Unbecoming it may be for an adventurer to find themselves on the up and up, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre makes it very clear that rock bottom is the new beginning. Humphrey Bogart displays that well throughout this piece, but he displays something raw and infrequent in his filmography. His villainous turns were few and far between, but also his best offerings. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre confirms what so many of his features lingered on. Trust John Huston to bring out that strength. His convincing turn here is buoyed by that direction, that bearded, conniving, down-on-his-luck character brought to life with conviction and real sensitivity for the lowly desperation of those seeking fortune.
Huston however manages to avoid the plain and obvious pratfalls that befall those hopeless hopefuls who pursue big dreams. Despite its intensity, and its rewarding back-and-forth between characters hoping to double cross at the first whiff of wealth, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is deceptively comfortable. It has all the hallmarks of a legacy movie, with brass orchestral shooting through, fading from preparations to embarkments and back to the characters when they are in their next stage of plight. It is as grand a commitment to the characters at the heart of this as anything. Thrilling those findings of gold may be, they would be nothing without the trio of Bogart, Walter Huston and Tim Holt, the three searching out for gold. Sagely moments from Huston are fantastic, the camera looking up at the legend of the screen as the son sits behind the camera.
There is a sense that Huston attempts to immortalise his father, as any son with power tends to do for the father, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a certain discovery of great talent in the family. Pursuit of wealth is seen to be tiring, immediately rewarding on impact and violent by its end. A trio that comes to pieces through heat and desperation, which is the key to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and the wise old fool that Walter plays is a great example, the core of the feature, of exploring that elderly wisdom and weakness knocking back the youthful heroes. Huston behind the camera struggles to maintain that energy, his scenes spilling into calming moments of gold encounters and mania between the gang a tad too frequently for there to be any pay-off from a build-up of sorts. Still, the ride up and down the mountains filled with fool’s gold is fun.
Bogart’s leading role as Fred C. Dobbs is supreme, cruel and intense. Pangs of musical clarity strike through to make sure the message of uncertainty in the face of reward is nailed down properly. Huston and Huston make for quite the duo, Sr. on-screen prospecting away, Jr. learning the craft of the camera. Doubt and fear ruin even the boldest of plans that would surely seek riches for those not turned by greed. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is as inspired as it is intense in its takings, although struggles with its pacing at times, for it is desperate to get to the heart of its horror and sin. Granted, it is the best part, but the build-up to that needs to be firmer, stiffer, and stoic.
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