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The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Overview:

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) was a Adventure - Drama Film directed by John Huston and produced by Henry Blanke and Jack L. Warner.

The film was based on the novel of the same name written by B. Traven published in 1927.

SYNOPSIS

Many consider this to be John Huston's finest moment, though he supplied many to choose from. It is in any case a classic tale of greed and its corrosive effect on the human soul. Two drifters on the bum in Mexico (Bogart and Holt) see their fortunes rise after working for some pocket money and Bogart wins a lottery. They take their new means and team up with an old prospector they meet in a flophouse (Walter Huston) to venture into the mountains to dig for gold. Bogart declares that he won't fall prey to Huston's warning about riches turning men's heads, wanting only his fair share. Their luck seems to hold after surviving a bandit attack and hitting a strike, but as the gold dust piles up, the wariness sets in. Bogart is magnificent as he slowly lets the greed and suspicion eat him alive, pulling a gun on his onetime partner and succumbing at last to the bandit's gun. Essential viewing for any classic-movie fan.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1990.

Academy Awards 1948 --- Ceremony Number 21 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Supporting ActorWalter HustonWon
Best DirectorJohn HustonWon
Best WritingJohn HustonWon
Best PictureWarner Bros.Nominated
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The Treasure of the Sierra Madre BlogHub Articles:

Field Trip: Screening of "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" at AMC River East 21

By Stephen Reginald on Jan 12, 2018 From Classic Movie Man

Field Trip: Screening of "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" at AMC River East 21 Treasure of the Sierra Madre on the big screen Date: January 14 at River East 21, 322 East Illinois · Chicago, IL Time: 2:00 p.m. TCM Big Screen Classics Presents The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, A Sp... Read full article

Win Tickets to see “TCM Big Screen Classics: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (70th Anniversary) (Giveaway runs December 14 – December 30)

By Annmarie Gatti on Dec 13, 2017 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Win Tix to see “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” on the Big Screen! In Select Cinemas Nationwide Sunday, Jan 14 and Tuesday, Jan 16! “Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges.” CMH is thrilled to announce th... Read full article

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Nov 17, 2015 From 4 Star Films

... Read full article

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

By Beatrice on Mar 21, 2015 From Flickers in Time

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Directed by John Huston Written by John Huston based on the novel by B. Traven 1948/USA Warner Bros. Repeat viewing/Warner Bros. DVD #223 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die John Huston’s tale of gold lust will never grow old. Fred C. Dobbs (Humphr... Read full article

Lux Radio Theater – The Treasure of the Sierra Madre – 1949

By Bogart Fan on Aug 24, 2014 From The Bogie Film Blog

My Review —Huston and Bogart are Awesome— Producer: William Keighley Honorary Bogie Radio Fix: out of 5 Bogies! The Lowdown Two down-on-their-luck men pool their resources with an old prospector to search for gold in Mexico. You can read my original write up on the film here. What I ... Read full article

See More The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Articles

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Quotes:

Howard: Aah, gold's a devilish sort of thing, anyway. You start out, you tell yourself you'll be satisfied with 25,000 handsome smackers worth of it. So help me, Lord, and cross my heart. Fine resolution. After months of sweatin' yourself dizzy, and growin' short on provisions, and findin' nothin', you finally come down to 15,000, then ten. Finally, you say, "Lord, let me just find $5,000 worth and I'll never ask for anythin' more the rest of my life."
Flophouse Bum: $5,000 is a lot of money.
Howard: Yeah, here in this joint it seems like a lot. But I tell you, if you was to make a real strike, you couldn't be dragged away. Not even the threat of miserable death would keep you from trying to add 10,000 more. Ten, you'd want to get twenty-five; twenty-five you'd want to get fifty; fifty, a hundred. Like roulette. One more turn, you know. Always one more.
[Howard eats, while Dobbs and Curtin snooze]
Howard: Hey you fellas, how 'bout some beans? You want some beans? Goin' through some mighty rough country tomorrow, you'd better have some beans.
Dobbs: Nobody puts one over on Fred C. Dobbs.
Gold Hat: Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges.
Howard: Say, answer me this one, will you? Why is gold worth some twenty bucks an ounce?
Flophouse Bum: I don't know. Because it's scarce.
Howard: A thousand men, say, go searchin' for gold. After six months, one of them's lucky: one out of a thousand. His find represents not only his own labor, but that of nine hundred and ninety-nine others to boot. That's six thousand months, five hundred years, scramblin' over a mountain, goin' hungry and thirsty. An ounce of gold, mister, is worth what it is because of the human labor that went into the findin' and the gettin' of it.
Flophouse Bum: I never thought of it just like that.
Howard: Well, there's no other explanation, mister. Gold itself ain't good for nothing except making jewelry with and gold teeth.
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The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Facts
John Huston originally wanted to cast Ronald Reagan as James Cody. Warner Bros. studio boss Jack L. Warner instead insisted on casting Reagan in The Voice of the Turtle. Bruce Bennett was eventually cast as Cody.
2007: The American Film Institute ranked this as the #38 Greatest Movie of All Time.
A doctor was assigned to the unit in Mexico and one night he had to attend to John Huston, who had an adverse reaction to marijuana, having smoked it for the first time with his father. He never touched the stuff again.
John Huston has a cameo as an American tourist. This scene was directed by Humphrey Bogart, who took malicious pleasure on his director by making him perform the scene over and over again.
To lend authenticity to his role, Walter Huston was persuaded by his son John to perform without his false teeth.
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