Starring: Humphrey Bogart {Fred C. Dobbs}, Tim Holt {Bob Curtain}, Walter Huston {Howard}, and Bruce Bennett {Cody}.
Gene: Black-and-White, Classic, Adventure, Mexican Western.
Year of Release: 1948.
Plot: Out of work south of the border, Fred C. Dobbs and his newfound friend Bob Curtain take a construction job, working hard in the hot sun for a week only to be cheated out of their pay by their boss who has a reputation for not paying his employees around town. Out of money, hungry and tired, the twosome crash at a men's boarding house and overhear a rather crazy old man named Howard talking about gold mining. The next day they catch their cheating boss and get their money after a fist fight breaks out; with money in their pockets and food in their stomachs, the men decide to try their hand at gold mining and hunt up the old man who has the experience and knowledge they lack. The three partners purchase the necessary supplies and head off into the mountains, the two inexperienced men quickly becoming exhausted as they cross the hot wasteland trying to keep up with the old man's surprisingly brisk pace.
Once they find a suitable place to make camp and set up their mining operation, Dobbs and Curtain find renewed strength to carry out the grueling task of searching for gold. They agree to tell anyone they meet that their hunters, not miners, because they didn't bother to file a claim on the site. Under the old man's direction they work a prosperous vein of gold dust and agree to divide up the findings each night. Slowly, as the piles of gold increase, so does the tension in the camp between Curtain and Dobbs, the latter of whom becomes increasingly suspicious of his partners trying to "bump him off" and "take his goods." Several times the old man tactfully prevents a fight from breaking out between the two but Dobbs continues his downward spiral and Curtain bounces between defensiveness and confusion.
The climax comes when local Indians ask Howard to help one of their boys who was unconscious after being pulled out of a river, and Howard uneasily leaves the two younger men together alone with all of the gold dust they'd dug up. Dobbs' suspicions finally disappear to show the greedy insanity they gave birth to and the situation in camp becomes dangerous. Curtain gets the jump on Dobbs and takes his gun from him but Dobbs relates by betting that he'll fall asleep before Curtain will, which leaves Curtain very weary the next day and unable to resist when Dobbs turns the tables on him and finds himself at the wrong end of his own gun.
Likes/Dislikes: This isn't a fast moving movie but it's engrossing and action packed enough to make up for the speed at which it travels. All three men in the story are tempted by the lure of gold and while two {one with experience in these matters} hold up under the strain, one breaks and fails to pass the test. It's a very good movie, well shot and classic, even if the fight scene at the beginning moves terribly slowly. J Highly recommended for its study of human nature.
Rating: It being a black-and-white, I don't think it's officially rated but my own rating is a G.
Date Report Written: February 15, 2011.
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