Tonight on TV: Be careful, the ending of this movie with Humphrey Bogart may drive you crazy!

When Warner buys the rights to the novel Treasures of the Sierra Madre By B. Traven in 1941, it was a godsend for director John Huston, who had long wanted to adapt it. He then enlisted in the US Army and began writing a script very faithful to the original material.

Set in Mexico in 1925, the story follows two American adventurers, Dobbs and Curtin, who set off in search of gold with an old prospector named Howard. The trio discovers a small vein in the Sierra Madre, and that’s when a rift arises between them…

Faced with nature and its dangers (the film is also one of the first Hollywood fantasy films shot almost entirely in Mexico), in search of alienating wealth, these three anti-heroes flirt with madness until the last scene with a surprising irony.

Thanks to its thriller look (enhanced by Ted McCord’s black-and-white photography, as well as Max Steiner’s music), this Western defies all the clichés of the genre. In a very cynical speech, John Huston really touches on themes of failure, paranoia, or even greed. A far cry from the gangster or cop roles he’s used to, Humphrey Bogart portrays an unsympathetic and psychologically fragile man here.

Released in 1948, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre won three Oscars: Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Walter Huston.

Treasures of the Sierra Madre John Huston with Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt…

Tonight on Arte at 20:50.