L'oro maledetto

This movie is a severe disappointment. William Powell gives one of his typical effortless-looking performances, but seeing him downgraded to Old Coot status, making something out of nothing, is painful. This would be a sub-par programmer without Powell, and, as it is, is a waste of time.

Not really a western for me, but rather an adventure film destined to the whole family, showing a young boy and a treasure search. Adapted from a Robert Louis Stevenson's story, it may sound familiar to those who love this great novelist and find common elements with his most famous book; TREASURE ISLAND, but though nothing to do with DR JEKYLL...adventures. It is not my cup of tea, this western which I expected more in the Universal Studios style of this period. But it is agreeable to watch, never boring, and William Powell seems comfortable for once not working for Metro Goldwyn Mayer company.

This film has drama and real life lessons within it. There is bonding between the adopted father and the son that is missing in many of todays families. The suspense in one scene as the boy dives into the water is so dramatic you almost sit on the edge of your seat cheering him on. One can tell this film was made before the fanatic censorships of today, as the boy is then clad only in his wet undergarment and tends to show more of himself physically than is allowed in todays television. Yet that innocence and nostalgia of the film overall gives it the #3 best movie of that year by many critics. I own this film as I watched it once on AMC and they only bring it out of the vault once every two years or so... I highly recommend this film!

What makes this movie so good is the the relationship between the old man (William Powell) and the boy, so forgiving and accepting (so needed for kids to feel secure). The movie has a good story-line and good acting. This movie kept my interest and to me that's the watermark for a higher rating. The only disappointment was that Julie Adams was given second billing and she didn't appear until about 15 minutes till the end of the movie.

I strongly disagree with the reviewers who said they were disappointed in this film. I realize that there are some Dickensian-type coincidences that may go over the top a bit, but considering the original story was by Robert Louis Stevenson, that is acceptable to me.

The main thing for me is the warm loving relationship between William Powell and the boy, and also the one between William Powell and his wife. They are such good-hearted people and interestingly eccentric, too, it really makes you wish that more people were like them.

I also loved the scenic quality of the area; is it Northern California? So unspoiled, apparently safe, and a nice place to live. I was so happy for the boy, who had suffered in his early life, that he got to move in with such fine people and in such a lovely home.

William Powell is always worth watching, no matter the role. I only discovered this film in recent years, after having known only his urbane persona since I was a child 40+ years ago. Therefore, it was a delightful surprise to see him as this lovable codger sort. A nice role for his latter years, I thought. Even better than the amusing "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid" a few years earlier.