In the 1920s, Fred Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) is an American living a hand to mouth existence in Tampico. When he spots an American, he regularly begs "will you stake a fellow American to a meal?" He soon teams with Curtin (Tim Holt) and the pair get a job working at an oil derrick. After a month of labor, the foreman stiffs them. While staying the night at a hostel, the pair meet Howard (Walter Huston). Howard is an old prospector who talks of gold in the mountains. Pooling their resources, the trio dare to trek into the Sierra Madre range to dig for gold. Just when Dobbs and Curtin are on the brink of surrender, Howard finds a gold vein to pursue. The more gold they extract, the more they become suspicious of each other. Each hides his portion of the gold lest the others steal it. This tense situation grows worse when Cody (Bruce Bennett) arrives. He too is looking for gold and has guessed that the trio are working on a successful vein. On top of that, bandits have spotted them and come to acquire the rifles that the men have. This sees the movie's most famous quote:
"Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges."
Classic!
Here is a movie that explores limits of friendship and the risks of sudden wealth. Men who had been willing to share what little they had when poor became less generous as their wealth grew. Motvies are questioned and distrust fills the air. An outstanding film that earned Oscars for both John Huston as director and his father Walter Huston for best supporting actor. Highly recommended.
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