Water’s precious. Sometimes may be more precious than gold.
Today, on the Classic Movie Review Podcast, we are taking on the marvelous movie The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). I always like to return to Humphrey Bogart for the special numbers, and this 200th podcast is no exception. This is a really great movie, and there is not much here that I don’t like. Bogart is amazing as he descends into madness. Walter Huston is miraculous as the old prospector, a role that earned him the best supporting Oscar. What I like best about his performance is that he was not the slick, well dress character I most often associate was Walter Huston. With that being said, this movie had a bad guy that was worth having. Mexican actor Alfonso Bedoya played the role of Gold Hat. Gold Hat was a superb bandit because that was his whole motivation, no need for a back story.
This movie is rated a very respectable 8.2 on iMDB.com[1]. It is equally respected on rottentomatoes.com with 100 percent on the Tomatometer and 93 percent audience approval. The movie is number 38 on Afi.com’s list of ‘America’s Greatest Films.[2]’
The great film critic Roger Ebert said of the film it:
…is a story in the Joseph Conrad tradition, using adventure not as an end in itself but as a test of its characters. It involves moral disagreements between a wise old man and a paranoid middle-aged man, with a young man forced to choose sides. It tells this story with gusto and Huston’s love of male camaraderie, and it occasionally breaks into laughter — some funny, some bitterly ironic. It happens on a sun-blasted high chaparral landscape, usually desolate, except for the three gold prospectors, although gangs of bandits and villages of Indians materialize when required. At the end, it has Bogart in a delirious mad scene that falls somewhere between “King Lear” and “Greed.[3]“
Great director John Huston wrote a screenplay for a 1927 book of the same title written by the mysterious B. Traven. He also directed the film and appeared early in the movie. John Huston won an Oscar for Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay, to go with the one his father won.
Let’s get going on all these great actors.
Actors – The Treasure of The Sierra Madre (1948)
Returning
Humphrey Bogart played down and out American Dobbs, who is on a greed-fueled trip to insanity. Bruce Bennett played Cody a man who tries to join the party. The great Humphrey Bogart and Bruce Bennett were covered in Sahara (1943).
Film director John Huston was uncredited as a white-suit wearing American in Tampico that Dobbs continued to put the touch on.
Tim Holt played the role of Curtin, the younger man torn between Dobbs and Howard. I get the name pun now. Holt was first covered in Stagecoach (1939).
Barton MacLane plays McCormick, a scammer. MacLane was first covered in The Maltese Falcon (1941).
Pat Flaherty had the role of a customer in the bar that warned Curtin and Dobbs about McCormick. Flaherty was covered in Key Largo (1948).
Jay Silverheels played an uncredited Indian Guide. The future Tonto was covered in Key Largo (1948).
Walter Huston played the role of old-time prospector Howard. Huston was first covered in The Shanghai Gesture (1941).
New
One of the most interesting characters in this movie was Gold Hat, played by Alfonso Bedoya. Bedoya was born in 1904 in Mexico. Bedoya lived a transitory life in Mexico before he ended up in Houston, Texas. He was being educated in a private school but left to work odd jobs. His family had him return to Mexico, where he became a successful actor in the Mexican film industry.
Bedoya’s first big American movie was the John Huston directed, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). He delivered one of the most iconic and most often misquoted movie lines of all time. He had a successful career in American films appearing in westerns such as Streets of Laredo (1949), The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953), and The Big Country (1958). He even showed up in a Film-Noir, Border Incident (1949). Sadly, Bedoya died at the young age of 53 in 1957.
From a very minor role as the Mexican boy that sells the winning lottery ticket, Robert Blake, when on to become a major star. Blake was born in New Jersey in 1933. At the age of 5, he started working on the “Our Gang” comedies. In 1940, he expanded to other child roles.
He generally stayed active expect when he was in the military 1954-56. He had good parts in Pork Chop Hill (1959), Town Without Pity (1961), and PT 109 (1963). He received a lot of attention for In Cold Blood (1967). This was followed by Tell Them Willie Boy is Here (1969) and then a motorcycle patrolman in Electra Glide in Blue (1973).
Blake had a popular detective series, “Baretta” 1975-1978. After that, he kept busy but wasn’t setting the world on fire. At one point he took 8-years off to deal with personal demons. In 2001, he was charged with the murder of his wife. Blake was found not guilty, but most of the money was spent on his defense. Blake is still alive.
