The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is based on B. Travens' 1927 novel of the same name.

In 1925, Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) and Bob Curtin (Tim Holt) are a couple of Americans down on their luck in Tampico, Mexico. Fred, in fact, is forced to panhandle so he can eat.

They get a job with a guy named Pat McCormick (Martin MacLane) who hires them for a few weeks, then runs off without paying them.

They meet an old prospector, Howard (Walter Huston), and team up with him to hunt for a mother lode. But first, they have to fight their way through bandits, weather norther winds, chop their way through choking vegetation, get disappointed by fool's gold, and walk their shoe soles off to get where they're going.

But get there they do, and find it, they do. Gold! And lots of it. Which creates a bit of a problem. Gold changes people, brings out their inherent greed. Suspicion. Temptation. Justifications. Paranoia. Dobbs tips over the edge, accusing Howard and Curtin of plotting against him to take his share.

While in a local town to buy supplies, Curtain bumps into an inquisitive, pushy American stranger, James Cody (Bruce Bennett), who follows him to the camp. A shrewd negotiator, he's a constant irritant to Dobbs at first, then to the others. But before they can do anything about it, they're attacked by banditos posing as federales (government soldiers).

Gunfight! Cody is killed, relieving them of the problem of what to do with him.

The mine peters out and they leave with their haul – gold dust worth in the vicinity of $105,000. Some local villagers find them and ask Howard to help one of their little boys who is ill. While he is gone attending a thank-you celebration, the other two continue on to Durango, holding onto his share for safekeeping. They argue, and Curtin ends up being shot.

What it all boils down to is that Dobbs not only loses his head over the gold, he ... loses his head. And the gold? After all, it's nothing but dust in the wind.

There are two noteworthy uncredited cameos: Robert Blake is a young boy selling lottery tickets, and Ann Sheridan appears briefly as a streetwalker.

This is the film that introduced the oft-used and variable phrase about not needing no stinkin' badges (or whatever).

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Walter Huston won the remaining three: Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, and Best Writing, Screenplay. However, the Walter who won the acting award was the director/writer's father (the first-ever father-son win).

The film is preserved in the U.S. Library of Congress' National Film Registry.

Grade: A-