The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
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The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a black-and-white 1948 John Huston film in which two American down-and-outers (Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt) in 1920s Mexico hook up with an old-timer (Walter Huston, the director's father) to prospect for gold. The old-timer accurately predicts trouble but is willing to go anyway. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was one of the first Hollywood films to be shot almost entirely on location outside the U.S., although the night scenes were filmed back in the studio.
Novel
The film was based on, and is quite faithful to, the novel of the same name (1927 in German, 1935 in English) by the enigmatic, anarchist-leaning German-English bilingual author B. Traven. No 20th century author ever lived and died in quite such a state of personal obscurity and mystery. One of the more outlandish rumors regarding his identity was that he was a bastard son of the last German Kaiser Wilhelm II. His true identity was not established until 1920.Story and historical setting
By the 1920s the violence of the Mexican Revolution had largely subsided, although scattered gangs of bandits continued to terrorize the countryside. The newly established post-revolution government relied on the effective but ruthless Federal Police, commonly known as the Federales, to patrol remote areas and dispose of the bandits. Foreigners, like the "prospectors" in the story, were at very real risk of being killed by the bandits if their paths crossed. The bandits, likewise, were given little more than a "last cigarette" by the army units after capture, even having to dig their own graves first. That was the context in which the three gringos set out to strike it rich. Amazingly, the old-timer proves to be tough as leather, and he knows how to find gold in the remote Sierra Madre. When a good small mine is discovered, greed sets in, and before they can even get under way to return to civilization, we see what happens when a down-trodden loser like Bogart's Fred C. Dobbs has a one-third share in a small fortune. His commitment to fair dealing goes out the window as he begins to lose his trust and even his mind, lusting to possess the entire treasure. Enter the bandits again, whom they had encountered earlier. The ending and the final disposition of the men, the bandits, and the gold, is an unforgettable irony.
Quotation
The film is the origin of a famous line, often misquoted as "We don't need no stinking badges!" The correct dialog is:
- Gold Hat (Alfonso Bedoya): We are Federales... you know, the mounted police.
- Dobbs (Bogart): If you're the police, where are your badges?
- Gold Hat (Alfonso Bedoya): [puzzled pause] "Badges!? [pause] We ain't got no badges. [pause] We don't need no badges! [angry] I don't have to show you any stinking badges!"
Awards
John Huston won the Academy Award for Directing in 1948 for his work on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The film is consistently in the Internet Movie Database's top 250 films, and was #30 on the American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Movies and #67 on its 100 Years, 100 Thrills. The film has also been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.Walter Huston, John Huston's father, also won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in this movie.
Cast
A few notable uncredited actors appear in the film. Director John Huston appears (see below) as does actor Robert Blake as a young boy selling lottery tickets.In an opening cameo, director John Huston is pestered for money by the two main characters.
The most controversial cameo is Ann Sheridan. Sheridan, who was in Mexico at the time, allegedly did a cameo as a streetwalker. After Dobbs leaves the barbershop in Tampico, he spies a passing prostitute who returns his look. Seconds later, the woman is picked up again but this time in the distance. Some film goers and critics feel the woman looks nothing like Sheridan, but the DVD commentary for the film states that it is she. Many film internet sources, including IMDB, credit Sheridan for the part.
Co-star Tim Holt's father, Jack Holt, a star of silent and early sound Westerns and action films, makes a one-line appearance at the beginning of the film as one of the men down on their luck.
External links
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