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Contents © 2006
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
TALK ABOUT MOVIES
September/October 2006
THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE
Directed by John Huston; starring Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt; 1948; 126 minutes; black and white; USA; English/Spanish; available at Blockbuster Video.
Matthew: So much of what Dobbs does and says at the beginning looks different in the light of what he becomes later. His proclamation in the flophouse that he wouldn't let the lust for money get to him, that he would quit when he had made what he set out to make -- it's protesting too much. It's a boldness that ignores Howard's own testimony on the power of gold -- testimony based on experience. Howard even admits its power over himself. Then, when Dobbs offers to share the lottery winnings to buy supplies, it looks like real generosity, and maybe it is. But later, when pressed, he almost repudiates his grand gesture. It wasn't quite a gift freely given. It seems that it's wealth -- real wealth -- that does it. When Dobbs forces McCormick to pay him his wages, he takes what he's owed and no more. He remains honest. But when wealth is on the line, it starts eating at him.
Ernie: Don't forget his ill-treatment of the little boy who sells him the lottery ticket at the outset. Hints at the real lowness of his character are given all along. What's more curious is the fact that Curtin, who doesn't suffer from the same baseness, lets the power of gold drive him to the point of murder. How do you account for that?
Matthew: First, I think he's angry at the man for following him. Second, I think he's got a pretty small ethical "circle" -- his decency extends towards his partners -- Dobbs and Howard -- and anybody who violates that circle is treated as an enemy, deserving of death. But he realizes his error when he reads the letter -- he grasps the humanity of the man he was planning to kill.
* * *
Matthew: Howard is fascinating. He knows the evil that gold brings, yet he keeps searching for it, keeps living the boom-or-bust life, keeps joining up with men he knows might turn on him, even kill him. He accepts that humanity, including himself, is sinful. He keeps going and tries to get along, despite the risks. He even seems to keep hoping that things might work out right, despite all his experience to the contrary.