The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Year: 1948 Director: John Huston Writer: B Traven Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston Rating: A Runtime: 126mins
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a genuine masterpiece that was, ironically, a box-office failure when released in 1948. At that time audiences didn’t accept Humphrey Bogart in a role that was intentionally unappealing, but time has proven this to be one of Bogart’s very best performances. It’s a grand adventure and a superior character study built around the timeless themes of greed and moral corruption. As adapted by writer-director John Huston it became a definitive treatment of fate and futility in the obsessive pursuit of wealth. Bogart plays Fred C Dobbs, a down-and-out wage-worker in Mexico who stakes his meagre earnings on a gold-prospecting expedition to the Sierra mountains. He’s joined by a grizzled old prospector and a young, no-nonsense partner, and when they strike a rich vein of gold, the movie becomes an observant study of wretched human behaviour. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre tells an unforgettable story of tragedy and truth. This is an American classic that still packs a punch.