The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Fred Dobbs and Bob Curtin, two Americans searching for work in Mexico, convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

John Huston (screenplay), B. Traven (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt

Top Rated Movies #122 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Humphrey Bogart	...	Fred C. Dobbs
Walter Huston	...	Howard
Tim Holt	...	Curtin
Bruce Bennett	...	Cody
Barton MacLane	...	Pat McCormick (as Barton Mac Lane)
Alfonso Bedoya	...	Gold Hat
Arturo Soto Rangel	...	Presidente (as A. Soto Rangel)
Manuel Dondé	...	El Jefe (as Manuel Donde)
José Torvay	...	Pablo (as Jose Torvay)
Margarito Luna	...	Pancho

Storyline

Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin, both down on their luck in Tampico, Mexico in 1925, meet up with a grizzled prospector named Howard and decide to join with him in search of gold in the wilds of central Mexico. Through enormous difficulties, they eventually succeed in finding gold, but bandits, the elements, and most especially greed threaten to turn their success into disaster.

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Plot Keywords:

mexico | sierra madre mountains | national film registry | afi | 1920s | 

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Taglines:

Warner Bros. hit a new high in high adventure... bringing another best-seller to the screen!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

24 January 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Treasure of Sierra Madre

Filming Locations:

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$5,014,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Huston played one of his infamous practical jokes on Bruce Bennett in the campfire scene in which he eats a plate of stew. Bennett knew that his character was starving so he wolfed down the food as quickly as possible. Huston then demanded another take. And another. In both extra takes the rapidly filling-up Bennett again had to eat a large plate of stew. Unbeknownst to him, Huston had been happy with the first take. The cameras weren't even rolling for the second and the third. He just wanted to see how much food Bennett could lower before he became too stuffed. As soon as the joke was revealed, Huston added insult to injury by calling for a lunch break.

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Goofs

In the opening shot of the poster, the word "febrero" ("February") is spelled with a capital F. In Spanish, month names may or may not be capitalized.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dobbs: Say buddy, will you stake a fellow Am...

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: SST: Death Flight (1989)

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Soundtracks

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms
(1808) (uncredited)
Music traditional
Played on harmonica by Walter Huston

User Reviews

A treasure presented to the viewer

Some movies have certain scenes in them that hold the viewers interest more than others. However every single scene in this film holds the viewers interest. There is never a dull or lagging moment. Three down and outers who at one time in their lives were maybe up and comers strike out in search of a fortune or at least enough to live better than they have been.

While Humphrey Bogart gives a superb performance it is Walter Huston who turns in the greatest performance as the old prospector Howard. The scene in the Indian village where he helps to restore a comatose child is one of the most touching in all of film history and is done virtually without any dialog. Mexican character actor Alfonso Bedoya of course steals all the scenes he appears in and delivers his classic "Stinking Badges" line. (what person would dress up as a Bandito for a costume party and not want to look exactly like Bedoya's Gold Hat character?) This film probably should have been a little higher on AFI's top 100. A must see!