Talk:The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (film)

Fair use rationale for Image:Thetreasureofthesierramadre.jpg

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BetacommandBot 02:39, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:TheTreasureoftheSierraMadreshot.jpg

Image:TheTreasureoftheSierraMadreshot.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 22:57, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Duplicate text

The "Story and historical setting" section is almost verbatim from the The Treasure of the Sierra Madre article. Since this is the film of that story, and obviously links there, do we really need to show the plot again? This page already says "The film is quite faithful to the novel". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.71.175.177 (talk) 05:34, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

probably not material, but

Most people think Walter Huston directed this film but it was his son, John. This is true but I don't know if there is a source. References are very important for Wikipedia. Suomi Finland 2009 (talk) 23:51, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

I have been a fan of this film for decades and have never heard anyone express that in any way. With all due respect I think it's not important. Walter was the actor in the family, and won an Oscar for his performance in this movie, so it seems pretty clear cut to me. Jusdafax 00:05, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

Concur with Jusdafax and Badges? I don't have to show you any steenkin' badges!. moreno oso (talk) 00:13, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

No, no one thinks that. -- Jibal (talk) 23:36, 27 December 2017 (UTC)

Locations

The 2nd paragraph of the article states that the movie was one of the first Hollywood movies to be filmed amost entirely on location outside the USA. This is not true. Actually a good deal of the movie was filmed in the USA--at the Iverson Ranch in L.A.; in Kernville, Calif.; in the Mojave Desert; at Warner Bros sound stages where they did a lot of rear projections of scenes from Mexico and camp scenes, etc. "Trader Horn" (1931) is generally considered the first Hollywood film shot on location outside the USA--in Africa, where one crew member was eaten by a crocodile and another crew member killed by a charging rhino. Then there's "The Lad From Old Ireland" (1910) which went on location shooting in Ireland. 50.202.81.2 (talk) 02:51, 22 October 2013 (UTC)

Philosophy section

The mention exchange at El Oso Negro Dormitorio is not between Howard and Dobbs, but between Howard and an unnamed other patron of the flophouse. Dobbs and Curtin have had just arrived and taken their beds, and only a while later enter the conversation with Howard. Lofelon (talk) 13:10, 8 January 2014 (UTC)

This was just plain wrong. I changed "Howard" to "Another man." Jzimba (talk) 15:41, 1 June 2014 (UTC)

Do all film entries have a "philosophy" section? We usually talk about the themes of a work, not its philosophy. (Do entries about novels have a "philosophy" section?) Anyway, whatever the section is called, its contents are poor. The main "philosophy" of the film (surely something about greed and its fruits, according to any film review) is left unstated, in favor of a mere structural observation (about how Howard is a foil for Dobbs). The quoted exchange does not even illustrate the structural point, seeing as it is not an exchange between Howard and Dobbs. My recommendation would be to (1) change the section title to "Themes" and (2) use quotes from extant reviews and criticism to populate the section. (Or just delete the section for now.) Jzimba (talk) 16:01, 1 June 2014 (UTC)

I went ahead and changed "Philosophy" to "Themes," then wrote some standard ideas about the film's themes based on extant reviews. And I deleted the previous material about the exchange between Dobbs and another man (which never illustrated the structural point at issue anyway). Jzimba (talk) 20:08, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Bob?

I don't remember Curtin having a first name. And I don't think it would be Bob.Longinus876 (talk) 16:38, 13 May 2014 (UTC)

What you don't remember and don't think are completely irrelevant. -- Jibal (talk) 23:38, 27 December 2017 (UTC)

Old Plot

The plot about gold corrupting three men is very old, and goes back centuries. Hans Sach's "Death In A Tree" for instance or Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale", etc. 50.202.81.2 (talk) 04:06, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

A bit of a mouthful?

1948 American dramatic adventurous neo-western with elements of Film Noir

It's not really a western, and "with elements of Film Noir" is a bit of a stretch. NotYourFathersOldsmobile (talk) 14:11, 22 January 2016 (UTC)

Wrong, and wrong. -- Jibal (talk) 23:39, 27 December 2017 (UTC)

Child who recognizes donkeys is Robert Blake?

