One of my favorite movies of all time is The Treasure of the Sierra Madre — the 1948 epic written and directed by the great John Huston. It’s a grand adventure and a great commentary on how greed changes everything.
The movie is on my mind because — in just three days — I’ll be making my own trip to a working silver mine in the Sierra Madre. You can get in on any treasure I find there … I’ll get to that in a bit. First, I want to tell you more about Huston’s film.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, set in Mexico in 1925, starred Humphrey Bogart as Fred C. Dobbs. Dobbs is likeable from the start — he’s broke, but he dreams of riches.
Things get really interesting when Dobbs and his younger partner, Bob Curtin (played by Tim Holt), meet a fast-chattering, crazy ol’ coot of a prospector named Howard (played by John Huston’s father, Walter).
Howard spins tales in a flophouse about his prospecting experiences. He tells the two younger prospectors,
“I know what gold does to men’s souls. When the piles of gold begin to grow, that’s when the trouble starts.â€
Dobbs has his own view on gold:
“Gold don’t carry any curse with it, it all depends on if the guy who finds it is the right guy. The way I see it, gold can be as much of a blessing as a curse.â€
Dobbs and Curtin take a risk with the old man, and pool their money to go prospecting in a part of Mexico that hasn’t even been surveyed yet. Eventually, they do indeed find gold.
But as Howard divides up the day’s diggings, greed begins to glitter in Dobbs’ eyes. He grows increasingly paranoid, talking to himself and getting caught up in his own violent fantasies. The change in Dobbs is the most amazing part of the movie, and a tribute to Bogart’s acting skills. 
The men have to pull themselves together as they face both a gringo interloper and Mexican bandits claiming to be Federales. The latter scene is where that famous quote, “We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ badges!†comes from.
In the end, the prospectors finally leave with their horde of gold. But that’s where things really take a turn. I won’t ruin it for you … go out and rent the movie today!
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre flopped at the box office, but it walked away with three Oscars: John Huston won best writer and best director, and his dad Walter got best supporting actor.
Some other interesting facts about the film:
- To lend authenticity to the role, Walter Huston played the ol’ prospector role without his false teeth.
- John Huston had recently married Evelyn Keyes, but he didn’t think to ask her before he decided to adopt a little orphan boy who had been hanging around the set. Keyes found out when Huston and the boy walked off the plane together!
- George Raft was originally supposed to play the part of Dobbs, and Ronald Reagan was originally cast as the gringo interloper!
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was one of the first American pictures to be shot almost completely outside the U.S. It was filmed in Tampico, Mexico.
By the way, it was a Warner Brothers flick, and back in Hollywood, Jack Warner was initially horrified by the whole project.
According to one account, Warner “complained that the three actors looked like bums, Walter didn’t have his teeth, there were no women, no sex and the Mexican bandits spoke Spanish.â€
Of course, according to the same account, Warner later said, “This is definitely the greatest motion picture we have ever made.†Isn’t it amazing how adventures and gambles often pay off in the end? That brings me to my own trip …
I’m Leaving for Mexico
In Just Three Days
The Sierra Madre mountains are a real place — and that’s where I’m going this Saturday. But it’s not gold I’m after … it’s silver.
Along the way, I’ll be stopping over in the same town that Dobbs, Curtin, and Howard headed to on their way out of the mountains. But for me, that’ll be just the beginning!
I’m visiting a mine so remote that, as we used to say when I was a boy, “You can’t get there from here.†So I’ll have to get into a small plane to check it out. (I’ve promised my wife that I won’t come back with an orphan.)
The mine is in Mexico, but it is owned by a Canadian company. These guys are sharp, and they know they’re on to something big. Heck, the mine is sitting on more than 14 million ounces of silver and should increase its resources to over 35 million ounces.
Right now, you can buy this mine’s resources for about 37 cents on the dollar. What’s more, this mine will be producing over three million ounces of silver next year!
I think this is a great time to be investing in silver. Here are just some of the forces driving the metal higher …
- Supply of silver from mines has fallen short of demand for 17 years in a row. As recently as 1995, there were 1.4 billion ounces of bullion in stockpiles. Today, there are probably only about 300 million ounces. That’s a 50-year low.
- The World Jewelry Confederation, an industry trade group, expects China, India and Russia to stand at the center of a double-digit rise in silver consumption in the coming years.
- Two days ago, the Shanghai Gold Exchange started silver trading on a trial basis. Since the Shanghai Exchange already offers trading in gold and platinum, this trial should become permanent. That will likely attract money from China’s 1.3 billion capitalists!
Once you add in the huge (and growing) demand we’re seeing from the silver ETF (SLV), it’s easy to see how prices could soar to $20 an ounce by next year.
It’s not too late for you to get in on this treasure of the Sierra Madre. If you sign up now for my Red-Hot Canadian Small-Caps, you’ll get the scoop on the silver mine I’m visiting, as well as my latest picks in gold … oil … copper and more!
Yours for trading profits,
Sean
P.S. As a special bonus for subscribing to my service, I’ll send you my 47-page report, “The Golden Age of Uraniumâ€. It’s packed with insights, forecasts, and five red-hot uranium stocks. These stocks are already on the move, but they should have much, much further to go in what could be the biggest bull market of the century. Get that report immediately by calling 1-800-814-3047.
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