on their list.
Super Reviewer
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Quotes
| Gold Hat: | Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinking badges! |
| Howard: | Water's precious. Sometimes may be more precious than gold. |
| Curtin: | Remember what you said back in Tampico about having to carry that old man out on our backs? |
| Fred C. Dobbs: | That is when I took him for an ordinary human being, not part goat. |
| Howard: | Ah, 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. |