A short while ago, I had an attack of nostalgia and was smacked in the face with the memory of old movies. My memory is that they were outstanding old movies. My TV has an On Demand Button and sometimes it works. Bogart is one of my favorites and so a few of his classics popped into my mind. I remember the angst I felt as I walked out of "The Treasure of Sierra Madre” when I was a teenager. Not fully understanding all the conflicts and ironies depicted in the movie, I thought it was an attention-grabbing movie with a twisted ending.
Watching it recently, I discovered it is that and a lot more. Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston and Tim Holt – a Tom Mix sort of cowboy who came somewhat later – are the central characters. All come together in a flophouse in Tampico, Mexico and by some unlikely events, raise enough money to chase a rumor about "gold in them hills."
Bogart plays Fred C. Dobbs, the rundown at the heels who is panhandling cigarettes and pesos on the street and looking for his big break. Walter Huston is the required wizened old prospector whose experience is essential to the expedition and Holt is the young and somewhat innocent, who has just enough money to round out the necessary amount to make the quest possible.