Blake is definitely the kid who sold Dobbs the lottery ticket but does he make a second appearance at the end? I had thought it was a different character.--Jrm2007 (talk) 17:13, 21 December 2016 (UTC)

Who is "Sheridan"?

The article states: "A photograph included in the documentary accompanying the DVD release shows Sheridan in streetwalker costume, with Bogart and Huston on the set.[3] Many film-history sources credit Sheridan for the part."

Who is Sheridan (no first name ever given), and what is the significance of a streetwalker costume? These two sentences make no sense within the context of the article. Jnmwiki (talk) 02:18, 13 April 2017 (UTC)

Any attribution?

It's hard to believe so much could be written about production of a classic film without citing a single source. The entire section entitled "Production Notes" should be annotated as "[citation required]".

Jnmwiki (talk) 02:26, 13 April 2017 (UTC)

Seems unlikely that the production was able to borrow jets from the Mexican Airforce for the dust seeing as Mexico didn't get it's first jet for another 12 years after this movie was made. From the Mexican Airforce

The first jet aircraft operated by the Mexican Air Force was the subsonic de Havilland Vampire Mk.I. Mexico received 17 Vampires during late 1960 and early 1961. This jet was nicknamed "The Flying Avocado" by Mexican flight crews due to the ovoid shape of its fuselage and the dark green night camouflage adopted by its first units. The Vampires were not popular with Mexican fighter pilots because of its lack of ejection seats. The FAM finally retired them in 1970. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.106.195.96 (talk) 08:29, 21 November 2021 (UTC)

@50.106.195.96 I'm glad someone else caught that Mexico did not have jets in 1946. 2600:1702:C59:1890:ADA3:D5B8:9FA9:F576 (talk) 04:18, 11 April 2023 (UTC)

Do these anonymous edits IMPROVE the article?

The Plot section has been enlarged by 25%, in terms of bytes. How has the article been substantively improved? Why? To what purpose? Or are they superfluous? Take a moment and compare to existing Plot, recently revised by CerroFerro.

Plot

Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) and Bob Curtin (Tim Holt), two unemployed American drifters, strangers to each other, survive as best they can in the Mexican oil-town of Tampico in 1925. There is no work. We see a disheveled Dobbs (Bogart) driven to ask a well-dressed American (the director) for a hand out, and get it. When Dobbs and Curtin manage to find some work as roughnecks constructing oil rigs for $8 a day, the contractor, Pat McCormick (Barton MacLane) skips out before paying. It seems he is a well-known cheat.

Returning to Tampico, the two itinerants encounter the talkative, grizzled Howard (Walter Huston) in a flophouse. The penurious but loquacious old fellow is an experienced prospector, and he holds forth on the ins and outs of the enterprise and the promise and peril and poor probability of striking it rich. The two younger men get a bit of "gold fever" and contemplate the notion of doing some prospecting for themselves, with Howard along to show them how. Too bad he's so old and won't be able to keep up with them, or so they imagine. But they don't have enough money.

Dobbs and Curtin run into McCormick at a cantina, and after a brawl, they collect their back wages. When Dobbs wins a modest jackpot in the lottery, he pools his funds with Curtin and Howard to, at last, attempt a gold prospecting expedition to the Mexican interior.

File:Treasure of the Sierra Madre (film) 1948 - photo gallery1.jpg

Bob Curtin (Tim Holt), Howard (Walter Huston) and Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) at the Dormitorio El Oso Negro

Departing from Tampico by rail, the three help to repulse a bandit attack on the train. Dobbs exchanges gunfire with his future nemesis, the Mexican outlaw leader Gold Hat (Alfonso Bedoya). North of Durango the party is outfitted with gear and burros and begins their ascent into the remote Sierra Madre mountains. Howard proves to be the hardiest among them, outstripping the younger men in physical endurance. Whether clambering up steep mountains or hacking through dense jungle with a machete, he seems tireless. After several days of arduous travel, after Curtin has announced that, if he had known what it was about, he never would have come prospecting, and just as Dobbs, lying on the ground, exhausted, announces he has decided to give up, Howard, who has been examining something on the ground as they speak, reveals his news: that they have found what they have been seeking. He dances a distinctive jig to celebrate their good luck, to the astonishment of his two comrades, who think him mad.

