Masterful Movie

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

What would you do if you really thought there was an opportunity to become wealthy beyond your wildest dreams but you also knew there was a real risk that your very life is at stake? This is the story of one such man whose name was Jacob (The Dutch) Walz played by Golden Globe winner and is a renowned western star Glenn Ford. Jacob Walz has previously heard the tall tales of the Superstition Mountains and there have been many men before him who have lost their lives in trying to find this treasure trove of gold hidden somewhere in the Superstition Mountains.One day another old miner named Wiser played by the cagey old character actor Edgar Buchanan suggests that he has over heard some key information from one of the three (3) surviving Mexican brothers who originally discovered than buried their gold in Superstition Mountains. So Wiser suggests to Dutch that they partner up with the result being a 50/50 split and so they agree to shadow the Mexican who has come back to reclaim his previous mined gold. Of course Dutch who is much younger than Wiser agrees to the 50/50 split with Wiser but you can guess what the outcome is if one of these two partners were not able to make it back out of the Superstition Mountains.This film is filled with endless greed, the power of instant wealth and the hypnotic effect that gold can have on the residents of an entire town. Yes there is a beautiful and conniving woman in the name of Juia Thomas (Ida Lupino) who has been married for the past five (5) years to a dreamer and unsuccessful businessmen named Pete Thomas (Gig Young). Now this married couple also want to get their hands on the gold so that they can live their own dream of unbridled wealth and freedom the gold could bring them. This film depicts that gold conquers one's marriage vows and we can see that either Julia and/or Pete would be just as happy to claim the gold for themselves than to have to share it with their loving spouse.What all of these greedy gold seekers forget is that when you place a dead carcass in front of a pack of hungry wolves only the strongest will get to eat. Even then the strongest wolf needs to fear that the next day there will be someone stronger than he is who is hungrier as well. Such is the case in Lust for Gold where greed, deception in both business partnerships and love will rear its ugly head, and of course there is vengeance as this town of wolves who walk on two legs all pine for this hidden treasure of the gold in the Superstition Mountains.I would not turn my back on any one of these greedy characters and this feature film is a reminder that instant wealth is not reality and most likely will lead to heartbreak and pain, and maybe even loss of life for a fool's gold. I give this western drama a worthy 7 out of 10 rating.

The Lost Dutchman Mine is a fascinating legend from the 19th century. Gold is said to be buried somewhere in the Superstition Mountains, near Phoenix, in the Arizona desert. If this film had really been about the legend, it could have been as poetic and mysterious as the old song by Walter Brennan, "Dutchman's Gold".Alas, the film script, while it is set in the right geographic location, veers away from the legend too much and into a dreary love triangle between three scoundrels. That's my main complaint. The opening narrator, Barry Storm (William Prince), is not the main character. Storm appears in the first and third Acts, both rather brief relative to the middle Act. Storm's purpose is mainly to introduce the film's two big "stars".This middle Act features Glenn Ford and Ida Lupino. They play two of the three scoundrels in the love triangle. None of this middle Act has much to do with the Lost Dutchman legend, except as backstory, which is told in one very long flashback, and initiated by a minor character. The length of this flashback is way too long, making it dreadfully disconnected from the first and third Acts.Another problem is that, despite the claim that this is "the true story of the Superstition Mountains", I found it hard to tell which elements of the film were actually true and which were fictional. I had to research the topic afterwards to determine that an earthquake apparently did occur during the time period, as the film suggests. But the true-life existence of some characters is highly questionable. Also, the main geologic landmark in the area, Weavers Needle, looks nothing at all like it is portrayed in the film. Thus, the film is as frustrating and confusing as the legend. The best Act is probably the third, which has some good suspense, as two characters fight one another on a high cliff.B&W photography and acting are acceptable. Production design is largely irrelevant. Background music consists mostly of nondescript elevator music, common in old movies. I dislike the casting of Glenn Ford and Ida Lupino, which conveys the impression that the film is really intended as a career vehicle for these two Hollywood actors.To enjoy this film, one needs to forget the legend of the Lost Dutchman, and focus instead either on the obvious theme of greed in the Old West or the casting of two big-name "stars", as some viewers always do.

Glenn Ford and Ida Lupino star in this film about gold, gold, GOLD! It opens with William Prince, who's Glenn Ford's grandson. He is following a guy looking for the Lost Dutchman mine, but, as the guy gets nearer, he is shot and killed. When William goes for the law, he's told several people have been killed before in search of the gold. William goes in search of the truth about his grandfather and where he hid the gold, by way of records and the local senior citizens home. By way of a flashback we see a pretty rough Glenn Ford, who has earned a reputation of being very mean. This dramatization plays out how he discovers and hides the gold and how others hear of it and want it for themselves. Of course, Ida Lupino is one of them. Despite the fact she's married to Gig Young, she sets her sights on Glenn and his gold. Also starring Will Geer and Edgar Buchanun, this is a very entertaining western film noir. In fact, this was director S. Sylvan Simon's only film noir. This has all the elements needed for a fulfilling experience: the chemistry of the two leads, the mysterious allure of the gold along with the desperate lust for gold which drives people wild with passion. But who is killing the people looking for the gold, and where is it, and will it ever be found? Based on a very real place and certain events, this film delivers the goods with excellent actors, all looking out for themselves and for that pot of gold.

I saw this film in first release, and still remember it well. It is a rehash of the more enjoyable legends of the Lost Dutchman's Mine in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. The casting of solid pros for all the roles probably lifts the film beyond the level of programmer. Gig Young was years away from the recognition that came with "They Shoot Horses Don't They?" and somewhat a prisoner of his classical good looks. Glenn Ford, not conventionally handsome, was a star at the time. People still search for the Lost dutchman, or "Dutchman's Lost Mine" in Arizona to this day. It would be a shame if someone found it.