Le Trésor de la Sierra Madre

In the 1920's, labor was hard to find. If you happened to be a laborer, work was almost non existent. Indeed, if you were unemployed and in Mexico, your chances were dismal. Yet, these were the times, which attracted many South of the border. The place was barren, yet many a fortune could spring up directly before you, . . .if you were luckily enough to see it. That is the story behind this incredible film. The legend of El Dorado was only one of the many myths which lured the adventurous to Mexico, another was "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre." The gold of the Mother of Mountains was passed from father to son for generations. Thus when the film adaption was made, it was sure to be sculpted by men of vision. One such man is legendary John Huston who directed this film. Three common men are lured by the promise of discovering a lost treasure. The first is Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) a nice enough guy who wants only to be fair, but is hungry to 'strike it rich.' The second is Howard, (Walter Huston) as honest as you expect him to be and a man of considerable experience. The last is Bob Curtin (Tim Holt) who if given a chance, will use it. The trio make a PAC to share and share alike all the treasure they find. However, only Howard is aware of what the possession of Gold can do to a man. To find the treasure, they need the mountain, some hard work, a little luck. To bring it home, will require something only one of them possesses. The film is a Classic and is due to the combined talents of all the stars and the director. If you look closely, you'll see Robert Blake (Barreta) and John Huston in brief roles. ****

Two penniless Americans (Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt) during the 1920s in Mexico join with an old-timer (Walter Huston, the director's father) to prospect for gold. The old-timer accurately predicts trouble, but is willing to go anyway. The film is fictional, but presents a very realistic scenario: By the 1920s the violence of the Mexican Revolution had largely subsided, although scattered gangs of bandits continued to terrorize the countryside. The newly established post-revolution government relied on the effective, but ruthless, Federal Police, commonly known as the Federales, to patrol remote areas and dispose of the bandits. Foreigners, like the three American prospectors, were at very real risk of being killed by the bandits if their paths crossed. The bandits, likewise, were given little more than a "last cigarette" by the army units after capture, even having to dig their own graves first.

The film shows the Americans doing just about anything for money: drilling oil, digging for gold, begging and more. And once gold comes into the picture, the men who once claimed they were not greedy see things differently. Bogart actually goes mad, after he gets greedy and paranoid... during which he encounters a gila monster! The most memorable scene of this film involves the bandits, who don't need any "stinking badges". While the line is much more quotable in "Blazing Saddles", we couldn't have "Blazing Saddles" (or "UHF") without this film... just about everyone, even those who never saw or heard of "Sierra Madre", knows the badges line.

Humphrey Bogart's best film is probably "Casablanca", but this one features him in a nice, rough exterior. Yes, sometimes leading men have beards and are covered in dirt. Pretty boys do not stay pretty boys after digging in the hills, or at least that wouldn't be realistic. This film does a fine job trying to "keep it real", so we have to commend Huston not only on his directing, but his wonderful location scouting.

Film noir takes a Mexican holiday in this gritty adventure from John Huston. Pessimistic and full of irony, yet with a sense of adventure and a moralist edge to it, this is typical Huston material.

Huston insisted on shooting on location in Mexico, which riled up studio executives no end, but it paid off in the quality of the picture. Treasure of the Sierra Madre would have really suffered in the canned air of a studio. By using the real thing, he perfectly achieves the stark and dusty atmosphere of the poverty riddled Mexican city in the earliest scenes. The sense of scale and grandeur of the mountains in the main part of the film is also very important in achieving the right effect.

Huston's background was in fine art, and it's at this point in his career as a director that it really starts to show. The use of lighting is painterly in a way that is almost impossible to achieve in black and white – particularly in the scene in the peasant village which looks almost biblical. Huston also has this unique style of framing, whereby he uses figures in the foreground and background to give the effect of a close-up and a mid-shot simultaneously. It's a look that is totally at odds with anything else produced in Hollywood at that time.

Actor wise, Treasure of the Sierra Madre turns the clock back to the 1930s, putting the director's father Walter Huston in a starring role, and casting Humphrey Bogart as a seedy villain. The cast is rounded off by the too-little-seen Tim Holt. All three of them are spot on. The spry old prospector is a role Huston senior seems to have been waiting to play all his life. Bogart is also great playing the sort of character he made his name with a decade earlier. Also worth a mention is Mexican actor Alfonso Bedoya who gives what is for this era an incredibly naturalistic performance as the bandit leader.

Huston's forte was in his cinematography, his shot composition and the rhythm of his films, not so much in his handling of action or actors, which is why his pictures tend to be a bit hit and miss. This one is a hit though, thanks to the strength of its story and the quality of the cast, not to mention Huston's persistence for authenticity. Not my absolute favourite of his work, but certainly one of the best.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

This is a weirdly contemporary film. I mean, it's certainly set in the past, and it's made in the heyday of Hollywood genius top to bottom which is long gone. But because it's about this old time and about raw black and white issues (often), the film and the filming are really appropriate. The whole thing just fits, and beautifully.

And I mean beautiful. As rugged as it all is--the landscape as well as the beards, all very real--the movie is lyrically filmed. The story is told with visual clarity. And the script, speaking of story, is sophisticated and believable. In all, under the direction of legend John Huston, this is a spot on terrific movie.

Of course, there are two actors who are just amazing in their roles (and a third, Tim Holt, who is just fine, if not stellar). I mean of course Walter Huston, who nearly steals the show in every scene. He's a character, but not a caricature. His wisdom--real wisdom, based on smart observation over decades of experience--is sterling. Great stuff, well put. And of course he's the father of the director, which is a fun, and slightly Freudian twist. He gives one of the great performances of the decade.

Humphrey Bogart is not far behind, actually. If you like him in Maltese Falcon or Casablanca, you'll be surprised at first by the scruffy, raw character played here. But it's clear-headed, brilliantly delivered Bogart all the way, and a joy to watch him really act. See it for him, too.

Then there is the story itself, which is as important now as ever. That is, what matters in life? And what is the price to pay to get it? It's all rather bold and emotional even though it's delivered by some rough guys out of money prospecting in the wilderness of Mexico.

Are there downsides here? I suppose. You certainly can wonder about the way the Mexicans--good ones and banditos both--are portrayed. I think it's not bad, tinged with clichés, of course, but in Spanish without translation or stilted half-English, so it's the real thing. And no subtitles. Nicely done for an early Hollywood affair. Huston, the son, the director, if you don't know, is famous for doing things raw and right and slightly off the charts. He is making a commercial film, to be sure, but it has many small aspects that are just not pandering to anyone. This makes it work.

I'm sure to some this is a masterpiece. I'm giving that some thought. See it.

Tampico sets the scene for the start of speculation, Fred C. Dobbs is out of cash and his luck is in cessation, but an encounter in flophouse, and big dreams emerge and arouse, as a plan is born with Howard, and a fellow who's called Curtin. Into hills laden with gold, our companions then embark, finding seams that come alive with golden riches to impart, building up substantial fortune, thinking soon they will be tycoons, but there's one who's trust is waning and has sores that start to smart. The journey back becomes a challenge to them all, as one by one the group is scattered, battered, stalled, will their work be well rewarded, will endeavours all be thwarted, either way, you will be engaged, and quite possibly enthralled.

Bogarts best performance.