File:Treasure of the Sierra Madre photo gallery2.jpg

Bob Curtin (Tim Holt), Howard (Walter Huston) and Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart)

The men commence the exhausting process of extracting the gold while living and working in the harshest primitive conditions. In time, as they amass more and more placer gold, fear and suspicion mount in each man. Dobbs becomes ever more touchy and suspicious, while Howard maintains a good-natured front. The men agree to divide the gold dust each night so as to subsequently conceal the whereabouts of their personal shares, or "goods".

A bit later, when a mine shaft collapses on Dobbs, it is Curtin who hauls him out, at his own risk. "I owe my life to you, partner" Dobbs tells Curtin.

At night, while musing about what each man will do with the profits, it is Dobbs who expresses the desire for the largest amounts of money, Dobbs who has no ambition beyond sensual desire, Dobbs who suggests they divide up the money each night, Dobbs who becomes pathologically touchy and hostile.

Curtin, while on a resupply trip to Durango, is spotted buying supplies by a Texas fortune hunter named Cody (Bruce Bennett). Cody trails Curtin discreetly back to the encampment. When he confronts them, the three try to portray themselves as hunters. Cody dismisses the story and with remarkable boldness proposes to join their outfit to share in any future profits from the strike. Howard, Curtin and Dobbs hold a vote, electing, reluctantly to do away with the newcomer to protect their interests. As they prepare to carry out the decision, pistols in hand, Gold Hat and his bandits arrive. They claim to be Federales and attempt to "barter" for firearms. After a tense vocal exchange regarding requested proof that the bandits are indeed Federales, a gunfight ensues during which Cody is killed. Just when things look worst, a genuine troop of Federales suddenly appears and pursues the bandits as they flee the encampment.

The three prospectors examine the personal effects of the now-dead Cody. A letter he carries from his wife, read aloud, reveals a touching personal story. Curtin and Howard vow to send money to Cody's widow, and Dobbs scoffs bitterly at their sentiments and generosity.

One night, Howard is summoned to a village some distance away to attend a seriously ill boy. After some gentle laying on of hands by the warm-hearted old prospector, the boy recovers. The villagers pointedly insist that Howard return to the village at a later time to be ritually honored. Howard complies, leaving his goods (gold) with Dobbs and Curtin and arranging to meet them later. While Howard is gone, Dobbs suggests to Curtin that they keep Howard's share and split it between them, leaving him with nothing. Curtin flatly refuses.

Dobbs paranoia worsens and one night, when Curtin is asleep, Dobbs, raving now, takes him at gunpoint behind the camp and shoots him, leaving him for dead. The wounded Curtin survives and manages to crawl away during the night, eventually reaching safety.

On his way back to town, alone, exhausted, nearly dying of thirst, Dobbs comes upon a waterhole. He drinks, looking up to see Gold Hat and his accomplices. He is slain. The killers assume Dobbs' bags of gold dust are merely filled with sand, and they scatter it to the winds, taking only his burros and supplies. Meanwhile, Curtin is discovered by indios and taken to Howard's village, where he recovers.

Gold Hat's gang try to sell the pack donkeys in town, but a child recognizes the brand on the donkeys (and Dobbs' clothes, which the bandits are wearing) and reports them to the authorities. The bandits are captured and summarily executed by the Federales.

Howard and Curtin, arriving back in Durango in a dust storm, reclaim their pack animals, only to find the empty gold sacks. At first shaken by the loss, Howard, then Curtin, grasp the immense irony of their circumstances, and both share peals of laughter. They part ways, Howard returning to the indio village, where the natives have offered him a permanent home and position of honor, and Curtin returning home to the United States, where he will seek out Cody's widow in the peach orchards of Texas.

I question the assertation in the main article that the bag of gold at the end is still full and not an empty bag blown into the cactus by the wind.

Kookaburra Sound effects or film location in Australia?

I hear kookaburra. So was the film shot in Australia at any time? Or was kookaburra bird sounds added in afterwards? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 180.181.64.140 (talk) 05:45, 31 August 2018 (UTC)

In popular culture

In the Fallout: New Vegas DLC it's not about stealing gold bars. The treasure of the Sierra Madre in the game is technology. There are some gold bars in the casino's vault, but picking them up is entirely optional. Not even marked as a side objective. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.255.38.8 (talk) 12:53, 3 January 2021 (UTC)