The Treasure of the Sierra Madre* (1948)

A genuinely tense and dramatic adventure about three men falling prey to gold fever. Humphrey Bogart films seem to be hit or miss with me, but this one was a sure hit. The pacing got a little slow, but there was always a sense that something was just about to happen. The main characters all turn out good performances and really portray the kind of emotions you could anticipate from three men slowly growing suspicious of each other.

Greed is always a tough subject to sell, and it usually doesn’t make for the happiest of movies (unless you’re making a chick flick, but they hardly count). Indeed, Treasure of the Sierra Madre opens doors to the dark side of humanity, where one is willing to go to regrettable extremes to get what they want, whether they need it or not. Filled with anti-hero antics, it’s a tad bleak at times, but the scenery, cinematography and music make it all work.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5