Story – The Treasure of The Sierra Madre (1948)
The story begins in 1925, in Tampico, Mexico. There is a minor oil boom, but work is still hard to find. A down and out America, dressed in a fedora and rough work clothes, checks his lottery ticket number. This outfit is said to be Steven Spielberg’s model for the ‘Indiana Jones’ look from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1984). The American, Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart), has lost again. He shuffles off into the busy city. He begins panhandling wealthy-looking Americans. He also considers picking up a cigarette butt thrown in the street until a Mexican street child beats him to it.
A white-suited man (uncredited John Huston) gives him some Pecos for a meal. Dobbs buys a meal and some kind of smokes. In the food stand, a small Mexican boy selling lottery tickets (Robert Blake) approaches Dobbs about buying a ticket. Dobbs is really rude and threatens to douse the boy with water. The boy keeps reducing the ticket size until he throws water in the boy’s face. Finally, he buys a 20th of a ticket for 20 centavos and is luck 13.
Dobbs goes to the plaza to rest and meets a younger American, Curtin (Tim Holt). They are both so broke they can’t leave town. Dobbs sees an American getting his shoes shined and puts the touch on him. It is the same white-suited man. This time Dobbs gets a shave and a haircut. The white-suited man comes by again, and Dobbs puts the squeeze on him again. This time the man says this is the third time Dobbs has asked for money. Dobbs says he never looked at the faces, only the hands and money.
Later that night, Dobbs is panhandling outside of a bar. An American, Pat McCormick (Barton MacLane), comes out, and Dobbs puts the bite on him. McCormick says he won’t give him anything, but he has a roughneck job on an oil rig that pays $8 dollars a day. Dobbs and McCormick go to the ferry. Curtain is already aboard. They travel into the jungle, where they get to work building an oil derrick. McCormick says he will give them their pay and bonus when they get off the ferry in Tampico.
After a couple of weeks, they get back, and McCormick says the agent is not at the dock for some reason. He tells the men to wait while he goes to the office. Dobbs is a little suspicious and asks if he can go along. McCormick gives him some money and tells him and Curtain to meet him later at Café Madrid.
Several hours later, Dobbs and Curtain are waiting in the bar for McCormick. An American customer (Pat Flaherty) tells the two that McCormick never pays off. They take what little they have left and go to the ‘Dormitorio El Oso Negro’ translated as the black bear. It is a kind of flophouse, YMCA, mid-aged hostel. The place is full of out-of-work Americans.
Holding court insider is veteran prospector and old man Howard (Walter Huston). He is working without his false teeth to add to the effect. He is selling the dream of finding gold. He says gold makes men a little crazy. Dobbs says he wouldn’t be greedy. Howard says he has made a fortune, but he lost it all, looking for more. Howard says he will go again if he finds the right partner. But he says there is always a chance of being murdered by your partners.
Some days later, Dobbs and Curtain are hanging out in the plaza, and they see McCormick with a pretty prostitute. McCormick sees them coming acts glad to see them. He says he has been looking for them to pay them. He takes them into the bar for a drink, and he says he hasn’t been paid yet and can’t pay them. Curtain says he wants all of the money. McCormick gets a bottle, hits Curtain, and punches Dobbs. McCormick tries to escape, and the two men overpower and beat him. When McCormick is down, Dobbs takes the $300 they are owed and leaves the rest. They pay for the drinks before they leave.
They go to the plaza to wash in the fountain, and Dobbs starts selling Curtain on the idea of going gold mining. They decide they will talk to Howard about a gold expedition. They meet with Howard, and he has $200, and the other two have $300. Howard says they will need another $100 for all the provisions and guns. He says they need the guns because they will be in bandit territory.
The lottery kid comes in and asks for his 10 percent part of Dobbs winnings. Dobbs is mean and at first, doesn’t realize he has won. Dobbs has won 200 pesos and stakes Curtain for the money he is lacking. The two shake hands as partners, and Howard watches.
The trio travel by train into the interior of Mexico. The men discuss their plans on the way. Suddenly, the train is attacked by bandits. The three men aid in the defense of the train. They fight the bandits off with the aid of soldiers. Dobbs is fascinated by the bandit leader Gold Hat (Alfonso Bedoya) and wishes he had shot him. The train gets going again, and Howard thinks he has found an area for them to search.
