John Huston and Humphrey Bogart seem to be a good team, just as well as Howard Hawks and Humphrey Bogart was. I liked The Maltese Falcon a lot, and was one of my first experiences with the golden age of Hollywood. However, all the good things I was expecting from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre couldn’t prepare me for the experience I was in for. Because this film is probably the best of the old Hollywood, and stands as Bogart’s best performance together with In a Lonely Place, and is probably Huston’s best directing and writing job.
The story is simple, three men out of luck far away from home pool their money together and decide to dig for gold and make their fortune. But soon the paranoia and treachery kicks in. This is expanded by Huston’s tight directing, building up the tension throughout the great dialogue scenes. It is also helped by the great performance by Bogart. Bogey won the Oscar for The African Queen, but I cannot understand how he wasn’t even nominated for this role, as it is one of his seminal best. The theme of greed is studied mostly throughout the film, but it also explores how people can turn at and to each other as the situation defines the relationship. The wilderness seem to create both tranquillity and madness, all depending on ones character, although the film empathises that no one is truly evil, but anyone can fall. The films main strength is the building of tension, social tension and thrilling tension, such as the shootout scenes. This is not a western though, although it shares some of its traits. The film works more as a social drama though, and in this part it is riveting. The film was also shot on locations, and although some scenes are obviously shot in a studio, this gives the film some charm and builds the atmosphere of the wild quite well.
Of the early Hollywood films, this one is quite bleak, and hasn’t got all of the established norms of a typical Hollywood film. There is no love interest, the characters aren’t necessarily relatable and we aren’t given access to their thoughts as much as we usually are privileged. This again helps to build the tension, as one can never be quite sure who to trust. The ending is also fairly dark, and very uncharacteristic for most of these types of film. Bogart’s role is also unusual for him. Although he had become the star anti-hero, his character here is more ambiguous than before, and is not the smooth talking detective many had loved him for being. But what makes the film so great is the simplicity of it all, and it is extremely watch able, while still retaining depth and subtlety. Bogart also has throughout the years since his golden days become somewhat typecast in the heads of modern audiences, but here he proves really what sort of an icon he was. He’s unafraid of the challenges the film gives his character, unafraid of doing something quite different from what made him famous, and needs credit for this. He is quickly becoming my favourite actor. But while I do love Bogart for his body of work, the success of this film should be unanimously credited to writer and director John Huston. I liked some of his films I’ve seen, but never grew to love him before now, he truly transcends time and filmmaking with this wonderfully crafted film.
One of my new favourite films, what else can be said, it is wonderful in every way. The acting, the writing, the cinematography and directing meld together into an intriguing, simple, yet subtle film which shows how great filmmaking will always shine through, and never grow old. This film certainly never will.
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