metalrules31

Just by reading the name, you can't help but become interested in this movie. Both words awake a feeling of intrigue within us. Malta is such a little known country for most of us, and the falcon is such a grand animal, that we just rub our hands in expectations, and even more nowadays, since back then, both Boggart, and debuting director John Huston were mostly unknown.

By the end of the movie, Spade (Boggart) will not be the only name you'll remember, because event though he dominates the screen by just being there, it is this wonderful portrayal of a detective which remains in our memories, and which has served as a role model for all detective characters after him. The rest of the cast is also perfectly chosen, specially by the newcomer screen actor Sydney Greenstreet, who plays Kasper Gutman, the fat guy, and another role model for villains in movies from James Bond to Mission Impossible. Cairo, portrayed by Peter Lorre, fits perfectly on his role, having that aura of queerness and ambition for the valuable artifact, and of course Mary Astor, even though her romance with Spade is not completely believable. The real magic of the cast relies on the chemistry all this actors share on screen, specially on the final scene.

John Huston portrays for the first time on his career what greed can lead people to do and makes us cheer up for the Boggart character, whom even though is not an entirely politically correct character, still manages to appear heroic in our eyes.

Hollywood might be very different if this movie didn't exist.

I can't recall exactly where on on which movie I had heard a reference about The Treasure of Sierra Madre, which I thought had spoiled the movie for me. That was months ago, when I was back home in Honduras, now I'm a year in Finland and I'm enjoying the selection of movies at the local library. And the best? Rent's all for free!

At first I had trouble with translations and checking for subtitles, but then I found this movie and didn't doubt in taking it. The Treasure of Sierra Madre tells us the story of two American beggars living in a Mexican city, and how they embark in an adventure in search of gold, where they find the wilderness, bandits, an uninvited guest and the terrible greed for gold, which is the movie's main theme.

How can human economy be based on something which is not even edible? Gold is useless, but for what it means in our society, it can turn people crazy. As the movie unfolds we watch how the usually heroic Boggart succumbs to his own greed, in contrast to Curtin and the old man.

Casting and performances are terrific. Boggart is on his best shape and Tim Holt is on the same level, as well as the Academy Award performance Walter Huston, whose son also won two very well deserved Oscars, for the movie keeps you thrilled throughout its running time and the location filming at Mexico, was a great choice. The town scenes are very tasty and give us the American view of Mexico on the late 1940s, which tends to be stereotypical but portraying both the bandit Zapatist revolutionary and the common good faithed village people.

The Treasure of Sierra MAdre is definitely a treasure you should find, in case you haven't discovered it yet.