North of Durango, they buy their supplies and burros. The burros are branded, and the information is recorded. The burro broker tells the three men in Spanish that they are headed to a very dangerous and harsh area.
Dobbs and Curtain trail behind Howard, who acts like he is on a spring walk, while the other two struggle up the Sierra Madre mountains. Dobbs decides Howard is part goat. Dobbs finds an iron pyrite rock. They get crazy happy and start pouring water on the rocks. They call Howard back, and he tells them that what they have found is fool’s gold. He says they have crossed four or five areas where there was gold, but it was either too far from water or not densely packed enough to make it profitable. He does tell them to ask him first before they waste their water because sometimes water is more precious than gold.
They continue their trek through heat and dust storms. Then they have to hack through tropical jungles. Dobbs looks like he is dying, and Curtain isn’t much better. Howard is up eating beans and playing his harmonica.
The next day Howard examines the ground as Dobbs and Curtain come in behind and collapse. Dobbs wants to give up and go back. Howard starts mocking the two, and Dobbs threatens to kill him with a rock. Curtain restrains Dobbs, but Howard tells them they would never make it out without him. He then starts laughing and dancing the happy gold jig. He finally tells them that they are standing on gold, and all they need to do is go up the nearby mountain to find it. Howard teaches them how to find gold and they establish a dig site. They place their camp below so they can pretend to be hunters if they are found. They build a gold sluice and start the hard work.
After a bit, they have about $5,000 worth of gold. Dobbs wants to divide it up right away, and Curtain says he can wait. Howard says he is the most honest, but Dobbs thinks he has a devious mind. They decide to divide up the gold, and each man has to hide his own. As they divide the gold, Dobbs has crazy eyes. Curtain has wondrous eyes.
They continue to work hard, picking, dragging, and sluicing. One day a timber gives, and Dobbs is buried by a cave-in. Curtain has second thoughts about saving him before his better nature sends him into the cave to rescue Dobbs.
Howard wants to own a store with his money. Curtain wants to own a peach orchard. Dobbs, who is looking wild, only has plans for a day or two, like clean up, eat, and find a woman. Howard tells them that they should set their goal as $25,000, but Dobbs wants to go for $75,000. Dobbs even calls out Curtain for not putting up a full share.
One night a Puma howls in the distance. Dobbs wakes and sees that Howard is missing from the tent. He goes out and finds Howard coming back from checking on the burros. Curtain gets curious and goes out looking for Dobbs. Dobbs comes back to the tent and is suspicious because Curtain is out alone. Both men have checked their gold hiding places.
Dobbs is getting worse and is talking to himself about protecting his gold. Curtain and Howard notice that he is acting crazy. Dobbs is getting paranoid and thinks the other two are teaming up against him to steal his gold. Curtain sees a Gila monster go into a hole. He starts trying to pry the rock up. Dobbs catches him and pulls a gun on him. Curtain says if you don’t believe him to go ahead and stick his hand in the hole. Finally, they jump Dobbs and get the gun away from him. Howard turns the rock over, and the Gila monster is there.
Curtain makes the trip into town, and the Federales have caught two bandits. In the crowd watching is a tall American, Cody (Bruce Bennett). Cody goes to talk to Curtain and tries to get info. The bandits are taken to the cemetery for execution. Curtain says he is a hunter, and Cody asks about pay dirt. Cody asks twice to go along, but he is turned down.
Curtain makes it to the camp and says Cody is trailing him. They discuss what they will do if Cody shows ups. As they talk, Cody walks out of the dark and into their camp. Dobbs is pretty hostile, but Howard feeds him. Dobbs keeps running his mouth. Cody says there is not enough game for hunters, and he knows what they are up to. The trio has another meeting about Cody, and they all decide to take turns watching him with their guns at the ready.
In the morning, Cody is still there and has made coffee. Dobbs gets snotty and punches Cody. Howard tries to get him to leave. Cody says he is going to dig for gold regardless of what the three say. Cody says they have three choices; kill him, run him off and he could rat them out, or take him in as a partner. Cody says if they chose the third option, he would only want a share of what they find after he starts.
They have a meeting, and Dobbs wants to kill him. Howard doesn’t really want to do it. Curtain makes the choice to kill him. All three draw their guns and head for Cody. Cody sees that they have chosen murder. He then points out that they are bandits down in the valley. The four men decide they will work together and defend the camp against the bandits. Cody sees about a dozen bandits heading up the trail. They eat, take their fighting positions, and wait.
