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#38—The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”  Greed is a powerful thing and I am lucky enough not to have experienced it. I never have enough money to be greedy. However, it seems that greed has really taken over our society and there is no wonder why. No more than ever people are clinging and wanting more money just to stay above ‘water’. Many films over the years have dealt with the subject of greed in obvious ways (Wall Street) and some not so obvious, like number 38 on American Film Institute’s Top 100 list. Take a trip with me to find The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

Americans Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart Casablanca) and Bob Curtin (Tim Holt My Darling Clementine) are stranded in Mexico during the dangerous 1920s. Doing all they think they can to earn money, the two just can’t seem to catch a break. However, their luck is about to change when the meet Howard (Walter Huston Yankee Doodle Dandy), an old prospector of gold. With nothing else to lose, Dobbs and Curtin team up with the old prospector to search the Sierra Madre Mountains for gold. It is only when they start to uncover the precious metal is when the greatest villain of all shows its ugly face…greed.

This film has pushed The Maltese Falcon out as my favorite Bogart film. As much as I loved Falcon, this film really shows off the acting skill of one of Hollywood’s legends. I also found the story very intriguing, especially with the character development. When I first tried to do some research on this film I read that this film was described as “western noir”. I still have no idea what that means, but I can tell you that this isn’t your average 1940s western and I see that the director did a lot to make sure of that.

Most people who know of Humphrey Bogart know him as the suave nightclub owner Rick in Casablanca. This persona has followed Bogart through many films; however with Sierra Madre that persona is smashed to pieces and has created, I think, Bogart’s best performance. Fred C. Dobbs is a desperate man who wants to just make some money and settle down. Bogart starts this picture with his character at his lowest point and as the film goes one you really see how the wheels turn in his head. Bogart perfectly creates this paranoia for Dobbs that ultimately turns him into a villain of the film. I say ‘a’ villain because it can be interpreted that the gold these characters find can be a villain as well. The gold creates the sense of greed and paranoia in not just Dobbs, but a little bit in the other characters as well. Of course Dobbs is the one character effected the most by the chance to be rich.

Though The Treasure of the Sierra Madre takes place in the mountains of Mexico and tends to have a western feel, director John Huston (The Maltese Falcon) does a superb job making sure that this is not your typical western. Huston focuses more on the characters and timeless effects of money on man and uses the western aspect as almost a backdrop for the story. I want to believe that Huston’s relationship with Bogart was the key to bringing out Bogart’s performance.

In some ways I really thought that this film should have been higher on AFI’s list. The film has great performances and amazing direction. The story is really what should have boosted this film up the preverbal ladder because it is just a classic story or greed and human corruption by money. If you enjoy Humphrey Bogart and/or westerns than this film is right up your ally. Just sit back in awe has the greed melts Dobbs’ mind and respect Bogart’s process.

The Verdict: Worth Your Time. Should Have Been Higher.