The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

In Mexico, two Americans, Dobbs and Curtin, are looking for work with good pay. Both are living in horrible conditions and they meet a wise old man named Howard. Howard has lots of experience with prospecting and is looking for partners to find gold with. When Dobbs wins a small lottery, he and Curtin use that money to buy supplies for the prospecting trip. On the train to the Sierra Madre Mountain, bandits shoot at the passengers while the three main characters shoot back. They borrow mules/goats in the local town and set out to find gold. On the way, Curtin and Dobbs find fool’s gold which is quickly pushed aside by Howard. When they find the land filled with gold, they make a mechanized system to sift the unprocessed gold power out of the dirt. They all decide to split the gold evenly among the three. Dobbs, Curtin, and Howard all hide their share of gold in their hiding spots. When Curtin sees a Gila monster hide under a rock, he tries to use a stick as a lever to move the rock out of the way. Coincidentally, Dobbs’s share of gold is underneath the rock and he accuses Curtin of finding and stealing his gold. He threatens to shoot him while Curtin and Howard are trying to explain to him that he didn’t know. Curtin asks Dobbs to lift the rock, and the Gila monster is there, proving Curtin’s point. However, Dobbs is still paranoid and never truly trusts his two partners ever again.

Another man named Cody finds their land and wants to join their prospecting group. The three of them have a group discussion and decide to shoot him at the same time. But before that can happen, they spot bandits that are coming up to their side of the mountain. The Americans and the bandits shoot at each other until the bandits decide to retreat. However, Cody is dead by the end of the fight and in his wallet is a letter from his wife and children back in the United States. They decide to go back and exchange their gold for usable money. Through their trip in the desert, Howard is asked to help a young child in a Mexican tribe. He revives him and as a reward, is taken back to the town and respected as a king. He leaves his share of gold to the other two, and Dobbs wants to take Howard’s gold and leave him. Curtin wants to do the right thing and that causes Dobbs to be suspicious of him. He believes that Curtin will kill him and take his share and Howard’s. Dobbs stays awake when Curtin sleeps and shoots him multiple times. However, Curtin is only wounded and crawls his way to the Mexican tribe where Howard is. Dobbs encounters the bandits on his way with all the gold and gets murdered. The sacks of unprocessed gold get thrown off the mules/goats because the bandits don’t know that it’s gold. When Howard and Curtin return to the town, they realize that the fortune is missing. All of gold blew back to the Sierra Madre and Curtin decides to visit Cody’s wife in the U.S. to tell him the news. Howard returns to the Mexican tribe and they realize the power that the gold had over them.

Humphrey Bogart as Fred Dobbs

Dobbs slowly slips into insanity because of gold. He uses his money up right when he gets it and does not know how to save up for important purchases. Dobbs only buys material items and has no goals in life he wants to pursue. Dobbs becomes increasingly paranoid and believes that both Curtin and Howard are out to get him. When Howard is taken by the Mexican tribe, Dobbs wants to take his share of gold and run away with it. Then, he is convinced that Curtin is going to steal his share of gold when he is sleeping. He thinks that Curtin will kill him when he falls asleep. So, he tries to kill Curtain by shooting him two times and leaving him. Unfortunately, he meets one of the bandits that tried to kill them earlier and Dobb gets murdered. In the end, Dobbs is alone when he dies, without any gold.

Tim Holt as Curtin

Unlike Dobbs, Curtin has always had aspirations of becoming a farmer with a family. He doesn’t waste his money and is kind to everyone. He’s willing to save up his gold and use it responsibly. When Dobbs becomes increasingly paranoid, Curtin seems to act differently. He would have used the gold to help his future. He didn’t expect more than 25,000 but Dobbs wanted more and more. Curtin could never shoot his friend, while Dobbs has pulled a gun on him multiple times.

Walter Huston as Howard

Howard has been genuine and truthful for the entire movie. He helps two strangers find gold and continues to help them out. He never thinks about deceiving or betraying them. When Dobbs goes ballistic, Howard stays calm and reasons with him. He works hard and, like Curtin, is fulfilled with the 25,000 while Dobbs was greedy and wanted even more. When Howard leaves to help the Mexican tribe, he trusts Curtin and Dobbs to protect his portion of gold. Howard is incredibly intelligent with medicine and he speaks Spanish.