Gold Hat and his team of bandits stop just in front of the ambush, thinking the camp is abandoned. One of the bandits climbs near Dobbs, and he yells alto, stop. Gold Hat comes forward and says in English the famous badges line. He then says he wants the guns. Dobbs shots a hole in Gold Hat’s gold hat. Gold Hat talks to the men and says he wants to trade for the guns. Howard shots a warning shot. The bandits act like they are leaving, but they turn and attack. They have a gun battle and kill a few bandits. Then the fighting suddenly stops. The gold miners find out that Cody has been killed. The bandits open up again on the original three.
The bandits start building rolling barricades, and then they suddenly ride out. Dobbs goes up to see what is happening, and he sees that the real Federales are chasing the bandits away. Now, safe the three miners examine the belongings of Cody. They find 200 pesos, a picture of a woman, and a letter from her. He has a son, and the family owns fruit trees. They bury Cody.
Later the gold starts to run out. They have about $35,000 each. Dobbs suggests they pack it in. Howard explains that they need to break down the camp and put the mountain back like it was before they came. Repairing the wound is a thank you for the wealth the mountain has given.
They finish and load their gold onto the burros. Following Howard’s lead, they all say goodbye and thanks to the mountain. In their camp, Howard is playing the harmonic. Curtain wants to give a fourth of their take to Cody’s widow. Four Spanish speaking men show up at the camp. Howard makes sure they get coffee and tobacco. The men return the favor with some of their own tobacco. Howard says they are Indians, and they don’t usually come right to the point. Finally, one of the men tells of a small boy that had drowned, but he is in a coma. Howard agrees to go look at the boy. He leaves his gold with Dobbs and Curtain.
In the village, Howard uses some kind of arm lift method, drops of tequila in the mouth, and damp rags to revive the boy. It is like a miracle to the Indians and the revere Howard like a medicine man. The next day, Howard is back with Dobbs and Curtain. He says he used some old Boy Scout tricks to revive the boy. The four Indians from the previous night come and tell the miners that they must come to camp with them. Dobbs tries to run them off, and machetes are pulled. Howard agrees to go, but he has to leave his gold with the other two. Howard says he may marry one of the Indian women and stay in the village.
Dobbs and Curtain continue to Durango, and Dobbs continues on his downward spiral of greed and paranoia. Dobbs fusses about Howard’s burros and everything else. Finally, he and Curtain get into an argument about who is the boss. That night Dobbs is rocking back and forth and laughing like he is crazy. Dobbs says they should go to another town and cut Howard out of his gold. He thinks Curtain wants to steal all of the gold. Dobbs pulls a gun on Curtain, but Curtain gets the jump on him and disarms him. He gives the gun back without any bullets. Now it comes down to a contest of who can stay awake the longest. Of course, this only increases the paranoia. On the second night, Curtain falls asleep allowing Dobbs to get the gun. Dobbs looks like a devil backlit by the fire. He takes Curtain away from the camp and shoots him twice. However, Curtain is still alive. Dobbs goes back to check with a torch, and he believes Curtain is dead. Dobbs sits by the fire, rationalizing the murder and planning to bury Curtain in the morning. The flames from the fire rise, and it gives the appearance that Dobbs is consumed by the flames.
Some of the Indians are working in the woods, and the wounded Curtain crawls up. Dobbs loads all the gold and decides not to bury Curtain. He never goes back to look at the body, so he doesn’t know it is missing. Dobbs is still worrying about the body. He finally runs back and finds it gone. He convinces himself that a jaguar has carried Curtain’s body away.
Howard is living a high life in the Indian village. He is being fed and cared for by young village women. They bring Howard to the wounded Curtain. Howard cares for the man that only has a hole in his arm. Howard says the Dobbs is not a bad man, but there was too much temptation with the gold.
