Fred Dobbs and Bob Curtin are two broke Americans living in Tampico, Mexico. It’s 1925 and the two are sleeping in a hostel/flophouse when they meet Howard, a chatty prospector who suggests that there is gold in them thar Mexican hills. He speaks almost spiritually about the quest for gold, but warns that the hustle can change a man. When Fred and Bob come into some money they’re owed, they decide to chase after gold and bring Howard along. They venture into the Sierra Madre mountains and strike it rich. But as their fortunes grow, distrust and disagreements begin to creep in. In particular, Fred Dobbs becomes paranoid that he isn’t getting the best deal or that his fellow miners are out to get him. This paranoia begins to unravel all that the men worked so hard for until the gold is just dust in the wind.
There’s a bunch more that happens. Dobbs and Curtain are taken advantage of. There’s Mexican bandits. And Mexican Federales. And an idilic Texan man from a fruit farm. And natives in search of a medicine-man. All to add complexity and fluff to an otherwise simple allegory on the amplifying and corrupting power of money. These side characters and b-plots added some richness to the story, but made the simple plot feel like a slow crawl. Humphrey Bogart’s Dobbs was sufficiently irritating and big while Walter Huston’s Howard, with wisdom and a good attitude, was a cleansing force for the film. The film was shot on-location in Tampico, which is often cited as a big deal, but I’m not sure it added anything for this black-and-white film. Still, for all these random grumbles, I ultimately liked the flick. Its influence is felt everywhere from Indiana Jones to Breaking Bad and its famous (misquoted) line “We don’t need no stinkin’ badges” has wound its way into pop culture. Definitely worth a watch.