LogFAQs > #962906030

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - 1948
Starring - Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston and Tim Holt

I don't often have fun watching some of these older films. I can usually appreciate them well enough, but I often find myself needing to take a break halfway through.

Thankfully, Sierra Madre was a huge exception to this rule. It was a pretty easy watch and was genuinely fun! The biggest reason for this is the performances. Humphrey Bogart, whom I didn't think much of after Casablanca, really impressed me here. You can tell pretty early on that he's going to be a problem on this expedition and his gradual descent into paranoia is both hilarious and terrifying. Sorry for doubting you Humphrey! Walter Huston as the old prospector has to be my favorite though, he creates the perfect balance between goofy and endearing. He's definitely the glue that holds both the characters and the film together.

Even putting aside the preformances, I found the entire plot engaging. There's a surprisingly wide variety of set pieces and side plots, all of which hold actual significance to the movie as a whole. The story of Mr. Cody was a particularly interesting detour that really left me thinking.

Finally, I want to talk about the ending as I'm kinda torn on how it was handled. I really like the idea that sometimes life is gonna screw you over and you've just gotta take your lumps and move forward. That said, if I spent 10 months slaving away on a mountain I certainly wouldn't look around for 5 minutes then start laughing about how it's gone. Maybe it's just the Dobbs in me, but even a single bag of that gold is worth a lot of money.

Either way I had a great time watching it and I'm really happy this little project is off to a great start!

4.5/5

COMING SOON: The Third Man