Howard, Curtain, and a group of Indians head out after Dobbs on horseback. An uncredited Jay Silverheels is in the group somewhere. They find a dead burro, and up ahead, Dobbs is suffering for lack of water. While director John Huston was on location in Mexico, Jack L. Warner viewed the daily rushes and screamed “If that s.o.b. doesn’t find water soon I’ll go broke![4]” Dobbs is covered with dirt when he sees a stagnant pool of water. He pushes ahead of the burros and dips his whole face into the water. Then he sees the reflection of Gold Hat in the water standing behind him. Gold Hat has a couple of men with him. While Gold Hat gets a smoke for Dobbs, the others standby. Finally, Gold Hat says he knows Dobbs from someplace. They start trying on his gear. One of the men confirms that Dobbs is alone. Gold Hat remembers Dobbs from the shootout. He begins looking at the hides on Dobbs’ burros.
Dobbs pulls his gun, and the bandits begin closing in on him. He fires but is out of bullets. Gold Hat laughs and grabs a machete. He chops at Dobbs. Scenes were shot of Dobbs’ head flying off and landing in the water. But they were edited out as too graphic. So, they show the first chop a second time. In the background, the water is bubbling, where the fake head rolled in.
The bandits begin to fight among themselves, and the burros run to some abandon buildings. The bandits dump the bags of gold dust not recognizing it for what it really is.
The bandits take the burros and the hides into town to sell. A small boy recognizes the animals and gets the burro broker. It is clear to the villagers how they got the animals and the used clothes they are wearing. Villagers with guns and machetes surround the bandits. The villagers lock the bandits into a cell. Later they are made to dig their own graves. Federales have assembled for the execution. Gold Hat stops everything for a minute while he gets his hat. Later the hat is shown blowing away.
Howard asks if there are more than just the hides. A small boy tells them that the bandits thought the gold was bags of sand to make the hides weigh more, and they dropped them at the convent ruins. Curtain, Howard, and the Indians ride out to the ruins in a windstorm that was provided by the engines of planes from the Mexican Air Force. Howard finds the bags, but all of the gold is gone. He gives a good belly laugh, and finally, he gets Curtain to laugh along.
Howard decides to go back to the Indian village, where they have invited him to live as a respected medicine man. Howard says Curtain can have his share of the burros and hides if he will go to Texas and see the widow that owns the fruit orchard. They say their goodbyes and ride in different directions. One of the gold bags is shown stuck on a cactus. The end.
You know, in reality, that would be a hard conversation with the widow in Texas. You see I was going to murder your husband, but we were attacked…
I’ll be right back with conclusions and the World-Famous Short Summary following a word from our sponsors.
Summary – The Treasure of The Sierra Madre (1948)
I have talked about the badges lines a few times. When quoting Gold Hat what we all say is “We don’t need no stinking badges!” The correct movie line was selected as number 36 on the AFI.com “100 Years…100 Movie Quotes[5].” I first remember a variation of this line in Gotcha! (1985) when former gang member Manolo tells the FBI, “Don’t show me your badges; we don’t know nothing about no stinking badges.” This bit has been used in “The Monkees” television show “It’s a Nice Place to Visit” 1967 where band drummer Mickey Dolenz quotes it as it is most often said “Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges.” It was also used in a 1980 ep. of ‘WKRP In Cincinnati’ titled ‘Filthy Pictures” where Johnny Caravella (Dr. Johnny Fever) says “I said show me some badges, and the guy says “Badges! uh, we don’t need no stinking badges.” It was also in the hilarious Mel Brook’s directed Blazing Saddles (1974), as “Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges.” So, I sure it was ingrained. “I almost forgot, fellow babies: BOOGER![6]“
In the film it goes:
Gold Hat: “We are Federales … you know, the mounted police.”
Dobbs: “If you’re the police, where are your badges?”
Gold Hat: “Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges! I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ badges!”
In the B. Traven book, it is:
“Badges, to god-damned hell with badges! We have no badges. In fact, we don’t need badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges, you god-damned cabrón and chinga tu madre![7]”
Of course, the Motion Picture Production Code wouldn’t allow that kind of language.
Finally, a tribute any father could be proud of, when Walter Huston accepted his Oscar, he said:
“Many, many years ago, I brought up a boy and I said to him, ‘Son, if you ever become a writer, try to write a good part for your old man sometime’. Well, by cracky, that’s what he did!”[8]
World-Famous Short Summary – We need some badges
Beware
the moors
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040897/
[2] AFI’S 100 YEARS…100 MOVIES — 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
[3] https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-treasure-of-the-sierra-madre-1948
[4] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040897/trivia
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Treasure_of_the_Sierra_Madre_(film)
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Johnny_Fever
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinking_badges
[8] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040897/trivia
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