John Huston had such success with The Maltese Falcon, he was able to get any movie he wanted made. He began production in 1942 on a film called, In This Our Life, but was called away in the middle of production to go make propaganda films and documentaries for the war effort. After he returned stateside, Huston started work on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, again bringing Humphrey Bogart along for the ride and directing his father, Walter Huston, whom you hopefully remember from All That Money Can Buy. The senior Huston was at first reluctant to play in a film directed by his son, as well as one where he was not the lead, but Junior convinced him to stick to it, and it paid off. Walter Huston received countless praise and accolades for his work. In more ways than one, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre has dug its way into the zeitgeist and refuses to leave. Bogart’s character in this film even makes an appearance in a Bugs Bunny cartoon involving a penguin. And of course, there’s the famous quote.

For the record, the actual quote is, “Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges.” Doesn’t roll of the tongue as well, I know, but I wanted to clear the air. Fred Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) and Bob Curtin (Tim Holt) are down-on-their-luck drifters when they hear about gold prospecting in the Sierra Madre mountains. Considering their one-off employers seem to have a bad habit of forgetting to pay the two men for their work, they happily go in with a seasoned prospector named Howard (Walter Huston). When they successfully discover gold dust in the mountains, bandits and Federales are the least of their concerns. The real enemy to watch out for is their own unbridled greed. Yes, it’s an old morality tale you’ve heard thousands of times, but no retelling of that tale is as engaging as The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Twists and turns, double-crosses, and parasites are around every corner, and you can never guess which direction the film will go at any given moment. It’s that kinetic spontaneity that will keep the film with you years down the road.

Bonus Review: The Goonies

Movies featuring a large child-actor ensemble rarely as well as The Goonies did, and absolutely none of them have retained the star power The Goonies had. Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton, Joe Pantoliano, and Anne Ramsey all had somewhat prolific careers before and after The Goonies. Heck, Ke Huy Quan is having a career resurgence as I type this. Did anyone in The Sandlot have a career besides the adults?

A group of kids who call themselves the “Goonies” hang out one last time before they all have to move because their homes are being torn down to make room for a country club. There’s Mikey, Chunk, Mouth and Data. Together, they tour Mikey’s attic and find a doubloon and a treasure map supposedly belonging to a pirate captain called “One-Eyed Willy”. They take the map to an abandoned restaurant on the coastline to begin their search. Mikey’s older brother, Brand, gives chase and is joined by a cheerleader, Andy, who has a thing for Brand, and her best friend, Stef. The Goonies discover that the restaurant is the hideout of the Fratelli crime family, and so they sneak around and find a secret tunnel that aligns with the map in the basement. Chunk gets caught trying to alert the police and after giving away where the Goonies are going, is thrown into a storage space with the Fratellis deformed brother, Sloth. The Fratellis chase after the Goonies, and after Sloth and Chunk become friends and Sloth breaks them out of their captivity, they follow as well. The Goonies must avoid booby traps at every turn until they reach a grotto where One-Eyed Willy’s ship is. The Goonies climb aboard and find that it’s filled with treasure. They stuff their pockets, but intentionally leave gold sitting on a scale in front of Willy’s skeleton. The Fratellis catch up to them and take the gold out of their pockets, and just as they’re about to make the Goonies walk the plank, Sloth and Chunk show up and distract the Fratellis long enough for the Goonies to escape. The Fratellis try to grab as much gold as they can, even that on the scales, which triggers another booby trap that makes the grotto cave in. All parties successfully make it out alive and resurface to the police and their parents. The Fratellis are arrested and Mikey’s marble bag, which was not taken by the Fratellis, is discovered to have gold inside; enough to save their houses.

Two movies about searching for treasure – one a critique on human greediness, the other a fun adventure film with a bunch of kids. Both have their merits, but there is one final thing about The Goonies that deserves a mention: the theme song from Cyndi Lauper. It appears at various points throughout the film and it seems like the filmmakers went all in on Lauper’s popularity to sell it. It’s a worthy endeavor and Lauper’s best song. Just thought it was worth bringing up because it belongs on everyone’s playlists.