The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Am I Missing Something?

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Movie Review: "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948)A book written by writer Bruno Traven (1882-1969) and presumingly published in 1927, then discovered by Hollywood director John Huston (1906-1987) and adapted to attract Hollywood star Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) to break public character as the easing-cool figure of smoke and drink to become the thoughout unlikeable character of Dobbs, who nevertheless creates "high-rise" fascinations as suspense due to the teaming-up with down-to-earth empathetic Howard, played by the director's real-life father Walter Houston (1883-1950) with harding streetwise wisdom, and actor Tim Holt (1919-1973) as running-for-a-chance Curtin; together they embark into the title-given desert-mountain-strip of Mexico to dig for gold.The story-arc with this gripping 125-Minute-Movie received in times of a fading Hollywood era with "Consent Decree" of year 1948 with regard to United States versus "Paramount Pictures" concluding into splitting states of filmmaking empires by separating exhibition entities from incorporated film producing Major studios, when also Warner Bros. needed to bend a knee with this final effort of a high-concept alternative Western-drama out for the hunt of Academy-Awards at the Oscars in its 21st edition celebrated on March 24th 1949 to a fulminate win for "Best Directing" with regards to John Huston, who had hold together a highly-diverse state of emotions without giving in to spectacle over moral truthfulness.© 2018 Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC

It's amazing how vibrant these older movies can be without using color, whether it be the characters or the score, there's something about older movies like this that makes you feel something. Even though I've seen the plot of this play out in other movies, it still engaged me, it still interested me. The film drags on a little bit, maybe the scene between Howard and the Natives goes a little longer than it needs to, but the movie still has a good flow and doesn't drag that much. I do kind of wish that the gold corrupted more than just Bogart, maybe make a Shakespearean tragedy out of it to really get the message across. Regardless, the film's aged incredibly well, and definitely worth a watch if you're interested.

Huston's obsessive character study is a slow burn in every sense. We move slowly through the story itself, and even its impact on the audience is steady. In the moment, the comedy is timed beautifully, the script pops, and the performances are distinct. As time goes on, the paranoia seeps in, and we sadly recognize ourselves in the frantic mania of Bogart. A western without heroes and villains, and a drama without caricature.

"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" won Oscars for best director (John Huston), best supporting actor (Walter Huston) and best screenplay (John Huston). The film was also nominated for best picture but unfortunately lost out to Laurence Olivier's "Hamlet". This was yet another remarkable performance by Humphrey Bogart in a difficult role and proves once again what an outstanding actor he could be when given the right material.This was a superlative performance by Humphrey Bogart - one of his best - and completely different to his smooth portrayal of Rick in "Casablanca". His character of Fred C. Dobbs was shifty and devious verging on paranoia and madness. The film has now rightly become a classic and is much admired by "movie buffs".Conclusion - An excellent film , One of Humphrey Bogart's best..